영아식의 종류에 따른 영아의 철분과 아연의 섭취량 및 혈청 농도 고찰

Intakes and Blood Levels of Iron and Zinc of Infants Fed Breast Milk or Formula : a review

Although breast milk is the best food for infants, there will always remain a need for good substitutes when breast feeding is not possible. Most of these substitutes are based on cow milk, but soy milk has been used as an alternative. It is necessary to ascertain that rearing infants on these formulas yields results comparable to those obtained by breast feeding. Absorption of trace elements such as iron and zinc is well known to be higher from breast milk than from cow milk formula while absorption from soy formula is lower than from cow milk formula. The studies on the contents of iron and zinc in breast milk. cow milk formula and soy formula, and the intakes and blood levels of iron and zinc in infants fed breast milk and cow milk formula were reviewed. The contents of iron and zinc in artificial formulas were higher than those in breast milk, and the intakes of iron and zinc in infants fed cow milk formula were higher than those in infants fed breast milk. However, the blood levels of iron in infants fed cow milk formula were significantly lower than those in infants fed breast milk, and there was no significant difference in the blood levels of zinc between infants fed cow milk formula and those fed breast milk. No results have been reported on the iron and zinc nutriture in Korean infants fed soy formula. More research should be focused on the potential consequences of excessive intakes of iron and zinc in infants fed soy formula as well as cow milk formula.