>Hi-This question is for Sandra, but I wanted it posted to all and =
>responded to all...
>Sandra-
>Thanks for your detailed post. Did you study the milk of women who have =
>not consumed those foods that are concentrated in chemicals and =
>pesticides for a decade or more? For example, I do not eat cow products =
>(milk or meat), or seafood, etc. Did you study the diets of healthy =
>vegans who consume a diet rich in organic plant foods such as organic =
>beans, grains, fruits, nuts and vegetables. How did our dioxin levels =
>differ? Thanks.
>Cherie Moore, M.S.
>Cuesta College Nutrition Instructor, Department Chair Person
----------------
Cherie and others,
According to EPA researcher Linda Birnbaum, lacto-ovo vegetarians
have body burdens of dioxins that are no different than those of
meat-eaters. However longtime vegans who eat a strictly plant-based
diet probably do enjoy lower levels. This is a very underresearched
area. However, there was one study done in 1997 in which researchers
tested two adult American vegans--one male and one female--for
dioxins and PCBs. Their blood levels were one third to one half
those of the average man and woman from the general population.
However, both individuals had adhered to a vegan diet for nearly
thirty years!
(A. Schecter and O. Papke, "Comparisons of Blood Dioxin,
Dibenzofuran, and Coplanar PCB Levels in Strict Vegetarians [Vegans]
and the General United States Population," ORGANOHALOGEN COMPOUNDS 38
(1998): 179-82.)
Other studies from Europe show that switching to such a diet during
the period of pregnancy and lactation makes negligible differences in
breast milk contamination. It appears, from these few and admittedly
limited studies with small sample sizes, that you need at least of
decade of veganism to lower breast milk contamination in a meaningful
way. This conclusion is not definitive and cries out for more
comphrehensive study. However, if confirmed, it is not surprising
since most of the fat in breast milk arises from previously deposited
fat depots, not from food consumed during lactation.
I believe that advocating dietary changes as a means to reduce breast
milk contamination is the wrong approach. (Not that you're advocating
this, but some people do.) Besides being culturally insensitive (in
the Arctic, where the growing season is short, you either eat animals
or you starve; for native American mothers in Maine, freshwater fish
are a free, healthy source of protein, etc.), it seems a poor public
health recommendation to advise 10 year old girls to forgo all animal
protein so that their breast milk 10-20 years later will be cleaner.
Far more sensible, as a public health measure, is to insist on
getting these contaminants out of the food chain (make industry
rather than women change their behaviors), so we can all eat safely
up and down the food chain, according to our preferences, ecological
residences, and cultural practices.
In short, I think all breastfeeding advocates should be environmental
activists.
On a personal note, I'll add here that I myself was a happy
vegetarian/vegan for quite a few years before becoming pregnant.
However, I suffered from severe morning sickness for 3 months; during
this time, the only sources of protein I could tolerate were eggs,
whole milk, and pork. I couldn't look at a bean or a block of tofu
to save my life. It was a reminder to me that we need to make dioxin
levels in dairy, meat, and eggs safe for pregnant and lactating
women, not restrict the diets of mothers.
warmly, Sandra
--
--
Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor
Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors
110 Rice Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
[log in to unmask]
www.steingraber.com
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