Vitamin C in Breast Milk May Increase with Supplementation

Vitamin C in Breast Milk May Increase with Supplementation

RUSCHLIKON, Switzerland--Ascorbic acid content in breast milk maydouble or triple in lactating women receiving supplemental vitamin C, accordingto a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition(81, 5:1088-1093, 2005) (http://www.ajcn.org).

Tests results of 171 African women and 142 European women showed ascorbicacid (AA) content in breast milk of African women was 50 percent lower than inEuropean women. Supplementation with 1,000 mg/d of vitamin C increased AAcontent in milk from 19 to 60 mg/kg, and from 60 to 70 mg/kg in 18 African and10 European women, respectively. In 11 African women, milk AA content increasedfrom 17 to 36 mg/kg after intake of 100 mg/d AA for 10 days. In African women,intake of one serving of orange juice per week had no significant effect;however, consuming between three and five servings per week (100 mg AA/serving)for six weeks did increase human milk AA from 16 to 32 mg/kg and from 21 to 46mg/kg, respectively. The response to a relatively high dose of AA was modest inEuropean women in contrast with the three-fold increase in African women,suggesting AA content in milk is regulated.