
If you’re breast-feeding, or about to breast-feed, chances are you’ve already read some tips on how to make enough breast milk: get enough rest, drink lots of water and ensure your nutrient levels are optimal.
However, you may not know that breast milk can become contaminated by chemicals from your environment, in what you eat and in what you put on your skin.
Breast milk is not immune to accumulating toxins. However, breast-feeding is still the best option for your baby’s health. It contains nourishment, including essential trace nutrients and immune components that are unrivaled by any other food source for a newborn.
Luckily, there are some simple steps you can take to minimise any chemical exposure in your breast milk.
Firstly, you should reduce your alcohol and coffee intake while breast-feeding, as these can make their way into your breast milk. There are also a range of other chemicals that can get into breast milk (and into your baby).
As breast milk is often used to test population levels of environmental contaminants, studies are frequently published detailing the levels in breast milk of certain persistent organic pollutants (often called POPs) such as mercury, dioxins or the fire retardants used in plastics. Sometimes we cannot control what chemicals we are exposed to, but sometimes we can.
The tips below outline what to avoid and what to be mindful of to ensure you are making the healthiest and cleanest food source for your little one.
Choose organic foods, or avoid the foods known to be highly contaminated
In the U.S., the Environmental Working Group extensively studied 49 commonly eaten fruits and vegetables and their levels of pesticide and chemical residue. They found that you can lower your pesticide consumption by nearly four-fifths by avoiding the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables and instead eating the least contaminated produce. From this study they discovered the “Dirty Dozen” and the “Clean 15”. Click on the following link to access the list: http://www.foodnews.org/executive.php
Choose meats and dairy products that are organic or free range
The majority of the toxic chemicals that can be transferred into your breast milk are stored in fat cells and are not water soluble. If not choosing organic meats, make sure to choose low fat cuts of meat and avoid high fat dairy products.
Avoid fish with high mercury content or PCB levels
Fish including swordfish, tuna, shark, and marlin are highest in contaminants as they are the larger, predator fish. Choosing smaller and wild caught fish such as sardines, whiting, john dory and anchovies will reduce your chemical exposure and also ensure you are getting your omega-3 fatty acids.
Keep alcohol to a minimum
According to the Australian Breast-feeding Association, alcohol moves freely into the breast milk approximately 30-60 minutes after you start drinking, and the level of alcohol in your blood is the same level as in your breast milk. The association recommends no more than 2 standard drinks, but not every day, after your baby is one month old (try to avoid alcohol when your baby is less than one month old).They also recommend breast-feeding before you have alcohol, and eating before and while you are drinking. Drinking more than 3 drinks a day can be harmful to you and your baby.
Other tips to reduce chemical exposure to you and your baby:
References available on request