Lactic acid producing bacteria, technically known as Lactobacillus gasseri, are necessary for proper digestion. These bacteria are found in the intestines of every healthy person. The question of where infants get their lactobacilli has long been pondered.
Lactobacilli are found in many places including on the skin and in breast milk. Breast-fed babies could get their Lactobacilli from their mother's breast milk, by rubbing or suckling the breast's areola tissue, or from other areas of their mother's skin. By comparing the DNA of the lactobacilli recovered from breastfeeding babies' mouths and stool with the DNA of Lactobacilli found in mothers' breast milk, on their areolas, and skin, Spanish researchers found a match only with the Lactobacilli from the mothers' milk.
We now have another reason to breast-feed ‚ more rapid establishment of Lactobacilli in infants' intestines. Since Lactobacilli are required for proper digestion of milk and milk-based foods, the quicker the Lactobacilli move in, the better.
Journal of Pediatrics, 12/03.
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