Why are formula-fed babies more likely to be constipated?

No matter how advanced the production technology of milk powder, how comprehensive the formula is, and how nutritious it is, merchants promote it, breast milk is still the most suitable food for babies. Mothers always talk about their babies\’ defecation problems when chatting. Indeed, defecation can reflect the baby\’s digestion and absorption ability, and also illustrates the baby\’s resistance to a certain extent. Generally, breastfed babies have loose, shapeless, and fresh golden stools, and they have about 2-4 stools a day. Formula-fed babies have light yellow, slightly dry stools, once a day or every two days. Babies fed with milk powder are more likely to suffer from constipation, which is mainly caused by improper feeding and certain ingredients in the milk powder itself. 1. Improper feeding. Use mineral water to prepare milk powder for babies. Some families now use mineral water to prepare milk powder for babies. This approach is not advisable. The minerals in mineral water will burden the baby’s kidneys and easily cause constipation. The correct method is to boil tap water at home and then cool it to 40-50°C before brewing. 2. Improper feeding. When preparing milk powder, put milk powder first and then add water. Some babies are fed by grandparents. Some elderly people are used to putting milk powder first and then adding water when preparing milk powder. In this way, the prepared milk powder is too thick and brings gastrointestinal problems to the baby. Burden, feeding like this for a long time will cause constipation, food accumulation and other adverse effects. The correct method is to first put the standard amount of water, and then add the milk powder in proportion. 3. Improper feeding and not giving the baby water. Breast milk is at least 90% water, so breast-fed babies within 6 months do not need to drink extra water, but formula-fed babies should drink some water between two meals of milk powder. 6 You can also drink some juice if you are over 1 month old. For babies who don’t like to drink water, the milk powder can be diluted slightly, but the daily milk powder needs must be ensured. 4. Milk powder ingredients The lactose content in breast milk is much higher than that in milk powder. In order to improve the taste of milk powder, some businesses will add sucrose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), corn syrup, glucose syrup, maltodextrin and other sugars to the milk powder. These excessive added sugars only add calories with no nutritional value and do not provide any nutritional value to the milk powder. The only carbohydrate in breast milk is lactose, which is higher in content than cow\’s milk. Part of lactose is used for energy supply, and the other part can be used by beneficial bacteria such as lactobacilli in the small intestine to produce lactic acid, thereby inhibiting the growth of intestinal putrefactive bacteria. Lactose in the intestines also facilitates the absorption of nutrients such as calcium and iron. Therefore, breastfed babies are less prone to constipation. 5. Milk powder ingredients: The fatty acids in breast milk are better than those in milk powder. The fat particles in breast milk are smaller and mostly unsaturated fatty acids, especially linoleic acid. There are also a lot of lecithin, sphingomyelin, taurine, etc. Conducive to the development of the baby\’s brain. In addition, the milk lipase in breast milk can help promote digestion. The fatty acids in ordinary formula milk powder come directly from milk. The fat structure is different from the fat structure of breast milk. It easily combines with calcium to form saponified calcium. As a result, fat and calcium cannot be digested and absorbed by the human body. Instead, they block the intestines and affect normal excretion, causing constipation for a long time. Easy to get angry. Research shows that the absorption rate of calcium in breast milk can reach 60%, while the absorption rate of calcium in ordinary milk powder is only about 40%, so we have to add high levels of calcium to milk powder. Excessive calcium combines with casein and fatty acids in milk powder to form calcium soap, which can lead to dry stools and even constipation. 6. Milk powder ingredients: The whey protein in breast milk is higher than that in milk powder. Breast milk contains biochemical enzymes, which helps the baby digest. Whey is the main protein of breast milk. It is soft and easy to digest. Most of its nutrients are completely absorbed, so the stool of breastfed babies is very smooth. . The main protein of milk powder is casein, which easily combines with calcium to form rubbery curds, which is very difficult to digest and rarely fully absorbed. Therefore, babies with milk powder have hard and smelly stools, and often suffer from constipation. A breast milk ingredient list released by the International La Leche League official website shows that breast milk contains water, carbohydrates (lactose, oligosaccharides), carboxylic acids (such as hyaluronic acid, lactic acid, etc.), proteins (such as whey protein, casein) etc.), non-protein nitrogenous substances (such as nucleotides, amino acids, etc.), fats (such as phospholipids, etc.), vitamins, minerals (such as calcium, iron, zinc, etc.), growth factors (such as cytokines, peptides, hormones, etc.) etc.), enzymes, anti-proteases, antibacterial factors (such as bifid factor, etc.), metals (such as molybdenum, an essential component of many enzymes), etc. There are more than 2,000 known ingredients in breast milk, but with current technical means, humans can only detect more than 200 of them, while only dozens of ingredients are added to infant formula. Compared with breast milk, formula milk The gap is still far away. Breast milk is the most natural, safest and most complete natural food for infant growth. It contains all the nutrients and antibodies needed for infant growth. Breast milk is exclusively breastfed before 6 months of age. If conditions permit, breast milk can be breastfed until 2 years old.