Sodium in breast milk more than double guide
LEVELS of sodium in Chinese women’s breast milk is more than double the amount recommended under international guidelines, city scientists said yesterday.
This could lead to kidney damage in children, they warned.
Experts from Shanghai Children’s Medical Center and Xinhua Hospital were announcing the results of a 20-year breast milk study, the nation’s first research into breast milk content, changes and influencing factors.
Among findings were that on average Chinese women’s breast milk contained 23.2 milligrams of sodium per 100 grams. This is higher than the quantity found in women in Western countries and more than double the 9.81 milligrams per 100 grams recommended by international guidelines.
Researchers also found that Chinese women had on average 58.76 micrograms of iron per 100 grams in their milk, compared to 70 micrograms per 100 grams among Western women.
The international guideline is 29 micrograms per 100 grams.
The higher levels of sodium and lower levels of iron in Chinese women’s breast milk compared to Western mothers is due to the Chinese diet, which features more salty and well-cooked food, said Dr Chen Tongxin from Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, and one of the research’s leading scientists.
Chen said that young children should be given less salt in food to compensate and that further research on possible kidney damage was needed.
The team also found 8.32 micrograms of lead per liter in Chinese women’s milk. The national standard is 50 microgram per liter.
And researchers found 2.18 micrograms of mercury per liter. The national standard is 10 micrograms per liter.
Chen said the levels were slightly higher than those in Western women.
“Though the pollutants found in Chinese mother’s breast milk are a little higher than Western mothers and are related to food and the environment, no data exceed the nation’s standards,” he said.
The study results were announced ahead of the World Breastfeeding Week from August 1 to 7.
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