Gut health, immunity & HMOs
The first 1000 days of an infant’s life are a dynamic period. Different nutrition components during this period play an important role in developing an age-appropriate immune system.
The immune system plays the important role of protection of an infant from birth, against infections and to improve long term health.
In this section we share a variety of resources about the development of the infant’s immune system and the supportive role of nutrition1,2.
Babies are born with an immature immune system, so they need a balanced gut microbiome for their immune function and development3. A suboptimal gut microbiome is associated with higher risk of asthma, allergies and obesity in later life4-6. Early life provides a unique opportunity to support the development of a healthy gut microbiome in order to promote long-term health.
The infant’s gut microbiome rapidly develops during and post-birth through vaginal, faecal and skin exposure6. Breastfeeding is crucial for the development of the gut microbiome as breast milk contains many microbes that colonise the baby’s gut3-4,6. Breast milk also contains unique prebiotics called Human Milk Oligosaccharides that promote the growth of good bacteria and help fight off bad bacteria6. Some factors negatively influence the development of the gut microbiome, including: caesarean delivery, gestational age of the infant, unnecessary antibiotic use and exclusive formula feeding3,6.
Recommendations to promote the development of a healthy gut microbiome, include:
- Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life with the introduction of appropriate, diverse complementary foods, alongside continued breastfeeding3,6.
- If breastfeeding is not possible, there are clinically tested formulas available that contain human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs)*.7-9
- Avoidance of unnecessary antibiotics use in early life.
*not from human milk
- Caldera, C. E. C. P. C. (2024). Nutrition and Early Life Immune Health. The Changing Landscape of Pediatric Nutrition: Latest Trends and Future Directions, 125.
- Fragkou, P. C., et al. (2021). Impact of early life nutrition on children's immune system and noncommunicable diseases through its effects on the bacterial microbiome, virome and mycobiome. Frontiers in immunology, 12, 806.
- Moore & Townsend et al. Open Biol. 9:2019
- Turroni et al. Italian Journal of Pediatrics 46(16)2020.
- Vighi, G et al. Clinical and Experimental Immunology 153:2008
- Muller et al. Trends Mol Med 21(2):2015
- Puccio et al. JPGN (64) 624–631 2017.
- Berger et al., mBio 2020.
- Bosheva M, Tokodi I, Krasnow A, et al. Infant formula with a specific blend of five human milk oligosaccharides drives the gut microbiota development and improves gut maturation markers: a randomized controlled trial. Front Nutr. 2022;9:920362.