Breast milk of women in the United States contains fewer health-promoting compounds called carotenoids than that of women in China or Mexico. The reason? Women in the U.S. don’t make fruits and vegetables a big part of their diet.
A new study shows the mean amount of health-promoting compounds known as carotenoids in American women’s breast milk two weeks after giving birth is about 40 percent lower than levels in Chinese women’s milk and about 25 percent lower than levels in Mexican women’s milk.
Carotenoids are plant pigments that potentially play functional roles in human development and are key sources of vitamin A, an essential component of eye health and the immune system.
Nursing women should eat fruits and vegetables as recommended in dietary guidelines.
, Professor of food science and nutrition, Purdue University
