Higher Absorption of Vitamin C from Food than from Supplements by Breastfeeding Mothers at Early Stages of Lactation

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of vitamin C supply in the diet of lactating women on vitamin C concentrations in human milk (n = 97) sampled at different stages of lactation. Vitamin C levels were measured by liquid chromatography. Dietary intake of vitamin C was determined based on 3-day food dairies kept by breastfeeding mothers. Maternal dietary intakes of vitamin C from natural sources on lactation day 90 (n = 18) were significantly higher than on lactation days 15 (n = 42) and 30 (n = 37). The number of women taking vitamin C supplements decreased in successive stages of lactation. The average daily intake of vitamin C was estimated at 119 mg, but nearly 20% of mothers consumed less than 50 mg of vitamin C per day. No significant correlations were observed between lactation stage and vitamin C levels in breast milk (r = 0.110, p = 0.064). The average vitamin C concentrations in human breast milk were determined at 50.9 mg / L, and were not higher than 80.6 mg / L regardless of lactation stage and maternal intake of vitamin C. Vitamin C excretion into breast milk is regulated to prevent exceeding saturation level. The vitamin C concentration in milk was positive correlated with maternal intake of vitamin C from food, in the case of non-supplemented diet (r = 0.402, p = 0.041). Our results suggest that vitamin C occurring in food is much better absorbed and passes into breast milk than vitamin C from supplements.

Nutrients and Bioactive Components of Human Milk After One Year of Lactation

“…Mean vitamin C content in milk from study groups was similar and equaled 36 mg/L. As other research demonstrated, this value is the mean vitamin C level in human milk in Poland (17,35).…”

“…Human milk may contain from 15 to 85 mg of vitamin C per liter of milk. It has been established that natural vitamin C from food products is absorbed better than vitamins from supplements even if the latter contains high vitamin concentrations (35). Mean vitamin C content in milk from study groups was similar and equaled 36 mg/L.…”

No Evidence for Sex‐specificity in Vitamins C, E, and Fatty Acid Content of Human Milk from Healthy Polish Mothers

“…In our previous studies, we found that the concentration of vitamin C in HM was correlated with its absorption from food (23). However, the concentration of vitamin E in HM is not correlated with dietary intake (24), although it is significantly higher in the colostrum than in mature milk (24).…”

Term Infants Fed Exclusively With Donor Milk May Require Vitamin C Supplementation

“…3 These factors include variability in vitamin C content among mothers, the environment where milk is expressed (light-induced losses), length of time expressed milk is stored at 4 °C before freezing (oxidative losses), and storage length longer than 1 month at -20 °C. [9][10][11][12] Although the milk bank only accepts donations pumped within the previous 6 months, vitamin C can be reduced by 35% after 24 hours of storage of freshly expressed milk vs 62% after 2 months of storage at -17 °C. 13 The limitations of our study include lacking data on maternal supplement use, diet, storage time between pumping and donation, and vitamin C concentration in the batches before pasteurization.…”

“…Though pasteurization reduces vitamin C, degradation may also occur because of reasons other than heating 3 . These factors include variability in vitamin C content among mothers, the environment where milk is expressed (light‐induced losses), length of time expressed milk is stored at 4 °C before freezing (oxidative losses), and storage length longer than 1 month at –20 °C 9–12 . Although the milk bank only accepts donations pumped within the previous 6 months, vitamin C can be reduced by 35% after 24 hours of storage of freshly expressed milk vs 62% after 2 months of storage at –17 °C 13 …”