When Fat is Fabulous: Mother’s Milk & Infant Neurodevelopment
Fat is back, baby ! After a pretty extensive smear campaign, fats are now recognized to be necessary for a healthy, balanced adult diet. But for infants, LL Cool J said it best- “Don’t call it a comeback, I’ve been here for years!” Fats have always been an essential constituent in mother’s milk and in the last decade specific fatty acids have been added to commercial formula. The lion’s share of research effort in the topic of early nutrition has been dedicated to fatty acids and cognition . This is because fatty acids, made from phospholipids and triglycerides, are critical structural components of the brain. More to the Story: Phospholipids A recent pilot study conducted by colleagues in Japan suggests that formula fortified with a particular phospholipid may confer some benefits for infant neurodevelopment and function. Sphingomyelin is a phospholipid, and in rats, contributes to myelination of the brain. In our brains, neurons send “messages” to one ano