Viral photo of mother’s milk proves breast IS always best 

Several studies have shown that breast milk is the best thing to be feeding your baby. 

It has a nearly perfect mix of nutrients, protein, and fat – and in a form more easily digested than formula. 

But did you know it could also kill off bacteria?

A recent Facebook photo, uploaded by a biosciences student, that went viral proves just how vital breast milk can be in fighting off infection in your baby.

A recent Facebook photo uploaded by a British biosciences student went viral for showing how breast milk kills bacteria. The Petri dish is entirely covered in bacteria except for the area in the middle smeared in breast milk, which has has killed the bacteria

It’s been proven indisputable that breast milk has properties unable to be replicated in formula.

Doctors have long known that infants who are breast-fed contract fewer infections than those who are given formula. But until fairly recently, they though it was because the milk being supplied directly from the breast was free of bacteria.

Formula, often mixed with water and then placed in bottle, can become contaminated easily – even sterilized formula. 

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As it turns out, breast milk contains antibodies, other proteins and immune cells that help prevent microorganisms from penetrating body tissue.

Additionally, studies have shown that breastfed babies are less likely to catch viruses.

And if they do catch a virus, antibodies are produced by the mother which are then passed on to the baby via breast milk.

While it’s not the norm in most cultures, both UNICEF’s and the World Health Organization’s most recent guidelines advise breast-feeding to ‘two years and beyond’ because a child’s immune system doesn’t reach full strength until about age five.

WHAT DOES BREAST MILK CONTAIN?

PROTEIN 

Breast milk contains whey and casein protein. This balance of the proteins allows for quick and easy digestion. 

They also have great infection-protection properties.

FATS

Human milk contains fats that are essential for brain development, absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and a primary calorie source.

Long chain fatty acids are needed for brain, retina and nervous system development.

VITAMINS 

The amount and types of vitamins in breast milk is directly related to the mother’s vitamin intake.

Fat-soluble vitamins vital to the baby’s health include vitamins A, D, E and K.

Also important are water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C, riboflavin, niacin, and panthothenic acid.

CARBOHYDRATES

Lactose is the primary carbohydrate found in human milk. It accounts for approximately 40 percent of the total calories provided by breast milk. 

Lactose helps to decrease the amount of unhealthy bacteria in the stomach, 

ANTIBODIES

Antibodies, which are also called immunoglobulins, contain molecules passed to the baby and they bind to microorganisms and keep them away from the body’s tissues.

According to The American Academy of Pediatrics, breastfeeding is recommended up until age two. 

Now a viral image is proving again just how powerful breast milk really is.

Vicky Greene, a first year biosciences student at South Devon College in Paignton, England, and a mother of three, posted the photo on Facebook.

It shows nine Petri dishes containing the bacteria M. luteus. Greene added breast milk samples to each of the Petri dishes — some with breast milk from the mom of a 15-month-old, and others with breast milk from the mom of a three-year-old.

Greene said she wanted to see if the antimicrobial properties changed the older a child was fed. 

The perimeter of each Petri dish is covered in bacteria but, in the center, where the breast milk was spread, the bacteria is completely gone, killed off by the breast milk.

As Greene explained in the post caption: ‘The white spots in the middle are discs soaked in two samples of breast milk. See the clear bit around the discs — that’s where the proteins in the milk have killed off the bacteria!’

Since the photo was posted on February 6, it has been ‘liked’ over 25,000 times, and shared over 24,000 times.

Greene has shared that in her next experiment, she is going to use colostrum, which is a yellow-colored, immune-fueled milk that a baby gets right at birth, before a mom’s milk fully comes in.

She also said she’s done this same experiment with E.coli and MRSA bacteria, showing similar results.

In 2010, a groundbreaking study found that breast milk contains a substance called HAMLET, which has been shown to kill 40 types of cancer cells.

Researchers are currently working on ways to isolate HAMLET from breast milk and use it to treat all different types of cancer. 

There has also been a growing market for healthy, pure breast milk for babies. Although the exact amount that breast milk sells for varies, the rate is usually $1 to $3 per ounce.