We have spoken dozens of times about the greats Benefits of breastfeedingespecially from the prolonged breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding. Many studies have been done on this and, until now, all that were found were advantages. However now a study states that breast milk transmits toxic substances to breastfeeding children.
Before continuing to explain the conclusions of this study, I want to clarify that This supposed toxicity is not due to the milk itself, but due to the amount of toxicity of the products and substances to which we are all exposed. From my point of view, this information is not overly alarming, at least not more than the data obtained by thoroughly studying the toxicity of the products around us, starting with tap water. If we really care about this topic, I consider it more important to think about the amount of additives, dyes and hydrogenated fats that we eat and that are - normally - within the reach of children. But let's talk about the study. Keep reading, because you have no waste.
Detect high concentrations of plefuorates in breast milk
A group of researchers from Boston University, in the United States, have shown thate some chemical compounds called perfluorinated (PFC), which are present in detergents and non-stick products and usually enter the body through water, can also be transmitted from mothers to children through breastfeeding.
These agents are often used in detergents, solvents, in the Teflon industry for kitchen utensils on velcro and even in some wrappers or containers. Said agents, when in contact with water, end up penetrating the body causing alterations in the immune, reproductive and endocrine systems.
However, the results of this work published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, demonstrate the presence of PFCs increases each month between 20 and 30 percent in children who breastfeed.
"We knew that small amounts of PFCs could appear in breast milk, but serial blood tests that we have performed now reveal a build-up in babies while breastfeeding," says Philippe Grandjean, researcher at Harvard Chan School and one of the authors of the work together with Danish universities and the Faroese Hospital System (Faroe Islands).
To arrive at these results, the researchers followed 81 children who were born in the Faroe Islands between 1997 and 2000, and analyzed the presence of five types of PFC in their blood at birth and at the age of 11 months, 18 months and five years. They also checked the levels of these compounds in the mothers of the children in the 32nd week of pregnancy.
The accumulation of toxins increases as breastfeeding is prolonged
The study indicates that in children who were exclusively breastfed, the concentrations of PFCs in the blood increased between 20 and 30 percent each month. In the case of mixed-lactation infants, these concentrations did not increase as much.
Scientists point out that in some cases, at the end of breastfeeding, the PFC concentration levels in the children's serum exceeded those of their own mothers. However, one type of compound, specifically perfluorohexanesulfonic (PFHx), does not increase with breastfeeding.
Although the conclusions of the study suggest that breast milk is an important source of exposure to these toxic substances during childhood, The researchers note that once women stop breastfeeding, the concentrations of the five types of PFC decrease in children.
"We are not discouraging breastfeeding, but we are concerned that these contaminants are transferred from generation to generation at a very young age," Grandjean concludes.
Non-toxic breastfeeding
As I said at the beginning, Breastfeeding toxicity is due to exposure to certain compounds that pass into breast milk. Therefore, one might think that, hypothetically, a diet and a lifestyle free of toxic substances It would potentially fix not only this breast milk problem, but many other health problems.
If this news is alarming to you, it is a good time to start analyzing everything you eat and the chemicals to which you expose yourself, since if they were not in your body they would not pass to your child. And do not forget to continue analyzing well all the products you give your child, from water to fruit, meat and fish, through products with refined sugar and without forgetting sweets and industrial products with their fats. hydrogenated.
Images - aurimas_m, Bejamin Magaña, jakecaptive