Vegan or vegetarian diet and breast milk composition - a systematic review. 2021

Karolina Karcz, and Barbara Królak-Olejnik
Department and Clinic of Neonatology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.

It is known that nutritional composition of breast milk is, to a certain extent, related to maternal diet. The question of nutritional adequacy of mothers' milk is often raised whenever a vegetarian or vegan diet during the lactation process is concerned. For this reason, in some countries, the recruitment of vegan lactating women as milk donors is excluded by milk banks. The purpose of this systematic review is to summarize existing knowledge on variability of specific nutrients in breastmilk of mothers adhering to a plant-based diet. The databases, including MEDLINE (Pubmed) and Scopus, were used to identify relevant publications. Data extraction and analysis were conducted following a PRISMA protocol. Thirteen publications concerning the impact of dietary pattern and levels of animal-origin food intake on breast milk composition were included. The systematic review has shown that all non-vegetarian, vegetarian and vegan mothers produce breast milk of comparable nutritional value. Several differences are primarily attributed to fatty acids and some micro-components, primarily vitamin B12. Regardless of dietary choices, nourishment and adequate nutrition have a significant impact on human milk composition - on the basis of the current evidence, vegetarian and vegan mothers are capable of producing nutritionally valuable milk for their infants, as far as the appropriate supplementation compensating for breastfeeding mother's nutritional requirements is provided. Dietary choices should not be a permanent exclusion criterion for donor candidates in human milk banks.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007223 Infant A child between 1 and 23 months of age. Infants
D007774 Lactation The processes of milk secretion by the maternal MAMMARY GLANDS after PARTURITION. The proliferation of the mammary glandular tissue, milk synthesis, and milk expulsion or let down are regulated by the interactions of several hormones including ESTRADIOL; PROGESTERONE; PROLACTIN; and OXYTOCIN. Lactation, Prolonged,Milk Secretion,Lactations, Prolonged,Milk Secretions,Prolonged Lactation,Prolonged Lactations
D008895 Milk, Human Milk that is produced by HUMAN MAMMARY GLANDS. Breast Milk,Human Milk,Milk, Breast
D001942 Breast Feeding The nursing of an infant at the breast. Breast Fed,Breastfed,Milk Sharing,Wet Nursing,Breast Feeding, Exclusive,Breastfeeding,Breastfeeding, Exclusive,Exclusive Breast Feeding,Exclusive Breastfeeding,Sharing, Milk
D004032 Diet Regular course of eating and drinking adopted by a person or animal. Diets
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000066989 Vegans Persons who avoid consuming animal products or animal-derived substances, such as MEAT; EGGS; or HONEY. Some vegans also refrain from using animals or animal products in any form or for any purpose, such as in CLOTHING or household goods. Vegan
D000067269 Diet, Vegan Dietary practice of avoiding animal products in any form. Vegan Diet,Veganism,Diets, Vegan,Vegan Diets
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia

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