About the episode
In the past four years, the number of people going vegan has doubled – in Europe alone. Because a mother’s diet has a major influence on the milk she produces after childbirth, there were concerns about the effect of such a vegan diet on the quality of breast milk.
Do babies still get enough good substances? It is known from some that you get less of it if you eat vegan. This would apply, for example, to carnitine, which plays an important role in metabolism. A shortage of it can cause a disturbed blood sugar level in babies, but also heart and brain problems. A deficiency of vitamin B2 can also cause all kinds of problems, including neurological problems, in babies. It is therefore sometimes suggested that vegan mothers should adjust their diet when breastfeeding.
Researchers at the Amsterdam UMC investigated whether these deficiencies indeed existed and found that a vegan diet does not affect how much vitamin B2 and carnitine is in breast milk. The mothers themselves did show an effect of the diet on the concentrations of these substances, but this was not found in the milk.
According to the researchers, this is important information both for vegan mothers who breastfeed themselves and for the organizations that collect donor milk for babies who cannot get milk from their own mother.
Read more about the research here: Vegan mothers’ breastmilk contains two important nutrients, Amsterdam UMC study finds.
2023-05-21 12:05:07
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