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Is there a way to test breast milk for toxicity?

Dear John,

I just read your answer to a woman's question about breastfeeding and concerns about toxins being passed to babies. Is there any way you can assess your level of toxicity prior to breastfeeding? I have been a vegetarian for about eight years (and recently went vegan!), but my childhood diet was very very SAD and I have not been the healthiest vegetarian and I am very concerned about this. Is there anything we can do to rid our bodies of the toxins that have accumulated?

Carol

Dear Carol,

Thank you for taking seriously the impact of the way you live on the health of any children you might have.

Women wanting to determine the level of contamination in their breastmilk have two options. The first is to have a small amount of their body fat tested for foreign chemicals prior to delivery. This involves removal of about a teaspoon of fat from beneath the abdominal skin, either through a small incision or via a large-bore suction-type device. The fat is then placed in a glass container, frozen, and sent to a laboratory that does this kind of testing.

The second option is to have their breast milk tested for contaminants soon after the birth of your baby.

Unless your milk is found to be tremendously polluted, however, which is not likely, I would hope that you would choose to breastfeed. Even with the contamination of human breastmilk that has taken place in our polluted world, breastfed babies still have far better health outcomes than those fed formula. And don’t forget, formulas have their own contaminants — plus the plasticizers in nonglass baby bottles.

There are so many advantages to breastfeeding your baby that it is impossible to list them all. The La Leche League mentions a few of them:

"It's easy. The milk is always available to the baby. The mother doesn't have to worry about heating a bottle when her baby is ready to eat. She doesn't have to worry about keeping breastmilk warm or cold when going out. And she can feed her baby in bed at night, allowing her to get as much rest as possible.

It's best for baby. Breastmilk has antibodies in it from the mother that pass to the baby and help protect him or her against illness and allergies. Sucking at the breast helps with good oral development. Breastfed babies have fewer speech impediments. Breastfed babies have good cheekbone development and jaw alignment. Consequently, there is less chance of needing braces and other orthodontial work.

Breastmilk is easily digested. Mothers don't have to worry about their babies being constipated or thirsty, because babies get the ideal amount of water from breastmilk.

Breastfeeding also is good for the mother. The baby's sucking at the breast causes uterine contractions right after birth. The contractions lead to less bleeding for the mother, and return the uterus to its pre-pregnancy shape much faster.

Breastfeeding creates a bond between mother and baby, helping the mother learn her baby's cues and signals faster. This makes mothering her baby easier."

You ask, is there anything you can do to lower the level of toxins that have accumulated in your body? Yes there is. Careful fasting can help, as can a regular exercise program that is vigorous enough to induce sweating.

The best way to protect against contaminants in your milk is a step you have already taken. A few years back, the New England Journal of Medicine reported on the levels of contamination in the breastmilk of twelve women living at "The Farm," a vegan community in Tennessee. These women had dramatically lower levels of toxic chemicals in their milk compared to the general population. The highest level seen among these women was actually lower than the lowest level seen in nonvegetarian mothers. In fact, the levels of contamination found in the milk of the vegetarian mothers was only 1 to 2 percent as great as the level found in the milk of nonvegetarians. (J. Hergenrather et al., "Pollutants in Breast Milk of Vegetarians," New England Journal of Medicine 304:792, 1981)

Other studies have consistently found direct correlations between the frequency of consumption of meat, dairy products and fish and the amount of contamination in breastmilk. The more meat and animal fat women have eaten, the more contaminated will be their milk.

Good luck, and please join me in praying that our society awakens to the damage we are doing to all future generations by polluting this beautiful planet. All babies deserve to grow up in a world where the food, air, and water, and the milk from all mothers’ breasts, is safe and pure. Let us work together to bring forth such a world.

All the best to you,

John

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