"From:    Naznin Hebert <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Essential fatty acids.

I would love to have your opinion on this. A nutritionist says that there is
DHA/ARA in breastmilk only if mothers consume enough foods containing it.
And studies show that many women are deficient in this and we should be
telling moms to include those sources in their diets, otherwise there is not
enough DHA/ARA in their milk. Any thoughts? 
Thank you in advance.   
Naznin."

Nanzin,
The body does not make EFAs, although it converts ALA to DHA and EPA. LA converts 
to AA. When you do not consume adequate sources of ALA or LA and/or you consume 
sources of trans-fats, you cannot have enough DHA, AA or EPA. A mother who is deficient
will have deficient levels in her breastmilk and while we like to say that we do not 
know how much is enough, we know that the human body did not evolve to contend with 
trans-fats and that most women in the West have diets very poor in EFAs and very high 
in toxic, rancid fats. When it comes to fats, what you eat is in your milk. 

In one study, the level of EFAs in Chinese mothers' milk was significantly higher than 
in Canadian mothers' milk. Canadians have among the highest levels of trans-fats in their
milk. WE all need EFAs and lots of them, but pregnant and nursing moms are growing their 
babies' brains on some very dangerous fats in they do not consume EFAs. Of course, AF 
babies' brains are growing on even less of what they need, but this does not make the 
nutrient deficiency of the Western diet any less of a concern. One can certainly 
implicate this deficiency in may disease processes, including autism and food allergies. 

My thoughts--Western mothers eat atrociously poor diets and so do their babies. Even if 
you want to make the argument that even poorly fed women make good milk (and I firmly 
disagree), you cannot make this argument in a vacuum. I do not think Western mothers of 
child-bearing age are generally healthy to begin with and a toxic environment makes the 
need for nutrients far greater, as the body rapidly depletes them in an effort to overcome
the toxic load. Add to that the fact that so many women are having first babies later in 
life, when their bodies have had longer exposure to toxins and when they are often in 
even poorer health themselves. Women who are having babies need to be educated about 
eating EFA rich foods and completely eliminating trans-fats and toxic, rancid oils. 



 


Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA
Intuitive Parenting Network LLC

 









 


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