What kind of milk powder is hydrolyzed protein

The choice of milk powder is directly related to the baby's growth and health. When choosing milk powder, many parents will choose milk powder with hydrolyzed protein. The reason is that the digestive system of infants and young children is not yet perfect, and ordinary food cannot be well absorbed. The characteristic of protein is intolerance, and it is easily regarded as an invader by the baby's immune system, resulting in allergies. Hydrolyzed protein can effectively avoid this situation. So, what kind of milk powder is hydrolyzed protein?

What are the hydrolyzed protein milk powders?

Partially hydrolyzed protein formula milk powder (also known as hypoallergenic milk powder) uses a special protein hydrolysis process to convert highly allergenic ordinary milk protein into low-allergenic small molecule protein, reducing its allergenicity by 1,000 times. It is suitable for all newborns, especially babies with a history of allergies. Compared with formula milk made with regular milk, it has the same nutritional ingredients and fewer allergens.

Deeply hydrolyzed protein formula milk uses a special process to convert the large-molecule milk protein in milk that causes allergies into short peptides and amino acid structures. It is non-allergenic and suitable for the treatment of infant allergies.

Partially hydrolyzed protein formula powder is mainly used for dietary prevention of milk allergy, while extensively hydrolyzed protein formula powder can be used for dietary treatment of most mild to moderate milk protein allergies.

Some proteins will produce some bitter substances after hydrolysis, which will affect the natural taste of the formula, especially the extensively hydrolyzed casein formula. Partially hydrolyzed protein formula powder tastes more delicious than extensively hydrolyzed and amino acid formula powder and is easier for babies to accept, especially those over 6 months old.

What is hydrolyzed protein formula milk powder

Hydrolyzed protein formula milk is a milk product developed for babies who are allergic to cow's milk protein.

Hydrolyzed protein formula milk powder is made by breaking down large-molecule milk proteins with long peptide chains that are prone to causing allergies into smaller medium and short chains to reduce the allergenicity of the protein. "Depending on the degree of hydrolysis, hydrolyzed protein formula milk powder can be divided into three types: partially hydrolyzed, completely hydrolyzed and completely hydrolyzed into amino acid milk. The degree of hydrolysis ranges from low to high," said an expert.

According to experts, since the molecular weight of fully hydrolyzed protein is very small, the immune system will not produce an effective immune response to it; although the molecular weight of partially hydrolyzed protein is much smaller than that of ordinary milk, it still retains some immunologically active peptides, and can therefore gently train the immune system. If the protein is completely broken down into amino acid molecules, it becomes desensitizing nutritional milk powder based on amino acid molecules, which is mainly used to treat allergies in infants and young children and is not suitable for long-term consumption.

Clinically, infants and young children with severe allergies need to eat fully hydrolyzed protein formula for a period of time. As their digestion, immunity and skin protective layer continue to develop and improve with age, they can gradually switch to partially hydrolyzed protein formula. Children's immune function, digestive function, and skin's ability to resist external pathogens are constantly improving as they grow older. Generally, infants and young children’s tolerance to milk protein will be greatly enhanced by the age of 3, and they will no longer be allergic to milk protein. Therefore, even children who are used to drinking hydrolyzed formula milk will generally drink regular milk when they grow up.