18 LISTENER NOVEMBER 5 2016

‘W

e think of breast milk as a

food or even a liquid with

an easy replacement. But

it’s not. It’s similar

to blood – it’s a

living human

tissue,” says

environ-

mental journalist and Huffington Post

columnist Jennifer Grayson.

Scientists are only now beginning

to unravel the complexities of breast

milk – from the recent discovery of

stem cells in milk to its influence on

an infant’s gut and therefore future

health.

These are things Grayson looks

at in her book, Unlatched: The

Evolution of Breastfeeding and the

Making of a Controversy. “We love to

have this debate in the media about

whether the benefits of breastfeeding

are all they’re cracked up to be. And

whether maybe formula is really an

equivalent. But we’re having this

conversation in the absence of any

real knowledge.” Because although the human

genome was mapped more than 10 years ago, says

Grayson, scientists still don’t know exactly what is in

human breast milk.

What we do know is the important role

human breast milk plays in shaping the micro-

organisms in an infant’s gut. About 150 or

more different variations of complex sugar

molecules called human milk oligosaccha-

rides (HMO) have been identified in breast

milk, and these feed the microorganisms

in the gut, selectively encouraging the

proliferation of certain species.

Says Grayson, “Every mother

produces a unique pattern of

these 150 or more oligosac-

charides that’s tailored

directly to her infant –

it’s like a fingerprint.

There is a lot of talk

now about breast-

feeding being

personalised

medicine and it

really is – it’s just

amazing.”

Breastfed babies have

a lower risk of respiratory

infections; allergies such as

GENETIC REVOLUTION

BEST

FEEDING

New research shows breast milk contains unique

patterns of molecules and stem cells that are

tailor-made for an infant’s health. by JENNIFER BOWDEN

Author Jennifer Grayson: “There is a lot

of talk now about breastfeeding being

personalised medicine.”