Question:

I’m on my way to becoming an RD, and taking an advanced human nutrition class…I asked my professor if humans are able to produce the amount of cholesterol they need at all stages of life. He told me for adults yes, but it’s unclear whether babies can synthesize all they need because it raises the question of why there is cholesterol in breast milk. He noted that many animals won’t be able to keep up with the rapid brain and cell development without the immediate source of cholesterol from the mother. Since dietary sources of cholesterol typically come from animal sources, do you think it’s safe for babies who aren’t being breast fed to be fed a vegan formula?

Answer:

Here is what the Institute of Medicine says in their 2005 report Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids (Macronutrients):

“Formula-fed infants also have a higher rate of cholesterol synthesis. However, the available evidence suggests this effect is transient. Differences in cholesterol synthesis and plasma cholesterol concentration are not sustained once complementary feeding is introduced. Also no clinically significant effects on growth and development due to these differences in plasma cholesterol concentration have been noted between breast-fed and formula fed infants under one year of age. One explanation may be that the developing brain synthesizes the cholesterol required for myelination in situ and does not take up cholesterol from plasma.”

There is more information at the link above.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010 at 1:57 pm and is filed under Infants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.