Digestive benefits of goat milk infant formula

Both goat and cow’s milk are considered dairy because they come from a mammal source. Emerging research has shown that goat milk is easier to digest than cow’s milk and has anti-inflammatory properties. For these reasons, there has been an increased demand in adding goat milk infant formulas to the current infant formula market.

  Digestive benefits of goat milk infant formula All mammal milk creates curds when reacting with the baby’s stomach acid. Some milk forms hard curds, while others create soft curds. The protein in goat milk form smaller and softer curds and are therefore easier on the babies tummy to digest—similar to when a baby digests breast milk. Because of the protein found in goat milk, babies with sensitive tummies may be able to tolerate better than cow’s milk formula and absorb the nutrients more efficiently. Goat milk predominately contains A2 beta-casein protein, which has been clinically shown to have fewer digestive issues compared to A1 proteins that are found conventionally in cow’s milk.^1,2 Additionally, goat milk differs in contents of its fatty acids significantly from average cow milk fat. Goat milk contains more short and medium chain fatty acids, which make it easier from a digestion standpoint.³ References

1. Kay SS, Delgado S, Mittal J, Eshraghi RS, Mittal R, Eshraghi AA. Beneficial effects of Milk Having A2 -Casein Protein: Myth or Reality? J Nutr. 2021 May 11;151(5):1061-1072. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxaa454. PMID: 33693747.
2. Jianqin S, Leiming X, Lu X, Yelland GW, Ni J, Clarke AJ. E ects of milk containing only A2 beta casein versus milk containing both A1 and A2 beta casein proteins on gastrointestinal physiology, symptoms of discomfort, and cognitive behavior of people with self-reported intolerance to traditional cows' milk. Nutr J. 2016 Apr 2;15:35. doi: 10.1186/s12937-016-0147-z. Erratum in: Nutr J. 2016;15(1):45. PMID: 27039383; PMCID: PMC4818854.
3. Gallier S, Tolenaars L, Prosser C. Whole Goat Milk as a Source of Fat and Milk Fat Globule Membrane in Infant Formula. Nutrients. 2020 Nov 13;12(11):3486. doi: 10.3390/nu12113486. PMID: 33202897; PMCID: PMC7696746.a