Green Environment in Residential Area Improves Breast Milk Composition and Health of Infants, Study Shows

The composition of oligosaccharides in breast milk is influenced by living in a residential area with a green environment, which may have an impact on the infants' health. According to a study done at the University of Turku, a greater variety and proportion of green spaces in residential areas were linked to a greater variety in the oligosaccharide composition of breast milk.

Residential Green Environment and Breast milk

A recent study at the University of Turku's Biology and Public Health Departments looked at the relationship between the mother's breast milk's unique oligosaccharide profile and the residential green environment. After lactose and fat, oligosaccharides are the most prevalent type of sugar found in breast milk. So far, there are 200 oligosaccharides identified, and they represent a very versatile group of various kinds of complex structures.

The oligosaccharides in breast milk can shield the infant from dangerous microbes and lower the likelihood that they will contract illnesses and allergies. The infant's health is also impacted by the oligosaccharides' close ties to the immune system and gut microbiota.

Docent Mirkka Lahdenperä from the University of Turku Department of Biology said that previous research has demonstrated that biological and genetic factors, such as the mother's obesity, can alter the composition of oligosaccharides in breast milk. The group's goal was to investigate how the oligosaccharide composition in breast milk is influenced by green living environments, as greener environments have been shown to boost immunity and lower the risk of disease in children.

According to the study, for healthy, term infants, breast milk is the best source of nutrition, and breastfeeding has numerous positive effects on the short-term and long-term health of children. Human milk's nutritional composition and non-nutritive bioactive components like hormones, antibodies, growth factors, and human milk oligosaccharides, or HMOs, have evolved to help infants survive and develop normally.

The study by Lahdenperä and several of her colleagues was recently published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Greenness and Diversity of Vegetation

The STEPS Study, a long-term follow-up study that began at the University of Turku in 2007, included about 800 mothers. Three months after the babies were born, the breast milk samples were taken, and the University of California, San Diego's Bode Lab then analyzed the oligosaccharide composition.

Around the homes of the families, the residential green environments were assessed at the time of the child's birth using indicators of greenness, vegetation diversity, and naturalness index, or how much human impact and intervention had occurred in the residential area. The results were unaffected by the socioeconomic deprivation in the neighborhood, the parent's level of education, occupation, marital status, and health, Technology Network reports.

Diversity of Oligosaccharides and Health of Infants

The study demonstrated that when the mother's neighborhood has more green spaces, the diversity of oligosaccharides rises, and the composition of several different oligosaccharides changes.

According to Lahdenperä, As the oligosaccharide makeup of breast milk diversifies, increased daily exposure to nature may be advantageous for breastfeeding mothers and their children. The findings suggest that breastfeeding may act as a mediator between green environments in a residential area and infant health.

She added that the findings emphasize the significance of comprehending the biological pathways that can affect health and result in the emergence of various diseases beginning in infancy, the University of Turku reports.