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From:
"Jennifer Tow, IBCLC" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 22 Oct 2001 13:26:26 EDT
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In a message dated 9/30/01 1:16:45 AM, [log in to unmask] writes:

<< someone recently called this website to my attention,
http://www.mercola.com/beef/omega31.htm  She has some
concerns about some of it including:

"Breast milk may have 30 times more DHA
(docosahexaenoic acid) than formula.
Compared with mother's milk, formulas are also low in
selenium and biotin.  Sadly, the breast milk of many
mothers in our country reflects the high trans fatty
acid and low Omega-3 content in the average diet.
American mothers produce milk that often has only
one-fifth to one-tenth of the Omega-3 content of the
milk that well-nourished, nut-eating Nigerian mothers
provide their infants."

the concern is, of course, that women will believe
that their milk is not sufficient...>>

Kate,
If you read work by people in functional medicine or others who have
extensively researched EFA's, then you will see that there is a great deal of
evidence to support the concern about EFA's in the milk of Western mothers.
This is something I am extremely concerned about for several reasons. First,
I do think Westerners (esp Americans) eat a generally poor quality diet, esp
where fats are concerned. I think it is an underlying cause of many
conditions, including perhaps PPD and PMS. I think that b/c we are so
concerned with mothers fearing that their milk is insufficient, we don't want
to talk about it. I think that mainstream medicine has yet to even get turned
on to the importance of EFA's, so they aren't talking about it. The only
people I here talking about it are holistic practitioners, and they talk
about EFA's a lot. The problem is, a lot of them aren't terribly sensitive to
the importance of exclusive bf'ing or bf'ing for more than a year. But, what
really concerns me is that it might well be the AIM companies who start to
talk about it and publicize it, right about the time when they can argue that
their products might have more EFA's than human milk. So, I do think it is
time we started addressing this issue in the West. I do educate my clients
and they don't seem to make the leap that AIM might be better for their
babies. If they can take prenatal vitamins and not think it means they can't
grow a healthy baby, why not EFA's?

<<and later the article says:  "A deficiency of the
Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats causes insufficient milk
production and breast engorgement. Flax seed oil has
been found to substantially increase milk production
in women who are not producing enough milk to nurse
their infants. It also often clears up breast
engorgement. One woman I know was having great
difficulty producing enough milk to nurse her newborn
child. Within twenty-four hours of taking flax seed
oil, her milk production doubled, and one breast that
was engorged opened up, allowing the milk to flow
freely. "

Have any of you seen such a substantial difference
with supplementation?>>

I cannot say I have seen this extensive a reaction, but it definately makes a
difference. I have one client who had a terrible time with yeast/excema with
her first baby for over a year. With the use of homeopathy and EFA's in her
diet, it healed. Once she stopped taking EFA's, the rash has come on with the
second baby. She said she is sure just taking the EFA's again will solve the
problem. I also had a clent see a rather large increase in milk supply with
EFA's a couple of months ago.
    I did write to Dr. Mercola several months ago about some other bf info on
his site. He was very receptive, but I have gotten behind on reading his
emails, so am not sure if he addressed it on the site.

<<    The principle fatty acid in coconut milk is lauric acid, which is the
same fat found in abundance in mother's milk and is known to promote normal
brain development and contribute to healthy bones. It also has important
anti-carcinogenic and anti-pathogenic properties and is less likely to cause
weight gain than polyunsaturated oils.-
http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/ingredients/cocmilk.html>>

From my reading, olive oil and coconut oil (maybe a little walnut oil) are
the only ones healthy for cooking. They are the only ones I use anymore. I
highly recommend (again--still no $$$ connection!) "Fats That Heal, Fats That
Kill" by Udo Erasmus.

Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA

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