Dutch researchers examined the nutritional composition of breast milk from nursing mothers following a vegan diet.
- The vegan diet excludes all animal products from the diet.
- A Dutch study looked at the effects of the vegan diet on the composition of breast milk.
- In particular, the researchers studied the concentrations of vitamin B2 and carnitine in the breast milk of vegan mothers.
The vegan or vegan diet consists of eliminating all foods of animal origin such as meat, fish, shellfish, eggs, dairy products and honey.
Could the vegan diet decrease levels of vitamin B2 and carnitine in breast milk?
A study of Amsterdam UMC recently focused on breastfeeding mothers following a vegan diet. The researchers wanted to know if this diet had an impact on the composition of breast milk. Their work was presented at the 55th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN).
For the purposes of this research, the scientists recruited vegan breastfeeding mothers and breastfeeding mothers on an omnivorous diet. The objective was to define whether infants breastfed by vegan mothers could present a risk of developing a deficiency in vitamin B2, which can lead to anemia or neurological problems, or in carnitine, which can induce hypoglycemia as well as a risk of heart and brain dysfunction.
Vitamin B2 and carnitine present in the breast milk of vegan mothers
According to the study’s findings, breast milk from vegan breastfeeding mothers showed no difference in vitamin B2 or carnitine concentrations compared to breastfeeding mothers on an omnivorous diet.
“The results of our study suggest that the concentrations of vitamin B2 and carnitine in breast milk are not influenced by the consumption of a vegan diet. These results show that a vegan diet in breastfeeding mothers does not constitute a risk of vitamin B2 or carnitine deficiency in breastfed infants. This information is useful for breastfeeding mothers and for breast milk banks, who collect milk for premature infants and do not receive enough.”noted Dr. Hannah Juncker, lead author of the study, and doctor of pediatric medicine at Amsterdam UMC.