How does a mother’s diet whilst breastfeeding help shape the indigestible sugars (HMOs) in her breast milk?

Quick Summary: Recent research shows that a mother’s diet whilst breastfeeding can shape the profile of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) in her breast milk.

Recent research shows that a mother’s diet whilst breastfeeding can shape the profile of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) in her breast milk.

What are human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs)?

HMOs are indigestable sugars that feed the beneficial gut microbes in the baby’s gut microbiome.

These beneficial microbes are ones transferred from the mother during birth and from breast milk.

This helps the microbes grow and quickly colonise the infant gut — this helps with optimal immune training to help protect a baby for life.

About the study:

The study published in Nature Scientific Reports was by researchers from Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and other institutions.

The significance of this research is explained in this easy-to-understand article in News Medical:

“In previous work in both humans and primates, we found that what a pregnant woman eats…