By definition, evolutionary scientists believe
that life came through random chance processes, including
natural selection. However, in nature there is a chorus of
voices with the message that evolutionary theory does not
blend with either simple or complex observations. In order
to maintain good health, the following must be present simultaneously
and in proper balance: organic vitamins, minerals, essential
fatty acids, eight essential amino acids, and unrefined carbohydrates.
These are all present in human breast milk, as are hundreds
of other less-well understood food factors. In this article,
we will see that the more the human breast and its milk are
studied, the more obvious it is that neither random chance
nor survival of the fittest could explain their design and
complexity.

Paul Palma, M.D., and Eugene Adcock, M.D., of
the University of Texas Medical Center, along with Dr. Buford
Nichol of the Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston,
Texas, are among the many researchers who have discovered
some amazing facts about human milk. In their studies, macro-nutrients,
micro-nutrients, immunological factors and psychosocial factors
were analyzed. Their results are discussed below.

The calorically important components of milk
are the macro-nutrients.

The caloric content and the nutrient balance
of the mother's milk change dramatically according to the
infant's needs. Our most brilliant neonatologists with the
best computers could not design a better balanced product
for an infant regardless of his needs at whatever age or stage
of development.

The concentration of these nutrients is dramatically
affected by two factors: the duration of gestation before
birth (is the baby premature or mature at birth); and the
stage of lactation.

Lipids: The premature infant has increased
caloric needs. Fifty percent of milk's caloric content comes
from lipids. The milk provided for a premature infant has
more lipids than the breast milk for a mature or term infant.
At this time the mother's milk also has higher levels of lipases,
enzymes which make the lipid content bioavailable to the infant.
But it must be fresh, for lipases deteriorate in pooled mother's
milk or cow's milk, particularly if it has been pasteurized.

Proteins: It is now known that during
the first month of lactation, the nitrogen and protein content
decline. However, the premature mother's milk is as much as
20% higher in proteins. In evolutionary terms, this weak premature
infant should be culled out by a survival of the fittest process,
but three advantages for the premature have been found in
this well-designed milk.

Lactose: Lactose and the enzyme lactase,
which greatly accelerates lactose digestion, are balanced
in the milk at concentrations ideally suited for the maturity
of the baby.

In summary, the design of the milk is perfect
in caloric content, amino acid concentrations, and in the
enzyme concentrations of both lipase and lactase, ideally
meeting the infant's needs. Its make-up far surpasses that
of any formula, or even milk from animal sources.

Lactation can be divided into three stages:
the early milk or colostrum; transitional milk, from one to
four weeks; and mature milk, changing as the baby ages.

Also, during a single meal the concentration
of the milk even changes between early feeding and the late
feeding time. Theories as to why suggest that these changes
stabilize the volume of fluid in the baby's circulatory system.

Where would the human be if the first mother's
breast had not yet developed the ability to produce just one
of several specific enzymes to speed the digestion of the
lactose, lipids, or proteins found in her milk? What if one
of the essential amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals,
etc., were not in a bioavailable form or in optimal concentrations
in the first mother's milk? The human kind would not have
existed through one generation. Certainly a Designer is a
necessity. Random chance equals no chance in the case of life
and death. Time for development equals death before the complex
enzymes could develop.

Survival of the fittest? Why would a random
process protect the weak, premature infant with such a complexly
designed, ever-changing milk? The Designer says that His strength
was made perfect through weakness.

If the study of the macro-nutrients in milk
is not convincing, take a brief look at the micro-nutrients.
Micro-nutrients include vitamins and minerals. They are found
in very small concentrations. Hundreds of other nutrients
are also in breast milk; we do not know how most of them function.
One of the functions that is known is to enhance the bioavailability
(or ease of utilization) of other micro-nutrients. Researchers
many years ago wrongly concluded that human breast milk did
not have vitamin D, and supplemental formulas were recommended.
Years later it was learned that a liquid soluble type of vitamin
D, formerly undetected and unique to breast milk, was present
which totally met the needs of the infant when combined with
the unknown food factors in milk. The whole complex design
is greater than the sum of its individual components and greater
than our ability to understand.

Iron and zinc are similar examples in human
breast milk. The breast-fed baby has no need for supplements.
However, cow's milk, formulas, and pooled pasteurized human
milk all need supplements to prevent deficiencies.

The early milk, or colostrum, sets in motion
the infant's immunoreactive system. There are two classes
of immunoactive components in the early milk; cells and soluble
protein factors. Human milk is a truly living fluid in which
antibodies and cells move about. The cells in the mother's
milk not only attack bacteria that may be harmful to the baby,
but apparently they have the ability to produce antibodies
that destroy bacteria and viruses as well. Evidently the infant
who is exposed to infections and nurses from its mother, also
produces changes in the mother's breast. Within hours the
next milk contains antibodies and immunoglobulins to protect
the baby before the infant exhibits visible symptoms.

There are many other advantages for breast feeding
which have not been mentioned in this article. We should at
least mention the more tender benefits to both mother and
child of breast feeding. The close contact entails tactile,
auditory, olfactory, and visual interchange which reinforce
bonding. This deepening relationship may even be more important
than the advantages discussed above.

These virtues have been observed in many studies.
The longer the duration of breast feeding, the more measurable
the quality of mother-child bonding. Benefits have been noted
for nursing up to two years after birth. There is also a significantly
lower risk of child abuse and failure to thrive. These characteristics
of mother's milk and breast feeding would indicate an extensive
design which makes the practice "very good" for
healthy, weak, and sickly infants.

Psalm 8:2: "Out of the mouth of babes
and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine
enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger."

This verse has two words speaking of a suckling
nursing babe. It also indicates that an infant has special
strength against his enemy. Is there any evidence that infants
have prolonged benefits from the mother's milk or that the
parent might also be stronger? Infants who have been breast-fed
have been studied up to five years of age. They have a much
lower incidence of diarrhea, urinary tract infections, pneumonia,
vomiting, asthma, earaches, childhood allergies, and crib
death. Also, viral and bacterial infections, cancers, and
learning disabilities are less of a problem, as are psychological
problems. Parents of these children will be spared much anguish
and will also avoid costly medical care.

Furthermore, in the New England Journal of
Medicine (vol. 330, 1994, p. 81), the incidence of breast
cancer was shown to be decreased by 25% in women proportional
to the amount of time that they have breast-fed infants during
their lives.

"There is a way which seemeth right unto
a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs
14:12). How many have suffered because man thought he had
a better idea and recommended baby formulas with supplements
instead of the real thing? The value of a formula today is
measured by how close it can come to the mother's milk, but
still they fall short.

Is there any way random chance (even controlled
by "Mother Nature," "Mother Earth," or
millions of mutations) could produce such an awesome product?
If the mother's milk was not well-designed from the beginning,
humankind would be extinct. Human milk cries the message of
design! Time (years, or millions of years) would be the enemy
of humans if this milk were not fully designed from the beginning.
Thank the Creator!

*Dr. Russell is interested in the health benefits
gained by obedience to the Creator's ordinances and commands.
Heis a vascular invasive radiologist at Holt Krock, Ft. Smith,
Arkansas. He trained at Holt Krock and at the Mayo Clinic.