%0 Journal Article
%T The effect of a controlled manipulation of maternal dietary fat intake on medium and long chain fatty acids in human breast milk in Saskatoon, Canada
%A Roseann Nasser
%A Alison M Stephen
%A Yeow K Goh
%A M Thomas Clandinin
%J International Breastfeeding Journal
%D 2010
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1746-4358-5-3
%X Fourteen free-living lactating women participated in a cross-over dietary intervention study, consuming a low fat diet (17.6% of energy as fat, 14.4% of energy as protein, 68.0% of energy as carbohydrate) and a high fat diet (40.3% of energy as fat, 14.4% of energy as protein, 45.3% of energy as carbohydrate) each for periods of 4 days, in randomised order. Each mother was her own control. Mature milk samples were collected during each period and analysed for medium and long chain fatty acids.The concentration of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA), was 13.6% in breast milk for the low fat diet compared to 11.4% for the high fat (p < 0.05). Arachidonic acid (C20:4n-6) levels were significantly higher in breast milk when women consumed the low fat diet. Increased dietary intake of stearic acid (C18:0) and alpha-linolenic acid (C18:3n-3) on the high fat diet significantly increased proportions of these fatty acids in breast milk (p < 0.05) in 4 days.Changing maternal dietary fat intake has a rapid response in terms of changes to fatty acids in breast milk.Maternal diet has been shown to influence fatty acid composition of breast milk, with changes appearing within 8-10 hours after a meal is consumed [1-3]. Fatty acids with a chain length greater than C14:0 originate from the maternal diet or body stores, while fatty acids up to C14:0 originate from de novo synthesis in the breast [1,4].There is a paucity of randomised controlled dietary intervention studies and cross-over designs where all meals have been provided to lactating women for each time period using precise food consumption measures, a combination of dietary fats, and proportions of dietary fat that could be achievable in normal living over short time periods. Harzer et al. investigated the effect of diet on three women who had been breast feeding for more than six months. These women were asked to prepare their own meals and consumed the diets for two weeks [5]. While Insull et al.'s influential study was condu
%U http://www.internationalbreastfeedingjournal.com/content/5/1/3