Human milk immunity
Evolutionary implications

In early life, an infant's immune system is considered immature due to its lack of resources necessary for defense against infection. An infant is not able to produce specific cytokines, IgA, and is limited to producing mostly IgM antibodies. The human infant is unable to adequately protect itself without the immune-stimulating and immune-modulating components present in human milk. This dynamic affirms the consensus among researchers that human milk evolved to provide not only nutritional but immunological benefits to the infant. Some researches have proposed that the mammary gland and milk production evolved as a part of the human innate immune system, with its immunological protective role predating its nutritional role.
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