The Effect of Different Factors on the Composition of Human Milk and its Variations I. The Effect of Vitamin-rich Foods on the Composition of Human Milk

Abstract

The authors investigated the effect of some foodstuffs rich in vitamin A, B2 and C on the relevant constituents of human milk. It was stated that after consumption of 150 g of cooked pork liver, with a vitamin A content of 55,000 or 130,000 I.U., this vitamin increased in breast milk 2- or 4 fold. After liver consumption the vitamin A content in human milk reached the highest value in the 12th hour, then gradually decreased, falling back to the initial level within 48 hours. The vitamin excess presented itself in the daily milk in an amount which reached only some per cents of the vitamin intake. After daily consumption of 100-200 g carrots with a carotene content of 20,000 and 400,000 I.U. respectively, the vitamin A content in human milk did not change, the total carotenoid content, however, slightly increased. A liver portion with a vitamin B2 content of 4.5 to 6.7 mg increased the lactoflavin content in human milk about twofold. Similarly to vitamin A, the vitamin B2 content in breast milk reached its maximum in the 12th hour and then fell rapidly. The vitamin B2 content in the consumed liver was also only to some percents excreted into the milk. The daily consumption of oranges, containing 50-55 mg of vitamin C, produced within two or three days a maximal increase of 100% in the vitamin C content of human milk. When consuming oranges for a further 6 days, no change was produced. After discontinuing orange consumption the vitamin C in human milk gradually decreased, but was still higher on the seventh day than the initial value. Based on these results it can be stated that the vitamin content in human milk may be markedly increased by dietary measures.