Gut-breast axis and child health

  • News
  • 12 Feb. 2021
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Scientists have just published fascinating insights about the lifelong health benefits sparked by interactions among the maternal gut, the breast and the infant gut in an open access article in MDPI Nutrients.

In ‘The Gut‒Breast Axis: Programming Health for Life’, researchers from The University of Western Australia and Complutense University of Madrid illustrate how a mother’s gut programs her mammary glands to produce breastmilk tailor-made for her infant’s environment and needs, and provides her infant with nutrients, immune cells and more.

This important, yet often overlooked axis of interactions "has had, and will have, a paramount role in our existence as a species", write the authors.

Their publication was supported in part by FLRF. Subscribe to our newsletter for updates and other stories about the journey from science to impact from FLRF and our partners.