This Baby Formula Has a Patented Protein Blend Closest to Breast Milk
Written by:
Maia James

This post is sponsored by ByHeart. All opinions are wholly our own.
Since the first commercial baby formula came to market in the 1860s, scientists have been trying to craft a blend that mimics the nutritional profile of breast milk. This is no simple task, as breast milk is a dynamic, complex substance that adjusts to the nursling’s needs over time and confers unique immune-boosting benefits.
Here at Gimme, we review the baby formula market often to keep our Safe Formula Guide up-to-date. In the latest version of our guide, we set out to finally answer this question: “Which formula is closest to breast milk?”
The great news is that ongoing research and technological advancements continue to bring commercial infant formulas closer to the gold standard set by human breast milk. And after our last round of research, we’ve got an answer on which baby formula gets closest!

How ByHeart Changed the Infant Formula Game
ByHeart’s baby formula is not just another option on the shelf; it’s crafted with a patented protein blend that gets closest to breast milk.
ByHeart formula is the culmination of years of research by a group of doctors and scientists, and they even own the facility where they manufacture their formula. The result is a blend that’s made exclusively from ingredients that are thoughtfully selected and sourced.
How ByHeart Formula Is Inspired by Breast Milk
ByHeart has made unique choices when it comes to the three main building blocks of all baby formula: fat, protein, and carbs.
Here’s how ByHeart formula is inspired by breast milk more than other brands we’ve reviewed:
- Fats: ByHeart is the first American formula (with globally sourced ingredients) to use whole milk instead of skim milk. We love this because, like human milk, cow milk is a great source of important fats that babies need for brain development. Whole milk also means that ByHeart can add smaller amounts of plant oils to their formula.
- Carbohydrates: Like breast milk, ByHeart formula’s primary carbohydrate is lactose, which adds sweetness and serves as a prebiotic in the gut. Many other formulas use ingredients like corn syrup that are less close to the carbohydrates that naturally occur in breast milk.
- Protein: The most unique part of ByHeart’s formula is their patented protein blend, which cannot be found in other formulas. ByHeart’s blend combines breast milk’s most abundant proteins (alpha-lactalbumin, lactoferrin) and whey protein hydrolysate. The result is a whey-to-casein ratio that mimics colostrum (80:20).
The Science Behind ByHeart Formula
The results of ByHeart’s clinical trial can be found in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, but here’s the bottom line for my fellow laypeople:
The study shows that ByHeart formula, in large part because of breast-milk-like patented protein blend, results in the following benefits to babies (when compared to a leading infant formulas):
- efficient growth
- easy digestion
- less spit-up
- softer poops

You can see these remarkable results here.
Other Good Stuff About ByHeart
In addition to their patented protein blend that is closest to breast milk, ByHeart also checks all the boxes of what we look for when evaluating a baby formula. This includes:
- Clean ingredients. ByHeart’s formula base is organic, grass-fed, whole milk.
- High quality oils. ByHeart uses coconut oil, and is free of soy oil and palm oil, which you’ll find in most other formulas. ByHeart sources only oils that are organic and not hexane extracted.
- Even higher standards. ByHeart is the first formula to be certified by the Clean Label Project, which screens for more than 400 contaminants, including pesticides and heavy metals. ByHeart’s own internal quality control program also screens 700 contaminants.
The Bottom Line on ByHeart
Every brand of commercially available baby formula uses breast milk as its model. For centuries, formula manufacturers have sought to ensure a balance of macronutrients while maintaining the digestibility of their infant formula, employing increasingly advanced processing technologies to preserve nutrient integrity while avoiding contaminants. As a result, formula options today are better than they ever have been. ByHeart’s patented protein blend takes us one step closer to breast milk with its unique, high-quality, carefully researched formulation. ByHeart is, quite simply, a great formula option for most babies who are formula- or combo-fed.
Please comment if you’ve tried Byheart and let me know what you think!
Stay sane,


Maia, Founder & CEO
Note: This article contains affiliate links or sponsored content, which means that if you make a purchase, we may earn a commission. We only recommend products that meet our strict standards for non-toxicity and that we use (or want to use!) ourselves. Thank you so much for supporting the brands that make Good Stuff!
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