Paul Saladino· MD
Levels of lipid oxidation products 4-HHE and 4-HNE were MUCH higher in infant formula than human breast milk.
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The headline is broadly defensible, but the qualifications matter. Effect sizes vary by population, the strongest claims rest on shorter trials, and credible voices push back on how it's typically framed.
Levels of lipid oxidation products 4-HHE and 4-HNE were MUCH higher in infant formula than human breast milk.
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This is because infant formula is full of seed oils and the fat globules are much smaller than human milk. Look at the size of the fat globules in human breast milk vs. infant formula. You can clearly see how much smaller the latter is, creating a massively increased surface area for oxidation of membrane lipids.
4-HNE/n-6 PUFA (linoleic acid) ratio in human breast milk was 0.004 ug/g. In infant formula it was .1-1.1 ug/g, 25x-275x times higher than breast milk.