New infant formula ingredients boost babies' immunity by feeding
their gut bacteria Adding prebiotic ingredients to infant
formula helps colonize the newborn's gut with a stable
population of beneficial bacteria, and probiotics enhance
immunity in formula-fed infants, two University of Illinois
studies report. "The beneficial bacteria that live in a baby's
intestine are all-important to an infant's health, growth, and
ability to fight off infections," said Kelly Tappenden, a U of I
professor of nutrition and gastrointestinal physiology. "Breast-
fed babies acquire this protection naturally. Formula-fed
infants get sick more easily because the bacteria in their gut
are always changing." The idea is to make formula more like
breast milk by promoting the sorts of intestinal bacteria that
live in breast-fed babies' intestines, she added. Prebiotics are
carbohydrates that resist digestion by human enzymes and
stimulate the growth and activity of beneficial bacteria in the
gastrointestinal tract. Probiotics are actu