A child’s first five years of life provides the most exciting moments for parents. Every triumph—from saying his first word and making his first step to dancing, singing, or telling a story—becomes a milestone worth celebrating because it shows how much potential the child can achieve in the future.
That is why most parents exert great efforts to provide proper nutrition that can help with their child’s physical and mental growth especially during the first five years of life when 90% of brain development happens. And the latest breakthrough in pediatric nutrition may just offer parents the help they need.
The milk component, known as MFGM, or milk fat globule membrane, is a tri-layer complex component rich in proteins that have been proven in studies to support the cognitive development of infants. Another study reveals that MFGM contributes in the behavioral or EQ development of children.
Studies have shown that the introduction of MFGM in supplemental milk for infants and children can improve standard milk formula, making it closely similar with the gold standard in pediatric nutrition.
Tore Jasper Anderson, one of the leading experts on MFGM, said that the naturally-occurring milk compound will forever change the landscape of pediatric nutrition. “This is not just about replicating one of the crucial milk compounds. It is about successfully extracting MFGM and introducing it to milk formula to maximize its efficacy for the development of our children,” said Anderson.
The first five years of a child’s life are the most important in brain development. During this period, a child’s brain grows to 90 percent of its adult size, so providing nutrients and components that will support brain development is important.
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A study1 published by Dr. Niklas Timby of Umea University in Sweden further corroborated the positive effects of MFGM on cognitive development among infants. The study showed that infants fed with MFGM-enriched milk had significantly higher cognitive scores compared to infants who were fed a formula without MFGM. Also, this cognitive score was not different from result report for breastfed infants.
Another study2 of Timby on the effects of milk fat globule membrane also showed that the compound is likewise beneficial to strengthening children’s immune system. It was found that milk formula added with MFGM fraction have reduced an incidence of acute otitis media and episodes of bloody diarrhea in infants. A different study3 conducted by Genevieve Veereman-Wauters established that children who consumed formula enriched with MFGM demonstrated significantly improved parent-reported scores for behavioral regulation compared to children receiving control formula without MFGM enrichment2.
The benefits that MFGM provide truly ushers in a new era in pediatric healthcare and nutrition, giving parents and pediatricians, even more, ways of helping prepare and protect children for tomorrow’s challenges.
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1 Timby N, et al. Am J Clin Nutr.2014;99:860-868.
2 Timby N, et al. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2015;60:384-389.
3 Veereman-Wauters G, et al. Nutrition. 2012;28:749-752.
