Impact on babies of High Sugar Diet in Breast Feeding Moms

Breastfeeding or nursing is feeding your baby breast milk, usually from your breast directly – exclusive breastfeeding (no formula, juice, or water) is strongly recommended by various medical experts for the first six months of a baby’s life. After the introduction of other foods, it is recommended to continue breastfeeding the baby for the first year. Benefits of Breastfeeding Breastfeeding is a personal choice; however, some of the advantages of breastfeeding are:

• Breast milk provides the perfect nutrition for babies: Breast milk comprises everything a baby needs during the first 6 months of life, in the right amounts. The composition of breast milk even changes based on the baby’s changing needs, especially during the first month of life.
• Breast milk contains important antibodies: Breast milk comprises antibodies that help your baby fight off bacteria and viruses, which is essential during the early months.
• Breastfeeding may reduce disease risk: Breastfeeding helps reduce your baby’s risk of many diseases and illnesses.
• Breast milk promotes baby’s healthy weight: Breastfeeding helps healthy weight gain and helps avert childhood obesity.
• Breastfeeding may help you lose weight: Breastfeeding helps burn calories.
• Breastfeeding helps the uterus contract: Oxytocin increases during breastfeeding, and this oxytocin encourages uterine contractions and decreases bleeding, thus helping the uterus contract to its previous size.

What a breastfeeding mother eats is indirectly consumed by the infant, thus breastfeeding mothers should pay attention to what they eat. Increased Sugar Exposure According to new studies carried out by Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, a high sugar diet while breastfeeding can delay cognitive development in infants. The research advocates that breastfeeding mother who consumes sugary beverages can expose their infants to the sugars through their breastmilk. Consequently, this leads to poor cognitive development in infants nearly two years later.

This study, which has been published in “The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition” enrolled 88 new mothers. All the mothers were asked to consume sugary beverages and juices each day during the first month of them breastfeeding. The infants were assessed by using the Bayley-III Scales of Infant Development after they turned two years of age. Infants whose mothers consumed more sugary drinks had lower cognitive development scores. The researchers thus concluded that the sugar added from a mother’s diet was passed to her infant through breast milk, and this exposure could affect the brain development of an infant. According to Dr. Michael Goran (program director for obesity and diabetes at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles), limiting added sugars found in beverages such as soft drinks may benefit not only mothers but also their babies. Breastfeeding within itself has various benefits, but it has been observed that breastmilk is greatly influenced by what moms drink and eat, even more than it has ever been realized. New mothers may not realize that what they drink and eat as they breastfeed may affect their infant’s development later. However, that is exactly what the results of the studies indicate. Other studies have shown that artificial sweeteners and fructose are especially harmful during the critical period of development and growth in children. It has also been observed that any amount of fructose in breast milk is dangerous. The first year of a baby’s life is an extremely critical period for cementing the foundation for the metabolic system and for building brain networks. “Minute amounts of fructose may have negative effects on infant metabolism,” states Tanya Alderete, co-author of the study at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and a postdoctoral research scholar at the Keck School of Medicine. Absorption of fructose could train pre-fat storage cells to turn into fat cells, thus raising the baby’s risk of becoming obese or overweight.

How to Avoid Sugar During Breastfeeding As sugar cravings in breastfeeding mothers are caused by sleep deprivation and changes in brain activity, such cravings can be curbed. Some tips to curb sugar cravings for breastfeeding mothers are:

• Focus on eating nutrient-rich foods.
• Try to get as much sleep as possible.
• Satisfy the sweet cravings by eating foods that have natural sugars.
• Drink plenty of water.

Diet Recommended for Breastfeeding Mothers New moms can avoid transferring second-hand sugars to their infants by drinking and eating food/beverages with less sugars while they are pregnant or breastfeeding. Caregivers can also protect infants from the harmful effects of sugars by carefully selecting infant formula, baby foods, and snacks without added sweeteners or sugars. Some tips on the diet for breastfeeding mothers are:

• Include protein-rich foods two to three times per day, such as poultry, meat, eggs, fish, beans, dairy, seeds, and nuts.
• Include three servings of vegetables, comprising yellow and dark green vegetables each day.
• Eat at least two servings of fruit each day.
• Whole grains such as whole-wheat pasta, cereal, oatmeal, and bread should be included in the daily diet.
• Many women feel thirsty while breastfeeding; however, forcing oneself to drink fluids does not increase the milk supply.
• Dietary restrictions from pregnancy do not apply to breastfeeding moms.
• Vegetarian diets are compatible with breastfeeding. Other sources of iron and zinc, such as dried fruits, beans, seeds, nuts, and dairy, can be substituted for meat. B12 supplements are necessary for lactating mothers who follow a vegan diet to ensure that the baby does not develop a B12 deficiency.
• Caffeine is passed into breast milk, but most babies are not troubled by it. One may want to limit or avoid caffeine if the baby is not sleeping well or is irritable.

Conclusion

Ultimately, we all want our babies to be happy and healthy. Thus, as mothers, if we choose to breastfeed our babies, then we need to it responsibly. With proper guidelines and tips from medical professionals, we can help our babies remain at their happy and healthy best.

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       Sources

• https://news.usc.edu/117042/from-mother-to-baby-secondhand-sugars-can-pass-through-breast-milk/
• https://www.dentistry.co.uk/2020/10/09/sugary-drinks-breastfeeding-impact-cognitive/
• https://medicaldialogues.in/diet-nutrition/news/high-sugar-diet-while-breastfeeding-may-affect-cognitive-development-in-kids-70252
• https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-10-sugary-beverages-consumed-breastfeeding-affect.html
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/infant-and-toddler-health/in-depth/breastfeeding-nutrition/art-20046912