Protein reduction
6 min read
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Protein reduced infant formula against obesity risk
The EU has now decided to lower the lower limit of the protein content in follow-on foods from 1.8 g to 1.6 g / 100 kcal. This means that children who are not breastfed can be offered an age-optimized step system that allows the use of follow-on nutrition with a reduced protein content as required.
The protein intake with infant formulas and follow-on foods therefore corresponds better to the protein intake during breastfeeding. In the course of early childhood development the nutritional requirements change, the protein requirement per kg body weight decreases continuously. The protein intake through breast milk is dynamic, it adapts to this changing need. It contains a relatively large amount of protein in the first few weeks, later its protein content is reduced (Fig. 1).
For a long time, inadequate protein intake and malnutrition were in the foreground. Especially in early childhood, an insufficient supply of protein leads to long-term health restrictions. For extremely malnourished children, a protein-rich diet is still essential.
However, excessive protein intake in infancy leads, among other things, to increased fat cell formation, accelerated weight gain and early programming of a long-term risk of obesity. This has been confirmed, for example, by the large European CHOP study (EU Childhood Obesity Project). A reduced protein intake in infants – by promoting breastfeeding as well as by lowering the protein content in baby foods – could thus contribute to a healthy weight development in the long term.
It is important to have a higher protein quality at the same time in order to ensure that, despite this reduction, all the ingredients that are important for the growth process, e.g. to provide the essential amino acids in an optimal composition.
https://www.nestlenutrition-institute.org/country/de/im-fokus/protein
New technology for clarification of macronutrients in breast milk
Breast milk is currently enriched for the nutrition of premature babies on the basis of an assumed macronutrient composition. However, this can lead to either over or under enrichment. Objective enrichment is limited by the lack of fast, accurate methods for measuring macronutrients. Can HMA technology help here?
The aim of a current study was to evaluate the accuracy and precision of the HMA (Mid-Infrared Human Milk Analyzer). The Röse-Gottlieb method, high-performance anion chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAECPAD), Kjeldahl and amino acid analysis (AA) were selected as reference methods for total fat, lactose and protein content.
No significant difference in lactose content between HMA and HPAEC-PAD was observed. In contrast, significant differences were observed in the fat and protein content between HMA and the reference methods. However, the difference in fat content was <12% and was therefore within the variability specified by the supplier. The BCA protein test was selected for the protein determination. There were no significant differences in the total protein content measured with the BCA test, Kjeldahl and AA.
Conclusion: HMA was reliable for the quantification of the total fat and lactose content, but not for the total protein content. This was measured using the BCA test, which gave comparable results to the Kjeldahl and AA methods.
Giuffrida F et al., Journal of Perinatology 2018
The EU has now decided to lower the lower limit of the protein content in follow-on foods from 1.8 g to 1.6 g / 100 kcal. This means that children who are not breastfed can be offered an age-optimized step system that allows the use of follow-on nutrition with a reduced protein content as required.
The protein intake with infant formulas and follow-on foods therefore corresponds better to the protein intake during breastfeeding. In the course of early childhood development the nutritional requirements change, the protein requirement per kg body weight decreases continuously. The protein intake through breast milk is dynamic, it adapts to this changing need. It contains a relatively large amount of protein in the first few weeks, later its protein content is reduced (Fig. 1).
For a long time, inadequate protein intake and malnutrition were in the foreground. Especially in early childhood, an insufficient supply of protein leads to long-term health restrictions. For extremely malnourished children, a protein-rich diet is still essential.
However, excessive protein intake in infancy leads, among other things, to increased fat cell formation, accelerated weight gain and early programming of a long-term risk of obesity. This has been confirmed, for example, by the large European CHOP study (EU Childhood Obesity Project). A reduced protein intake in infants – by promoting breastfeeding as well as by lowering the protein content in baby foods – could thus contribute to a healthy weight development in the long term.
It is important to have a higher protein quality at the same time in order to ensure that, despite this reduction, all the ingredients that are important for the growth process, e.g. to provide the essential amino acids in an optimal composition.
https://www.nestlenutrition-institute.org/country/de/im-fokus/protein
New technology for clarification of macronutrients in breast milk
Breast milk is currently enriched for the nutrition of premature babies on the basis of an assumed macronutrient composition. However, this can lead to either over or under enrichment. Objective enrichment is limited by the lack of fast, accurate methods for measuring macronutrients. Can HMA technology help here?
The aim of a current study was to evaluate the accuracy and precision of the HMA (Mid-Infrared Human Milk Analyzer). The Röse-Gottlieb method, high-performance anion chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAECPAD), Kjeldahl and amino acid analysis (AA) were selected as reference methods for total fat, lactose and protein content.
No significant difference in lactose content between HMA and HPAEC-PAD was observed. In contrast, significant differences were observed in the fat and protein content between HMA and the reference methods. However, the difference in fat content was <12% and was therefore within the variability specified by the supplier. The BCA protein test was selected for the protein determination. There were no significant differences in the total protein content measured with the BCA test, Kjeldahl and AA.
Conclusion: HMA was reliable for the quantification of the total fat and lactose content, but not for the total protein content. This was measured using the BCA test, which gave comparable results to the Kjeldahl and AA methods.
Giuffrida F et al., Journal of Perinatology 2018
