Carnitine and vitamin B2 levels in vegan women’s breast milk same as meat eaters, study says

19 May 2023 --- A Netherlands-based study has found that women following a vegan diet do not have lower levels of vitamin B2 or carnitine – two essential nutrients for infant development. Compared to women following an omnivorous diet, no difference was found in human milk concentrates of the two nutrients which are mainly found in animal-based products. 

NutritionInsight speaks with Hannah Juncker, a co-author of the study, about the results which were presented earlier this week at the 55th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition in Vienna, Austria.

“It was a huge surprise as these data show an active transport of these nutrients into human milk, even when maternal serum levels are low. These results indicate a preference to supply these nutrients to the offspring at the mother’s expense.”

“We only have information about the general dietary intake of the mothers by a food questionnaire, so we cannot give a reliable estimate of the origin of these essential nutrients in mothers who consume a vegan diet.”

Prior studies have recommended lactating women increase their consumption of animal-based products.Challenging a common belief
The scientists analyzed the mass and found contradicting results to the common belief that infant nursing from vegan mothers has a higher risk of vitamin B2 and carnitine deficiency. 

“The maternal diet greatly influences the nutritional composition of human milk, which is important for child development. With the rise of vegan diets worldwide, also by lactating mothers, there are concerns about the nutritional adequacy of their milk. Therefore, it would be important to know if the milk concentrations of those nutrients are different in lactating women consuming a vegan diet.” 

Previous studies have shown that infants suffering from a vitamin B2 deficiency have a higher risk of developing anemia and neurological problems, as the vitamin plays a crucial role in enzymes involved with biological pathways.

Carnitine plays an important role in energy metabolism and deficiencies may lead to heart or brain dysfunction and low blood sugar levels. 

Differences among women
Prior studies have recommended that lactating women increase their consumption of animal-based products during this period in life to avoid the infant potentially experiencing a deficiency, a point this study challenges.

However, they did find lower levels of serum-free carnitine and acetylcarnitine concentrations in the women following a vegan diet.

“Indeed, maternal levels of carnitine were lower. In addition, it is also good news for human milk banks worldwide as, based on these results, they can also accept women on a vegan diet who are supplemented with vitamin B12,” Juncker adds.

She stresses that although this study is well conducted, it is still relatively small as it only included 50 participants, divided equally between vegans and omnivore diet followers.

“Even though our results are reassuring and indicate that infants of mothers that consume a vegan diet meet their requirements of these essential nutrients. We specifically looked at these two nutrients, as those are at risk to be low when consuming a vegan diet,” Juncker concludes. 

A recent tool developed by scientists based in Australia and Vietnam argued for recognizing “the first food system” as paid labor, suggesting implementing a six months paid maternity leave for lactating mothers to allow them to breastfeed their children according to the recommendations from the World Health Organization.

Human breast milk has also shown therapeutic applications for the gut microbiome.

By Beatrice Wihlander