Breast milk superpowers boosted by exercise
Scientists have discovered a compound that can “supercharge” a woman’s breast milk, giving their child lifetime protection against health problems. Here’s how expectant mums can produce it.
QLD News
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WOMEN who exercise during pregnancy are brewing up superpowers in their breast milk to give their baby lifelong protection against health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
Even moderate exercise, like a daily walk, stirs up the protective elements in the milk, an international study has found.
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Lead author Kristin Stanford, a researcher at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center’s Diabetes and Metabolism Research Center, said: “We have done studies in the past that have shown that maternal exercise improves the health of offspring but in this study, we wanted to begin to answer the question of why.
“Because there is evidence that breast milk plays a major role, we wanted to isolate the effects of breast milk on offspring health.”
The findings have been published in medical journal Nature Metabolism.
The research team studied mice born from sedentary mothers and fed them milk from mothers who were active throughout pregnancy.
They found that the health benefits from fit mothers transferred to the pups, proving that they were passed through breast milk and not simply inherited genetic traits.
Researchers also followed 150 pregnant and post-partum women using activity trackers and found that those who took more steps per day had an increased amount of a compound known as 3SL in their breast milk which they believe is responsible for these health benefits.
“The increase in 3SL was not necessarily related to exercise intensity, so even moderate exercise like a daily walk is enough to reap the benefits,” said Ms Stanford, an associate professor of physiology and cell biology.
As many women are unable to breastfeed, researchers are examining if they can isolate this beneficial compound and add it to infant formula.
Jo McDowell from the Sunshine Coast runs a clinical pilates studio and works with women pre and post-birth.
At 28 weeks pregnant herself she exercises regularly, and believes swimming is great all-round exercise in pregnancy.
“For too long women have been scared to exercise in pregnancy, but there are so many benefits and this is another one,” she said.