Adapted goat’s milk formula as an alternative to standard cow’s milk formula in healthy infants and in the presence of symptoms of gastrointestinal discomfort

Abstract

If mothers eat a balanced diet, their breast milk provides their babies with the high-quality nutrients essential for their growth, development and preservation of health. However, the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation finds that the percentage of infants that are breastfed at 3 to 6 months of age is 43.9% and at 6 to 12 months is 39.2%. At the same time, the average duration of exclusive breastfeeding is only 1 month as compared to 6 months recommended by the World Health Organization, predominant breastfeeding duration is 4 months, and the total duration is 10.6 months. There are a number of reasons and circumstances why an infant is deprived of mother’s milk. But the introduction of supplementary feeding or transition of an infant fully to formula feeding should be rigorously justified. The review presents current data on the composition of goat’s milk formula line. It noted its unique physicochemical properties as compared to the standard cow’s milk formulas. The effectiveness and benefits of using a goat’s milk formula have been shown not only in healthy infants, but also in the presence of minimal functional gastrointestinal symptoms. It highlights the features of the unique fat component of the modern goat’s milk formula with DigestX® lipid complex based on a vegetable oil complex using triglycerides of specific structure, which brings the product composition closer to the fatty-acid profile of the breast milk. The article also speaks about the structural individualization of goat milk: the predominance of low-molecular-weight proteins, low or zero levels of αS1-casein, the absence of β-A1-casein, the presence of oligosaccharides and relatively high natural levels of some vitamins and minerals.