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Nutrition, The Infant and the Immune System

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Dietary Components and Immune Function

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

Key Points

The human newborn possesses a functional but immature immune system in order to provide defense against a world teeming with microorganisms. Breast milk contains a number of biological active compounds which support the infant’s immune system. These include secretory IgAs, which confer specific protection against enteric pathogens, as well as many other immunological active ingredients. A number of these ingredients can and are being used as supplements for infant nutrition formulas. The strength of the evidence for immunostimulating effects of selected minerals, vitamins, fatty acids, pre- and probiotics and nucleotides is reviewed.

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Acknowledgements

Parts of this chapter have been published in another form (102).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, St. Antonius Hospital, 2500, Nieuwegein, EM, 3430, The Netherlands

    Ger T. Rijkers PHD

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Laetitia Niers

  3. Stasse Consultancy, Udenhout, The Netherlan

    Marianne Stasse-Wolthuis

  4. Laboratory of Food Microbiology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Frans M. Rombouts

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  1. Ger T. Rijkers PHD
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Correspondence to Ger T. Rijkers PHD .

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  1. Health Sciences Center, Department of Health Promotion Sciences, University of Arizona, 1295 N. Martin Ave. 1295, Tucson, 85724-5155, USA

    Ronald Ross Watson

  2. Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of, Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, 85724-5163, USA

    Sherma Zibadi

  3. Dept. Nutrition & Dietetics, King's College, Stamford St. 150, London, SE1 9NH, United Kingdom

    Victor R. Preedy

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Rijkers, G.T., Niers, L., Stasse-Wolthuis, M., Rombouts, F.M. (2010). Nutrition, The Infant and the Immune System. In: Watson, R., Zibadi, S., Preedy, V. (eds) Dietary Components and Immune Function. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-061-8_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-061-8_1

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-60761-060-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-60761-061-8

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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