Advanced Lipids: Babies Fed with INFAT OPO Sleep More at Night

10 Mar 2016 --- A newly discovered 7th health benefit from Advanced Lipids – a joint venture from AAK and Enzymotec – claims to help babies sleep more at night if they are fed formula with INFAT OPO.

The company suggests that infant formula companies who include Advanced Lipid’s INFAT OPO in their products “can now use a compelling and scientifically-proven ‘Super Comfort’ marketing proposition in association with their brands.”

A series of clinical trials have demonstrated that INFAT OPO offers four separate benefits associated with baby’s comfort. This includes new preliminary evidence that infants fed with formula containing INFAT OPO sleep for longer over the course of 24 hours and also during the night.

"All the clinical studies conducted by us are double blinded, randomized controlled studies and are published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The population recruited to the studies are healthy term babies age up to two weeks that are either breast fed (our golden standard reference group) or randomized to either the control or study group. We have conducted several studies so far with a total number of 290 infants showing significant effects of INFAT on the tested clinical benefits," Sigalit Zchut Ph.D., Product Manager for Infant Nutrition at Enzymotec, explained to NutritionInsight.

In total, INFAT OPO has now been demonstrated to offer seven benefits, all of which are scientifically supported.
Four of these beneficial health effects are in the area of comfort, as follows:

- Night sleep (the new 7th benefit) – A double-blind randomized controlled study involving 159 healthy term infants showed that infants fed formula containing INFAT tend to enjoy more sleep at 6 weeks and 12 weeks than babies fed with control formula;
- Less crying – INFAT is clinically proven to reduce crying time by up to 75% in healthy term babies – mainly in the late afternoon and evening – during the first weeks of their lives;
- Gut comfort – babies fed with formula containing INFAT enjoy similar levels of beneficial gut bacteria to those found in breast-fed babies, promoting a healthy digestion and immune system, and
- Softer stools – INFAT promotes softer stools, and in doing so reduces incidences of hard stools by as much as 50% compared with control formula.

In addition to significantly greater levels of comfort, INFAT optimizes the uptake of calcium, fat and energy. It has also been shown that bone strength in babies fed with INFAT is similar to that found in breast-fed babies.

Finally, bringing the list of benefits to seven, INFAT has been shown to have a protective effect against gut inflammation, thereby enhancing gut health.

INFAT OPO as an infant formula ingredient is unique in that it is a single ingredient that has been demonstrated to offer four comfort related benefits – something no other ingredient on the market can match. This means that formula manufacturers can now market their products with a ‘Super Comfort’ positioning that will appeal to parents all over the world.

Avner Avissara, CEO of Advanced Lipids, commented: “Baby’s comfort is a high priority for parents of young babies, since it impacts on the whole family. An uncomfortable infant cries more and sleeps less – leading to stress and tiredness for parents. This means formula that promises increased comfort is an appealing proposition that resonates with mothers when they shop the baby aisle in-store. With INFAT OPO, formula manufacturers can now use the Super-Comfort positioning to stand out on-shelf and gain a significant edge on their competitors.”

"We have had a lot of interest and very positive responses from the milk formula industry. INFAT has been on the market for several years and has become a must have in premium and super-premium segments. Also, many companies choose to display the benefits of INFAT in their websites. I am sure that very soon we will see the new super-comfort also displayed and used by our customers to convey to their customers that when choosing the right formula to your baby, INFAT containing infant formula is offers a formula with fat which is closer to human milk fat, and is the best choice for a happy comfortable baby," Zchut added. 

With INFAT OPO it is now possible to create a formula with a fat composition that is closer than ever to breast milk in terms of structure and benefits. Breast milk is always best for baby, but when it isn’t possible to breast-feed Advanced Lipids claim that formula made with INFAT OPO offers the next best solution.

INFAT OPO is a SN2 palmitate fat ingredient that when added as the fat component to infant formula mimics the composition and properties of human milk fat.

Produced in Europe using a patented enzymatic process, INFAT delivers structured triglycerides with a high level of palmitic acid in the mid position of the triglyceride for optimal infant development and wellbeing. It is manufactured in state-of-the-art production facilities operated by AAK, which meets all of the most stringent European quality standards.

by Kerina Tull