Diet of breastfeeding mothers influences composition of human milk

02.2025
Author Dr. Martin Claßen, Bremen

As well as lactose, human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are found in human milk, and the existing studies show that they have a number of positive effects on the health of breastfed babies. The milk of different individuals contains very different concentrations of the various types of HMOs, and the factors influencing this are not fully understood. The role played by the diet of breastfeeding women on the HMO spectrum of their human milk was investigated in a group of 210 women with Latin American roots in California over a period of 12 months (1 month: n = 210, 6 months: n = 131, 12 months postpartum: n = 84). The study recorded the mothers’ diets and analysed the HMO concentrations in their human milk. It demonstrated a series of correlations: A high intake of sugar and sugary drinks led to a significant reduction in the concentration of 2′-Fucosyllactose (2’-FL), the most common HMO. Conversely, an increase in the intake of vitamins C, D and K and the minerals zinc and potassium led to a higher concentration of 2’-FL. Vitamin intake also had a considerable influence on the 2’-FL concentrations over time.

Comment: Human milk oligosaccharides are another fascinating component of human milk, and they contribute to the beneficial effects of this form of infant feeding. The concentration of the various HMOs in human milk depends to a large degree on genetic factors. This study is a very good demonstration of the influence of mothers’ diets on the composition of their human milk. We have always thought that a breastfeeding woman eating healthily has beneficial effects on her child, and it may be that the concentrations of the various HMO molecules in human milk are a factor in this. Although further research is undoubtedly needed on the effects of the various HMO concentrations on infants, we can now advise breastfeeding mothers that they should have a balanced diet rich in vitamins and low in sugar. Incidentally, no one so far has been able to develop an infant formula which replicates the complex composition of HMOs in human milk.

Reference:
Mokhtari P, Schmidt KA, Zamanian H, Babaei M, Machle CJ, Trifonova D, Alderete TL, Holzhausen EA, Ottino-González J, Chalifour BN, Jones RB, Furst A, Yonemitsu C, Bode L, Goran MI. Maternal Diet Associated with Oligosaccharide Abundances in Human Milk from Latina Mothers. Nutrients. 2024 Jun 7;16(12):1795. doi: 10.3390/nu16121795.