I like to think of and describe breast milk as BRAIN FOOD. Higher SAT scores have been measured in adults who were breast fed as infants. Studies have been done on children at 1 year, 8 years and 18 years of life that show advanced development in children that were breast fed. The human brain is made up of 60% fat. It grows rapidly right after birth and reaches half of the adult size at 3 months of age. During the second year of life the brain grows to be 80% of the size of the adult brain.
Fat is the most variable component in breast milk. If you have ever heard the expression of “foremilk” and “hindmilk” as it refers to the beginning and the end of a breastfeeding session. Foremilk and hindmilk have everything to do with dilution and concentration. A baby nursing from a very full breast gets more foremilk then an infant nursing from a nearly empty breast. As the breast empties the milk becomes more concentrated and contains more fat. Fat also varies throughout the day with some feedings having more fat content than others. It also varies and increases as the baby grows.
Many components in breast milk are not synthesized from the mother’s diet. Fats on the other hand can be influenced by the content and quality of the fats the mother ingests. Some examples of good fats are as follows:
Avocodo is probably the best and it also adds fiber
Butter, sesame spreads, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil
Nuts like walnuts, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts
Seeds like flax, chia, pumpkin, sesame, sunflower-can add to salads
dark chocolate, eggs, tofu, fatty fish like salmon, herring, anchovies
grass fed beef, edamame
full fat yogurt and milk, cheese-caution with dairy sensitivities