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Date: | Sat, 1 Apr 2000 09:17:29 EST |
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Now I have heard it all!!!! Denise G Hewson RN IBCLC Katy, Texas
Little pill sweetens mothers' milk
SCIENCE: Dietary experts identify compound which improves taste of breastmilk
while retaining essential nutrients.
4/1/2000
By JEFF DOBB
The Associated Press
A controversial breakthrough in lactational dietetics has produced a pill
which can add appetizing flavors to breastmilk. It is expected that infants
who reject the breast will find the new flavors appealing.
The research adds to an expanding body of evidence that breastmilk is the
preferred form of infant nutrition in the first six months— however many
women resort to formula when their infant rejects the breast.
It also provides evidence for the theory that exposure to greater varieties
of flavoring agents in the breastmilk can reduce the chances of obesity in
later life, the researchers say.
The researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, built their
study on an already known quirk of human anatomy: Certain strongly flavored
substances pass through the mother's milk and are ingested by her baby.
Scientists believe that women's cyclic variation in progesterone levels; —
and the female sex hormones such as testosterone that are found in both sexes
— create an unpleasant taste in the breastmilk of premenstrual women which
may account for infants rejecting the breast.
In the study published today in the journal Nature, the researchers
interviewed 720 women at three major hospitals in Los Angeles, asked them
their breastfeeding plans, and tested their milk before and after a course of
the new pill.
The milk of mothers in the control study who ate a bland diet altered
significantly at various times of their cycle — with the higher hormone
levels creating a bitter taste in their milk. — The milk of the mothers who
had taken the new pill was pleasantly vanilla flavored with no detectable
variation throughout the woman's cycle.
The pills which are subject to FDA approval will initally be available in
three basic flavors, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry however researchers
are also working on cinnamon and banana flavors and hope to branch into
featured flavors such as egg nog for the festive season.
The researchers then went a step further, enabling the mothers to benefit
from their discovery. The pills are chewable, allowing the mother to
experience the flavor before it passes through her milk to her baby. Most
women reported the pills to be pleasant tasting and "not too sweet"
Paula Williamson, an adviser with the National Association of Pediatric
Nutritionists, said some mothers would welcome such findings because "They
know breast is best for their babies and they feel like they have failed when
their baby rejects the breast due to the changes in the taste fo their milk."
She said this would be particularly welcomed by mothers who wish to enjoy
spicy foods and fear their babies will no longer want to nurse. "This pill
will mask the taste of garlic and other flavors babies may find unpleasant"
But she said ultimately the question of flavoring mother's milk cause should
not bear on the debate over breast versus bottle. "This is simply another
option" she said.
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