Nutrition in early life is of fundamental importance in an infant’s future health. Breast milk is the first natural functional food for infants and the "gold standard" for infant feeding. Breast milk not only contains various nutrients suitable for infants' digestion and absorption, but also contains a variety of bioactive substances, such as immunoglobulins, hormones, oligosaccharides, and bacterial constituents. These functional components in breastmilk are known to exert a series of beneficial effects, including reduced risk from infections and promoting various aspects of postnatal development. Although the mechanisms underlying some of these benefits have been elucidated, the origins of others that have been reported, such as influence on neurological, immunological, and metabolic outcomes remain more obscure.
Breastmilk does not stand alone. Breast milk is produced by the mammary glands of future mothers and lactating mothers. The effect of the mother's diet, nutrition and health status, and environmental exposures on the composition of breast milk, and infant developmental outcome, are also issues that need to be further understood. Additionally, as a dynamic functional food for infants, human milk might adapt to meet infants’ needs under preterm, infectious, and others.
In this Research Topic, we would like to present reviews and original articles covering the latest developments in studying breast milk composition, formula milk, and infant metabolism. Studies discussing the health issues mentioned above are suitable for consideration in this Special Issue. We hope that our Special Issue will contribute to deepening our knowledge in this area and provide the basis for creating new prophylactic and therapeutic standards.
• Effects of different diets, intake volumes and breast milk composition on infants, including body composition, hormonal and cytokine profile, microorganisms and metabolites in feces.
• Whether maternal disease, nutritional, and environmental exposure associated changes in the breast milk composition alter the neonatal growth trajectory.
• Effects of bioactive ingredients added to infant formula on short-term and long-term growth and development of infants.
• Particularly, we welcome studies involving premature infants.
Nutrition in early life is of fundamental importance in an infant’s future health. Breast milk is the first natural functional food for infants and the "gold standard" for infant feeding. Breast milk not only contains various nutrients suitable for infants' digestion and absorption, but also contains a variety of bioactive substances, such as immunoglobulins, hormones, oligosaccharides, and bacterial constituents. These functional components in breastmilk are known to exert a series of beneficial effects, including reduced risk from infections and promoting various aspects of postnatal development. Although the mechanisms underlying some of these benefits have been elucidated, the origins of others that have been reported, such as influence on neurological, immunological, and metabolic outcomes remain more obscure.
Breastmilk does not stand alone. Breast milk is produced by the mammary glands of future mothers and lactating mothers. The effect of the mother's diet, nutrition and health status, and environmental exposures on the composition of breast milk, and infant developmental outcome, are also issues that need to be further understood. Additionally, as a dynamic functional food for infants, human milk might adapt to meet infants’ needs under preterm, infectious, and others.
In this Research Topic, we would like to present reviews and original articles covering the latest developments in studying breast milk composition, formula milk, and infant metabolism. Studies discussing the health issues mentioned above are suitable for consideration in this Special Issue. We hope that our Special Issue will contribute to deepening our knowledge in this area and provide the basis for creating new prophylactic and therapeutic standards.
• Effects of different diets, intake volumes and breast milk composition on infants, including body composition, hormonal and cytokine profile, microorganisms and metabolites in feces.
• Whether maternal disease, nutritional, and environmental exposure associated changes in the breast milk composition alter the neonatal growth trajectory.
• Effects of bioactive ingredients added to infant formula on short-term and long-term growth and development of infants.
• Particularly, we welcome studies involving premature infants.