How do the energy nutrients in breast milk compare to those in cow’s milk?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The energy-nutrient composition of breast milk differs dramatically from that recommended for adult diets. Yet for infants, breast milk is nature’s most nearly perfect food, providing the clear lesson that people at different stages of life have different nutrient needs.
The main carbohydrate in breast milk (and standard infant formula) is the disaccharide lactose. In addition to being easily digested, lactose enhances calcium absorption. The carbohydrate component of breast milk also contains abundant oligosaccharides, which are present only in trace amounts in cow’s milk and infant formula made from cow’s milk. Breast milk oligosaccharides help protect the infant from infection by preventing the binding of pathogens to the infant’s intestinal cells.
The amount of protein in breast milk is less than in cow’s milk, but this quantity is actually beneficial because it places less stress on the infant’s immature kidneys to excrete urea, the major end product of protein metabolism. Much of the protein in breast milk is alpha-lactalbumin, which is efficiently digested and absorbed.
As for the lipids, breast milk contains a generous proportion of the essential fatty acids linoleic acid and linolenic acid, as well as their longer-chain derivatives arachidonic acid and DHA. DHA accumulation in the brain is higher in breastfed infants than in formula-fed infants. Research has focused on the mental and visual development of breastfed infants and infants fed standard formula with and without DHA added. Results of studies for visual acuity are mixed, perhaps because of factors such as the amount of DHA provided, the source of the DHA, and the sensitivity of different measures for visual acuity. Some evidence from studies examining the effects of DHA status during fetal and infant development on cognitive function suggests that DHA supplementation can make a positive difference. Adding DHA to standard infant formulas has no adverse effects; most standard formulas are currently fortified with both DHA and arachidonic acid.