Evaluation of the effect of different diets applied to breastfeeding mothers on the composition and quantity of human milk.

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to elucidate the relationship between maternal nutrition and the quantity and composition of breast milk.

Methods: All mothers were administered sequentially, with each lasting one week, a healthy nutrition diet, a carbohydrate-rich diet, and a protein-rich diet.

Results: Compared to the healthy nutrition diet, a statistically significant increase was observed in the levels of glutamic acid, serine, glycine, histidine, tyrosine, valine, isoleucine, leucine, and lysine in milk following the carbohydrate-rich diet (p < 0.05). In contrast to the healthy nutrition diet, the lactose content of milk decreased after the carbohydrate-rich diet and increased after the protein-rich diet (p < 0.05). Following both carbohydrate-rich and protein-rich diets, a reduction in riboflavin content in milk was observed compared to the healthy nutrition diet (p < 0.05). After the protein-rich diet, an increase in milk quantity was observed compared with the carbohydrate-rich diet (G1, p = 0.006; G2, p = 0.001). A negative correlation was found between the mothers' body weight in the third week and the amount of amino acids in their milk (r = -0.270, p = 0.037).

Conclusions: The results of this study indicated that the nutrient composition and quantity of human milk are influenced by maternal nutrition.