Formula milk for infants based on mare, goat and sheep milk: are they suitable for babies?

The ideal feeding of the infant is the breast milk: during the first six months of life in exclusive and, later complemented with other foods until the two years or more, whenever the mother and the baby wish it.

However, there are mothers who cannot or do not want to breastfeed their babies. In this case, what formula to choose? They're all the same? Are they suitable for babies? Does goat's or mare's milk benefit from cow's milk?

What are infant formulas?

Infant formulas are defined as a adequate food to partially or totally replace human milk, covering the nutritional requirements of the infant during the first months of life.

In our country, those that are administered up to six months and then thereafter are called initial. However, in other countries a single formula is used throughout the first year of life.

How are infant formulas made?

Traditionally infant formulas have been developed based on cow's milk proteins. Cow's milk is subjected to numerous procedures (some components are extracted, others are reconstituted and vitamins, minerals and other nutrients are added), in order to make it as similar as possible to breast milk.

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Regulation of infant formulas

As you can imagine, all this is tightly regulated. It was in 1977 when the first recommendations of experts on the development of these formulas for infants began.

Since then they have been modified until the last European regulation in September 2015. It establishes how many calories the formulas, ranges of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins as well as vitamins, minerals and other nutrients should have.

What are the differences between cow's milk, breast milk and formulas?

As we have commented on other occasions, cow's milk should not be offered before 12 months of life, since it is a poor source of iron and essential fatty acids and provides an excessive load of solutes that can damage the kidney.

Below I show you a table where you can see the main differences between these milks. You may be struck by, among other things, the small amount of iron in breast milk. However, this iron has a high bioavailability (that is, it is very well absorbed, 70% versus 30% iron in cow's milk).

Is goat milk an alternative for infants?

Recently, different infant formulas based on goat's milk have appeared in Europe. Several goat milk cooperatives from New Zealand joined in the 80s and began manufacturing and marketing infant formulas made from goat milk. In 2012, after reviewing a series of studies, the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) determined that goat milk was a good protein source for infant formulas and in 2013 the marketing of these preparations in Europe was authorized.

The European Union, in its latest regulations on infant formulas published in 2015, specified that such preparations can also be made from goat's milk.

Do goat formulas bring any benefit compared to infant formulas based on cow's milk?

There are studies that point to a better digestion of fats in infants who take formula based on goat's milk, assimilating their depositions to those of breastfed children, and making more of these and without pain. In addition there seems to be no significant differences in the growth of infants.

The authors of a recent article conclude that these formulas could be an option in infants with the so-called "intestinal discomfort" (constipation, regurgitation, colic, meteorism) or an alternative for healthy infant nutrition, but future studies are still necessary.

Could children allergic to cow's milk protein benefit from these other formulas?

No, and it is very important to underline it: Children with allergy to cow's milk proteins may have cross-reactivity with other mammalian proteins: goat, sheep or mare. Although the latter seems to have lower reactivity, hydrolyzed cow's milk or vegetable protein based formulas (soybeans, rice) are preferred at the moment.

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What about mare's milk?

The consumption of mare's milk is not new. There are data that indicate that it was already consumed in 3500 BC and has been traditionally used to treat certain ailments and as a cosmetic product (Cleopatra, Nefertiti or Sissi bathed in mare's milk). It has been traditionally consumed in the Russian steppes of Mongolia and the nomadic peoples of the Sahara, and more recently it has begun to be consumed in countries around us.

There is even in the market a formulation of powdered mare's milk. When we analyze its composition we see that does not meet the calorie and nutrient requirements established by the authorities for infant formulas. In the same way, the milk milk protein as a basis for infant formulas is not contemplated in said regulation.

This mare's milk contains fewer calories of those recommended for infants (205 KJ / 100ml versus the recommended minimum of 250KJ / 100ml). In addition, it is a milk with a low in essential fatty acids as well as iron and vitamin D. Thus, It does not seem today a valid alternative for infants under 1 year. In addition, the inconvenience of its high price must be added.

And from the year of life, can they drink milk other than cow's?

Despite the myths that surround it, from the year cow's milk constitutes an important source of calcium and phosphorus, fundamental elements for the growth of children. However, it is not essential and we could obtain these nutrients from other foods, including other milks.

Below I show you a comparative table of different types of mammalian milks. As you can see they are quite similar to each other. The sheep has more fat and more protein, something that our children do not need. The mare, on the other hand, is less caloric and less protein.

Many parents also ask for vegetable milks. In fact, these are vegetable drinks, which have little to do with the nutrition of milk, but that could be part of the children's diet, taking into account certain considerations.

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