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From:
Susan Burger <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 21 Sep 2010 08:49:08 -0400
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This is just too weird. 

 I just received an email about pasteurization killing off vitamin C in milk  -- and a fascinating article on how an incomplete understanding of how lemons prevented scurvy led to a resurgence in scurvy.  

I have to send the article to my dissertation advisor because he always claimed you only needed to have a  "probability" statement about an intervention working, but you often needed "plausibility" statement to convince people that it was of value.  A probability statement is what you can make when you have a properly designed double blinded intervention trial.  A plausibility statement is when all the mechanisms (biochemical, physiological, sociological etc) make sense.  He talked about this in reference to the first study that showed vitamin A supplements decreased mortality by 30% among preschool children who lived in areas of deficiency.  The study was beautifully designed but all the researchers criticized it because they found it unbelievable.  Turns out it was right -- after many many more studies were completed.  They needed to know the mechanisms for how this happened to believe it.  The first study showed no difference in the INCIDENCE of childhood diseases.  Later they found out that vitamin A was very important for the SEVERITY of childhood diseases.  

They did not fully understand the mechanism for why lemons prevented scurvy but it worked.  Unfortunately, this misunderstanding of the mechanisms led them to make changes from fresh lemons to unfresh lime juice. The article also talked about the dilemma of the Upper Class who weren't breastfeeding their infants brought on a problem of bacterial infection.  Pasteurization of the milk destroyed the vitamin C and therefore caused scurvy.  

So.... I was thinking about destruction of vitamins when breastmilk doesn't come directly from the breast and I thought about one of the professors at Cornell who was always pissed off about how milk is stored in grocery stores because it destroyed riboflavin.  Clear glass is actually allows the most light through so she actually did not like glass bottles.  She always contended that riboflavin was the most prevalent nutrient deficiency on the planet.  And I started thinking about how some moms put their baby bottles in the bottle holder of their SUV stroller out in the light.  Now we have the trend back to glass bottles which is much better for avoiding chemicals leaching from plastics and antibodies adhering to the walls of the container -- but then there is the issue of riboflavin,  unless..... hmmm  maybe there really is a reason to skip all the unecessary containers that eventually may end up in landfill.

And, the moment after I pondered all this, I open up Lactnet and there is Micaela's post about riboflavin and vitamin A!!!

Best Susan Burger

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