Lipase in Breastmilk

[Guest guest]

I have never been able to freeze my breastmilk. It always has a very bad

soapy/metallic taste after it is defrosted.

After speaking with a lactation consultant, I was told that in order to stop

this reaction, I would need to scald my milk before freezing. I didn't see

the point in that as it would get rid of all the other good stuff. I don't

drink pasteurized milk....why would I do that to my breast milk.

So after lots of research I have found the cause. I have an excessive amount

of Lipase in my breastmilk. Lipase is a fatty acid found in human milk that

contributes to how a baby digests and abosorbs fats. I have seen it also

referred to as a digestive enzyme and it often found in enzyme supplements.

I do not take anything like that currently. Only good WAP food. I am

wondering if I can change my nutrition to help this. I had this problem

LONG before I started WAP so I don't think it is caused by the added

essential fatty acids in my diet. Of course I can't find any traditional

sources (LLL) that speak to diet. They only say to scald the milk to solve

the problem. I just know that there is a better way. As for now, I just

don't pump much. I am able to be a WAHM so it hasn't been a big deal but I

plan on many more babies in the future so I am looking for an possible

solution.

Thanks in advance.

Blessings,

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

> So after lots of research I have found the cause. I have an excessive

> amount

> of Lipase in my breastmilk. Lipase is a fatty acid found in human milk that

> contributes to how a baby digests and abosorbs fats. I have seen it also

> referred to as a digestive enzyme and it often found in enzyme supplements.

Lipases are proteins, not fatty acids. They are enzymes that digest

fats-- all enzymes are proteins.

> I do not take anything like that currently. Only good WAP food. I am

> wondering if I can change my nutrition to help this. I had this problem

> LONG before I started WAP so I don't think it is caused by the added

> essential fatty acids in my diet. Of course I can't find any traditional

> sources (LLL) that speak to diet. They only say to scald the milk to solve

> the problem. I just know that there is a better way. As for now, I just

> don't pump much. I am able to be a WAHM so it hasn't been a big deal but I

> plan on many more babies in the future so I am looking for an possible

> solution.

I'm curious as to why this is seen as a problem. Isn't this an

indication that your milk is healthier? Also, if you need to reduce

the lipase content in order to freeze it, isn't this an indication

that freezing is a bad practice? If the lipase is necessary for the

baby's digestion of fats, wouldn't reducing it reduce the baby's

ability to digest the fats?

Chris

--

Want the other side of the cholesterol story?

Find out what your doctor isn't telling you:

http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com

[Guest guest]

Sorry about the improper description. I read conflicting definitions and

knew that the list could set me straight.

The idea that this makes it healthier is basically what I found from most

studies. I even found a study that showed lower lipase levels in

under-nourished mothers.

" Breast milk was analysed in 9 under-nourished Nigerian mothers and 23

well-nourished mothers who served as controls. Milk from the under-nourished

mothers contained adequate amounts of lactose and total triglycerides, but

had significantly lower bile salt-stimulated lipase activity (BSSL); their

mean BSSL activity was only about 50% of the activity in milk from the

control group. Total milk protein was also significantly lower than for the

controls (1.45 vs. 1.09 g/dl, respectively; P less than 0.01). Our findings

may have nutritional implications for breast-fed infants of under-nourished

nursing mothers. " .

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_ui

ds=3569357 & dopt=Abstract

I guess my question really is.... Does anyone else see that this could be a

problem? Could this be a problem with overproduction in my pancreas?

The scalding is said to halt all action of the enzymes so yes I see that as

VERY bad. And is the reason have never done it.

I have always been looking for an answer since I seem to have " different "

milk than most.

I have not found anything that indicates an over production does any harm to

baby or mother. Actually to anyone since lipase supplements are recommended

for weight loss. And no adverse effects are listed on these supplements

(that I found)

I am recovering from 3 consecutive pregnancies that involved VERY poor

nutrition due to hyper-emesis (extreme morning sickness) so I was

questioning also if having problems in your metabolism could also cause this

high level of lipase.

I would love to hear in the end this is a good thing and not to worry. I am

fairly new to WAP so I wanted to check with the " experts " .

-----Original Message-----

From:

[mailto: ]On Behalf Of Masterjohn

Lipases are proteins, not fatty acids. They are enzymes that digest

fats-- all enzymes are proteins.

I'm curious as to why this is seen as a problem. Isn't this an

indication that your milk is healthier? Also, if you need to reduce

the lipase content in order to freeze it, isn't this an indication

that freezing is a bad practice? If the lipase is necessary for the

baby's digestion of fats, wouldn't reducing it reduce the baby's

ability to digest the fats?

Chris

[Guest guest]

On 9/4/05, Stump <rstump@...> wrote:

> I guess my question really is.... Does anyone else see that this could be a

> problem? Could this be a problem with overproduction in my pancreas?

I'm not sure where the lipase in breast milk is made, but regardless,

what is the basis for believing you have *too much*. It appears that

the basis is that you can't freeze it-- but why should you be able to

freeze it? It's not like breast milk is designed to be frozen.

> The scalding is said to halt all action of the enzymes so yes I see that as

> VERY bad. And is the reason have never done it.

> I have always been looking for an answer since I seem to have " different "

> milk than most.

If it's really from the lipase levels (I don't really understand

that?) then I suppose it could either be a) better b)the same but

different or c) worse than other milks. Ultimately it probably

doesn't make a major difference, but I would think that more lipase

means better digestion for the baby, so I would suspect if anything

it's better. Also, maybe you just have more lipase because it's

somewhat higher-fat than other milks?

> I have not found anything that indicates an over production does any harm

> to

> baby or mother. Actually to anyone since lipase supplements are

> recommended

> for weight loss. And no adverse effects are listed on these supplements

> (that I found)

Either way, you have milk, not supplements. The lipase is complexed

with all the other stuff in the milk-- including the fat it's meant to

break down.

> I am recovering from 3 consecutive pregnancies that involved VERY poor

> nutrition due to hyper-emesis (extreme morning sickness) so I was

> questioning also if having problems in your metabolism could also cause

> this high level of lipase.

>

> I would love to hear in the end this is a good thing and not to worry. I

> am fairly new to WAP so I wanted to check with the " experts " .

Oh... well I'm by no means an expert, I'm just throwing out my own

guesses. I guess it just seems odd to me that this could be a bad

thing. How much greater is the lipase concentration? Is it really a

gigantic difference or is there just a bit more than normal?

Chris

--

Want the other side of the cholesterol story?

Find out what your doctor isn't telling you:

http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com

[Guest guest]

--- In , " Stump " <rstump@c...>

wrote:

> I have never been able to freeze my breastmilk. It always has a

very bad

> soapy/metallic taste after it is defrosted.

>

,

Maybe it is not you, but the freezer that has a problem?? What temp

are you trying to freeze the milk at? And how long are you storing

it? Perhaps you need both colder and shorter to cut the active time

that the lipase can work?

Even though you have the wonderful luxury (and incredible hard

work!) of being a stay/work at home mom right now, do you foresee at

time when you will need to freeze milk regularly? No matter what we

do, nor how " freezable " our milk may be, frozen milk just is not as

good as fresh, warm milk for the babe in Mom's arms. That said,

sometimes it is really important that there be frozen milk

available. Have you tried freezing it flat, on a tray directly on

the bottom (where the freon moves past in the channels) so that it

freezes most quickly, then transfering to something that does not

allow air?

Connie H {former LLL leader and mother of 3 breastfed babies now all

grown up}

[Guest guest]

Great ideas. I have tried many of them. I think the levels are fairly high

because it can happen if left in the frig too long also. I don't have the

" need " right now. It is just more of one of those nagging questions that I

wanted to see if I could find an answer too. I guess being " different "

isn't always bad just different. My main question is probably....Is it at

all harmful to have too much? and is it just the way my body works or could

it be dietary?

-----Original Message-----

From:

[mailto: ]On Behalf Of Connie Hampton

Even though you have the wonderful luxury (and incredible hard

work!) of being a stay/work at home mom right now, do you foresee at

time when you will need to freeze milk regularly? No matter what we

do, nor how " freezable " our milk may be, frozen milk just is not as

good as fresh, warm milk for the babe in Mom's arms. That said,

sometimes it is really important that there be frozen milk

available. Have you tried freezing it flat, on a tray directly on

the bottom (where the freon moves past in the channels) so that it

freezes most quickly, then transfering to something that does not

allow air?

Connie H