Effect of Chronic Alcohol Consumption on Nutritional Composition of Breast Milk: An Experimental Study

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to analyze the nutritional effects of alcohol consumption in the form of distilled and fermented beverages, together with a diet made up of habitual foods of northeastern Brazil, on the composition of breast milk. Sixty Wistar rats were divided into five experimental groups, and all received a balanced diet of beans, rice, chicken, cassava flour and soybean oil (18% protein content), associated to different liquids in accordance with the following experimental groups: Control Group (CG) – distilled water; Alcohol Group (AG) – 5% hydroalcoholic solution; Peer-Fed Alcohol Group (PFAG) – maltodextrin solution replacing calories from alcohol; Beer Group (BG) – beer (5% ethanol v/v); Peer-Fed Beer Group (PFBG) - maltodextrin solution replacing calories from beer. On the 12th day of lactation, breast milk was withdrawn for the analysis of protein, carbohydrates, total lipids, fraction of triglyceride, sodium and potassium. The Mann-Whitney test was used for the statistical analysis, with the level of significance set at 5% (p < 0.05). There was an increase in potassium content in the breast milk in the AG and an increase in lactose content in the breast milk in the BG. It may be concluded that the use of alcoholic beverages, even those with low ethanol content, during lactation can cause serious alterations in the metabolism of mothers, altering the composition of breast milk and possibly compromising the normal development of newborns