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What Is MFGM? And Why Is It Important in the Toddler Years?

Chances are, you’ve probably heard of the brain-building benefits of DHA during pregnancy 1. But DHA isn’t the only nutrient that you should be looking for in your child’s milk. Another breakthrough in children’s nutrition is the inclusion of MFGM — milk fat globule membrane — a fat component found in milk that yields important developmental benefits for your growing up child2.

What exactly is MFGM? What are its benefits? And how does MFGM work? We’ll answer these questions and more.

 

What Is MFGM?

MFGM, or milk fat globule membrane, is a complex combination of lipids and proteins 3. Simply put, it is milk fat’s natural and nutrient-rich coating that’s often lost in the creation of milk powder.

MFGM is a source of multiple bioactive compounds which have important roles in your child’s health. Foremost among these roles are benefits for brain development and immunity2. And these have a significant effect not just on a child’s intelligence but also their emotional intelligence.

 

Where Is MFGM Found?

Like DHA, MFGM components* is used abundantly in the brain 4. This is no coincidence! That’s because, also like DHA, MFGM plays a vital role in brain development.

Milk is an important source for MFGM. Now that MFGM fraction can be extracted 11, MFGM Complex can be included in growing-up milk formula. That means growing up children can have the brain and immunity development benefits of MFGM with formula milk.

 

What Does MFGM Do?

Now that we’ve answered what MFGM is and where it can be found, let’s take a closer look at what MFGM does for your child.

 

MFGM and Brain Development in Growing up Children

MFGM components* produce brain chemicals called neurotransmitters which carry information from one brain cell to another 5,6. By helping brain cells to connect, they regulate mental abilities, emotions and mood 7.

Studies have shown that the food your child eats affects the chemical composition of the brain and affects mood — including alertness and the production of release of these neurotransmitters 7.

They also form a sheath that coats, insulates and protects nerve cells within the brain, helping them to become more stable to transmit information faster 8, 9.

 

MFGM and Immunity

Benefits for brain development are just the beginning. MFGM has also been found to positively affect children’s immunity, giving them increased defense against infections 2. And there has also been a study that shows how MFGM reduces the number of fever days for preschool kids 10.

Together, improved brain development, a stronger immunity and fewer sick days in school, can only mean that children’s learning and development can proceed without hindrance.

 

Balanced Development to Support a Bright Future

With technological advances and accelerated changes in a borderless world, our children will be growing up in a vastly different world compared to ours. Having high IQ alone is not enough to succeed. The other half lies in EQ – the ability to communicate, understand emotions and cooperate.

Right now your child is a toddler or a preschooler, and already their world is growing tremendously. Soon, you will be sending your child out into the world, and that makes boosting their immunity so important.

 

IQ + EQ + Strong Immunity: A Winning Formula

Parents, the love and care you give your child isn’t the only thing that determines your child’s development. Your child’s nutrition and your child’s environment are also important developmental cornerstones. And together, these three — parental nurture, nutrition and environment — will help your child grow into an adult with the IQ and EQ to succeed in life.

While it’s clear how parental nurture and a stimulating environment influences mental and emotional development, nutrition also plays a starring role.

Scientific studies show that MFGM works with DHA to help support mental 15 and emotional 10 development. As your child grows mentally and emotionally, it’s important that you provide the right nutrients in their diet to maximize this growth.

Together with the nurture you provide as a parent, nutrition and stimulating environment work hand in hand to give your growing child the best start in life. So keep loving your child, teaching them patiently; expose them to new situations and environments with confidence that their immunity is strong; and give them the best nutrition rich in brain building nutrients like DHA and MFGM.

* MFGM components refer to phospholipids and sphingomyelin

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References:

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    https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Omega3FattyAcids-HealthProfessional/3 Sept. 2020.
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    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030205729064, 19 Oct. 2020.
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  8. Kang, H. & Klauda JB. Biophysical Journal. 2015; 108(2), Supplement 1, p410a
  9. Melendez S. How to strengthen your brain. Melendez Publishing International. 2010; p98.
  10. Veerman-Wauters et. al. Milk fat globule membrane enriched formula milk decreases febrile episodes and may improve behavioral regulation in young children, Retrieved from:
    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0899900711003741, 3 Sept 2020.
  11. Jukkola A et al. J Dairy Sci. 2016;99(1):8644-8654
  12. Singh, Hardjinder. The milk fat globule membrane—A biophysical system for food applicaCons. Colloid & interface Science 2006;11:154J163.
  13. Walstra, Pieter, Wouters, Jan T. M. and Geurts, Tom J., Dairy Science and Technology Second EdiCon. Taylor & Francis Group 2006.
  14. Le, Thien Trung, Phan, Thi Thanh Que, Van Camp, John and Dewemnck, Koen. Milk and Dairy Polar Lipids: Occurrence, PurificaCon, and NutriConal and Technological ProperCes. 2016.
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