Hi everyone,
Does anyone have any knowledge of the use among Hispanic mother's of the
drink called Atole to increase mother's milk? I thought you all might finding it
interesting to know that here in Phoenix, Arizona I am seeing antidotal
evidence of this and another Mexican drink called Champurrado, to be seemingly
related to an increased milk supply. Both of these drinks contain a corn starch base
or masa harina which is cooked with milk and thickened on the stove, and
flavored with a dark bitter sweet chocolate or cinnamon stick. My understanding is
that these drinks are both traditional for the postpartum mother, dating back
to pre-Columbus among indigenous peoples in Mexico and South America.
Ingredients:
Atole de Leche:
7 oz masa harina
1 1/2 quart water
3 cup milk
8 oz piloncillo / brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 4 canela / cinnamon stick
Champurrado
1/2 cup fresh _masa_ (http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/masa.htm) (corn dough) or
1/2 cup masa flour (masa harina) mixed with a 1/4 cup hot water to blend
2 1/4 cups milk
1 1/2 cups water
1 disk _Mexican chocolate_
(http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/mexicanchocolate.htm)
3 tablespoons piloncillo, chopped or 1/3 cup brown sugar plus 2 teaspoons
molasses
1/4 teaspoon crushed aniseeds (optional)
Below is the only related research I have been able to locate so far. One
hypothesis is that it is the increased protein and/or caloric intake, that is
supporting the mother's milk supply.
I am interested in what anyone else may be seeing with these drinks?
Norma Escobar, are you out there? I saw your post in the archives from 1997.
What are you finding in your work with Mexican mother's and this traditional
postpartum drink?
I think this is fascinating. Anyone want to so a study? : )
Tina Williams-Wolf, IBCLC, RLC, HMA
Classic Homeopath
American Medical College of Homeopathy
2001 W. Camelback Rd. #150
Phoenix, AZ 85015
602.348.6014
_http://www.classichomeopath.com/_ (http://www.classichomeopath.com/)
research-article
Influence of Food Supplementation on the Urinary Urea/Creatinine (U/C) Ratio
of the Child
AARON LECHTIG, REYNALDO MARTORELL, CHARLES YARBROUGH, HERNAN DELGADO and
ROBERT E. KLEIN
Division of Human Development, Institute of Nutrition of Central America and
Panama (INCAP) Calzada Roosevelt, Zone 11, Guatemala City, Guatemala, C.A.
This paper investigates the relationship between intake of two types of
supplements, caloric (fresco) and protein-caloric (atole ), on the urinary U/C
ratio in children from four rural Guatemalan villages. Atole was distributed in
two of the villages while in the other two fresco was provided. Daily amounts of
individual ingestion of supplement were recorded for lactating mothers as
well as for breast-fed and weaned children up to 84 months of age. The urinary
U/C ratio of the children was determined in a casual morning urine sample.
Positive associations were observed between supplement ingestion in lactating
mothers and the U/C ratio of breast-fed children in atole (r = 0.288, n = 77,
p < 0.01) as well as in fresco (r = 0.148, n = 103, p < 0.10) villages. In
contrast, the relationship between ingestion of the supplements in breastfed and
weaned children and the U/C ratio differed depending upon the type of
supplement given. Thus, for the caloric supplement, fresco, the relationship was
negative (breast-fed children: r = 0.150, n = 103, p < 0.10; weaned children: r
=0.145, n = 834, p < 0.001) while for the protein-calorie supplement, atole, the
relationship was positive (breast-fed children: r = 0.645, n = 77, p < 0.001;
weaned children: r = 0.261, n = 724, p < 0.001).
The positive relationship observed between protein-calorie supplementation in
lactating mothers and the U/C ratio in their children suggest that protein
ingestion of the lactating women increases protein output in breast milk. The
findings with respect to caloric intake, deserve more extensive comment. It was
concluded that these findings bring support to the hypothesis that calories
are the main limiting factor in the diet of this population. Thus, giving
calories to the lactating mother may have resulted in enough protein spared to
increase the breast milk protein supplied to the suckling child and consequently to
increase his U/C ratio. Similarly, the reduction observed in the U/C ratio of
the child upon supplementing him with calories may indicate that the calories
given spared protein ingested at the home from being used to provide energy.
In spite of the fact that the results, the first from free-living communities
reported in the literature, suggest that caloric supplementation to lactating
mothers and children led to a betterment of their nutritional status, it
should be stressed that decision to implement calorie supplementation alone in
other populations should deserve careful consideration of the main limiting
dietary factors to avoid the possibility of increasing the risk of protein
malnutrition
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