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While there is much controversy regarding whether excess LA is harmful, there is compelling evidence that a maternal diet that is high in LA can alter the mother’s plasma lipid composition which can alter the lipid profile of the breast milk and influence the child’s plasma lipid profile (Innis, 2014; Furse et al, 2019). This is significant because lipid composition in breast milk was able to predict test scores in mathematics, reading, and science in 28 countries that were included in a study (Lassek and Gaulin, 2014). LA was negatively associated with all test scores while DHA was positively associated with all of the test scores. The conclusion reached by the researchers was that the omega 3 fatty acid DHA content of breast milk was the single best predictor of the test performance in maths; the higher the amount of DHA, the higher the test score. While, the second biggest predictor was the amount of LA content in the breast milk, which had the opposite effect, and a higher amount was shown to impair cognition. This finding is remarkable because the fatty acid profile of the average mother’s milk in a given country was a better predictor of the average cognitive performance in that country than the country’s GDP or the country’s per student expenditure on education. This is not to suggest that economic factors are not important, in fact what they found was that it was the children who benefited from the combination of economic well-being and diet that performed the best academically, but between the two, diet had the biggest impact.
There are other epidemiological studies that have looked at levels of LA in maternal colostrum and its relationship to child cognition at various ages and found that higher levels of LA were negatively associated with motor and cognitive scores at the age of 2 and 3 (Bernard et al, 2015), and again at 5 and 6, higher LA was associated with lower intelligence in the offspring (Bernard et al, 2017). Interestingly in America, roughly the same amount of blacks consume >2 portions of seafood per week as whites, 22.6%, 18.7% respectively, which is significantly less than the 41.2% of Asians (Terry et al, 2018) who typically achieve the highest academic attainment out of all groups. It should be noted however that the fish that blacks consume is mostly lean fish (e.g. cod, haddock) rather than oily fish (e.g. salmon, mackerel and trout)and thus far lower in DHA. It is also typically fried, which can affect the level of bio-available omega 3 as this method of cooking has been associated with the loss of these natural fatty acids in the fish (Nahrab et al, 2010). Add to this the fact that much of the fish will be fried in seed oils resulting in a high intake of LA, it is obvious why this is less than optimal.
As well as the aforementioned risks associated with the lipid composition of maternal breast milk, being overweight or obese has also been shown to negatively affect the lipid composition of breast milk and it is associated with offspring that have a higher waist for length, a lower length‐for‐age and a lower head circumference‐for‐age than the offspring of normal weight mothers who are breast fed (Ellworth et al, 2020). This is particularly relevant because obesity disproportionately affects black adolescent girls in both America and the UK where they have the highest prevalence of overweight among high school students. In America 42% of black adolescent girls meet or exceed the criteria for being overweight and alarmingly 95% of those adolescent black females with obesity will remain obese in adulthood (Winkler et al, 2017). The consequences of this are not to be underestimated as the lipid composition of breast milk can even influence the temperament of the child. For example, breast milk that is low in omega 3 DHA fatty acids is associated with children that score higher on negative affectivity (Hahn-Holbrook, Fish and Glynn, 2019), which is a personality variable that involves the experience of negative emotions and poor self-concept. Negative affectivity subsumes a variety of negative emotions, that include anger, contempt, disgust, guilt, fear, and nervousness. The profound influence that a mother's breast milk can have on her offspring should be obvious, but whether that influence is a positive or negative one appears to be determined at least to some extent by the mother's dietary choices.
https://immunehack.medium.com/breast-milk-an-enabler-or-disabler-cd7048fa571b
References
Bernard, J.Y., Armand, M., Garcia, C., Forhan, A., De Agostini, M., Charles, M.-A. and Heude, B. (2015). The association between linoleic acid levels in colostrum and child cognition at 2 and 3 y in the EDEN cohort. Pediatric Research, [online] 77(6), pp.829–835. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25760551/ [Accessed 1 Jan. 2021].
Bernard, J.Y., Armand, M., Peyre, H., Garcia, C., Forhan, A., De Agostini, M., Charles, M.-A. and Heude, B. (2017). Breastfeeding, Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Levels in Colostrum and Child Intelligence Quotient at Age 5–6 Years. The Journal of Pediatrics, [online] 183, pp.43–50.e3. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28081886/ [Accessed 1 Jan. 2021].
Furse, S., Billing, G., Snowden, S.G., Smith, J., Goldberg, G. and Koulman, A. (2019). Relationship between the lipid composition of maternal plasma and infant plasma through breast milk. Metabolomics, [online] 15(10). Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11306-019-1589-z [Accessed 1 Jan. 2021].
Hahn-Holbrook, J., Fish, A. and Glynn, L.M. (2019). Human Milk Omega-3 Fatty Acid Composition Is Associated with Infant Temperament. Nutrients, [online] 11(12), p.2964. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6949911/#:~:text=The%20n%2D6%20PUFAs%2C%20n,PUFA%20composition%20of%20their%20milk. [Accessed 1 Jan. 2021].
Innis, S.M. (2014). Impact of maternal diet on human milk composition and neurological development of infants. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, [online] 99(3), pp.734S-741S. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/99/3/734S/4577501 [Accessed 1 Jan. 2021].
Lassek, W.D. and Gaulin, S.J.C. (2014). Linoleic and docosahexaenoic acids in human milk have opposite relationships with cognitive test performance in a sample of 28 countries. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids, [online] 91(5), pp.195–201. Available at: https://www.plefa.com/article/S0952-3278(14)00127-6/fulltext00127-6/fulltext) [Accessed 1 Jan. 2021].
Nahab, F., Le, A., Judd, S., Frankel, M.R., Ard, J., Newby, P.K. and Howard, V.J. (2010). Racial and geographic differences in fish consumption: The REGARDS Study. Neurology, [online] 76(2), pp.154–158. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3271387/ [Accessed 1 Jan. 2021].
Terry, A., Herrick, K., Afful, J. and Ahluwalia, N. (2018). Seafood Consumption in the United States, 2013–2016 Key findings Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. [online] Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db321.pdf [Accessed 1 Jan. 2021].
Winkler, M.R., Bennett, G.G. and Brandon, D.H. (2016). Factors related to obesity and overweight among Black adolescent girls in the United States. Women & Health, [online] 57(2), pp.208–248. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5050158/ [Accessed 1 Jan. 2021].
There are other epidemiological studies that have looked at levels of LA in maternal colostrum and its relationship to child cognition at various ages and found that higher levels of LA were negatively associated with motor and cognitive scores at the age of 2 and 3 (Bernard et al, 2015), and again at 5 and 6, higher LA was associated with lower intelligence in the offspring (Bernard et al, 2017). Interestingly in America, roughly the same amount of blacks consume >2 portions of seafood per week as whites, 22.6%, 18.7% respectively, which is significantly less than the 41.2% of Asians (Terry et al, 2018) who typically achieve the highest academic attainment out of all groups. It should be noted however that the fish that blacks consume is mostly lean fish (e.g. cod, haddock) rather than oily fish (e.g. salmon, mackerel and trout)and thus far lower in DHA. It is also typically fried, which can affect the level of bio-available omega 3 as this method of cooking has been associated with the loss of these natural fatty acids in the fish (Nahrab et al, 2010). Add to this the fact that much of the fish will be fried in seed oils resulting in a high intake of LA, it is obvious why this is less than optimal.
As well as the aforementioned risks associated with the lipid composition of maternal breast milk, being overweight or obese has also been shown to negatively affect the lipid composition of breast milk and it is associated with offspring that have a higher waist for length, a lower length‐for‐age and a lower head circumference‐for‐age than the offspring of normal weight mothers who are breast fed (Ellworth et al, 2020). This is particularly relevant because obesity disproportionately affects black adolescent girls in both America and the UK where they have the highest prevalence of overweight among high school students. In America 42% of black adolescent girls meet or exceed the criteria for being overweight and alarmingly 95% of those adolescent black females with obesity will remain obese in adulthood (Winkler et al, 2017). The consequences of this are not to be underestimated as the lipid composition of breast milk can even influence the temperament of the child. For example, breast milk that is low in omega 3 DHA fatty acids is associated with children that score higher on negative affectivity (Hahn-Holbrook, Fish and Glynn, 2019), which is a personality variable that involves the experience of negative emotions and poor self-concept. Negative affectivity subsumes a variety of negative emotions, that include anger, contempt, disgust, guilt, fear, and nervousness. The profound influence that a mother's breast milk can have on her offspring should be obvious, but whether that influence is a positive or negative one appears to be determined at least to some extent by the mother's dietary choices.
https://immunehack.medium.com/breast-milk-an-enabler-or-disabler-cd7048fa571b
References
Bernard, J.Y., Armand, M., Garcia, C., Forhan, A., De Agostini, M., Charles, M.-A. and Heude, B. (2015). The association between linoleic acid levels in colostrum and child cognition at 2 and 3 y in the EDEN cohort. Pediatric Research, [online] 77(6), pp.829–835. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25760551/ [Accessed 1 Jan. 2021].
Bernard, J.Y., Armand, M., Peyre, H., Garcia, C., Forhan, A., De Agostini, M., Charles, M.-A. and Heude, B. (2017). Breastfeeding, Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Levels in Colostrum and Child Intelligence Quotient at Age 5–6 Years. The Journal of Pediatrics, [online] 183, pp.43–50.e3. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28081886/ [Accessed 1 Jan. 2021].
Furse, S., Billing, G., Snowden, S.G., Smith, J., Goldberg, G. and Koulman, A. (2019). Relationship between the lipid composition of maternal plasma and infant plasma through breast milk. Metabolomics, [online] 15(10). Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11306-019-1589-z [Accessed 1 Jan. 2021].
Hahn-Holbrook, J., Fish, A. and Glynn, L.M. (2019). Human Milk Omega-3 Fatty Acid Composition Is Associated with Infant Temperament. Nutrients, [online] 11(12), p.2964. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6949911/#:~:text=The%20n%2D6%20PUFAs%2C%20n,PUFA%20composition%20of%20their%20milk. [Accessed 1 Jan. 2021].
Innis, S.M. (2014). Impact of maternal diet on human milk composition and neurological development of infants. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, [online] 99(3), pp.734S-741S. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/99/3/734S/4577501 [Accessed 1 Jan. 2021].
Lassek, W.D. and Gaulin, S.J.C. (2014). Linoleic and docosahexaenoic acids in human milk have opposite relationships with cognitive test performance in a sample of 28 countries. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids, [online] 91(5), pp.195–201. Available at: https://www.plefa.com/article/S0952-3278(14)00127-6/fulltext00127-6/fulltext) [Accessed 1 Jan. 2021].
Nahab, F., Le, A., Judd, S., Frankel, M.R., Ard, J., Newby, P.K. and Howard, V.J. (2010). Racial and geographic differences in fish consumption: The REGARDS Study. Neurology, [online] 76(2), pp.154–158. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3271387/ [Accessed 1 Jan. 2021].
Terry, A., Herrick, K., Afful, J. and Ahluwalia, N. (2018). Seafood Consumption in the United States, 2013–2016 Key findings Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. [online] Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db321.pdf [Accessed 1 Jan. 2021].
Winkler, M.R., Bennett, G.G. and Brandon, D.H. (2016). Factors related to obesity and overweight among Black adolescent girls in the United States. Women & Health, [online] 57(2), pp.208–248. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5050158/ [Accessed 1 Jan. 2021].