Breast milk: healthy despite the presence of chemical particles

The presence of chemical particles from the environment is not necessarily associated with health for newborns risk, according to an article published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health.
Researchers at Penn State University and California (USA) published a summary of the results of the second American workshop on monitoring of human milk and biocontrol chemical environment (The Second Workshop on Human Milk Surveillance and Biomonitoring for Environmental Chemicals).

This workshop brings together academic experts, industry, associations and the federal government, explored issues related to the use of biological control of chemical environment for breast milk (including industrial products, cosmetics and hygiene, medications and drugs) in order to evaluate a potential health risk.

"We wish to emphasize that the mere presence of chemical particles from the environment in breast milk does not mean a health risk to infants," said Cheston Berlin, professor of pediatrics and pharmacology at the University of Penn State and co-author of the article.

"Breastfeeding is regarded worldwide as the best method of feeding infants and has incomparable advantages for both the child and the mother," recalled the pediatrician. "Breast milk provides children with protection against infectious diseases, promotes neuronal development and also protect them from certain diseases occurring in adulthood," he adds.

"We recommend to read the compositions of industrial milk for infants. Thus, phytoestrogens (plant compounds with estrogenic activity), present in soy milk could cause effects in newborns," said Judy LaKind, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Penn State.

"Most studies of biocontrol analyzed compounds long life, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). However, few studies have focused on the chemical short life such as volatile or constituents care products, "she added.

The authors also identified a set of recommendations for monitoring and future research, including determining the levels of chemicals in breast milk and industrial milk, as well as the creation of a database on the Internet.