3.2. Total energy intake to nutrient energy ratio
The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of nutrient energy
supply ratio on TAG composition of breast milk by food frequency
questionnaire. The total energy intake and nutrient supply ratio of the
three groups are shown in Table 1. The total daily energy intake in the
fat group was 2106.07 kcal in the mothers, 2189.21 kcal in the
carbohydrate group, and 2246.35 kcal in the protein group. There was no
significant difference in total energy intake among the three groups
(P > 0.05). Each group had and only one nutrient
function ratio was significantly higher than the other two groups. The
fat energy ratio and protein energy ratio were significantly different
among the three groups of mothers (P < 0.05). The
carbohydrate energy ratio of mothers in carbohydrate group was
significantly higher than that in fat group and protein group, but there
was no significant difference between fat group and protein group.
Referring to the 2022 Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents
(Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents , 2022), the total
energy intake of all mothers was lower than the dietary energy
requirement of lactating mothers (2300 kcal/day). Only the carbohydrate
intake of lactating mothers in the carbohydrate group
(~57%) was within the acceptable range of
macronutrients (50-60%), and the carbohydrate intake of the other two
groups (~45% and ~43%) was below the
lower limit of the range. In addition, the fat intake of lactating
mothers in the three groups was higher than the upper limit of the
acceptable range of macronutrients (20-30%), especially the fat intake
of lactating mothers in the fat group and the protein group was too high
(~40% and ~36%).
Lipids are known as a major source of energy, and a diet composed mainly
of lipids can provide more energy for future generations (Mehta, 2008).
A mother ’s high-fat diet increases the concentration of milk fat,
especially LCFA and MCFA, leading to a fuller transfer of this
macronutrient to the infant (Seet et al., 2015). In an early report, it
was observed that a high-fat diet can promote the development of the
hippocampus by stimulating neurogenesis and reducing apoptosis (Li et
al., 2017). However, some studies have shown that maternal high prenatal
intake of sugar and prenatal or postpartum intake of saturated fatty
acids are associated with increased obesity (Gomes et al., 2018) in
offspring. But this excessive fat intake is consistent with two studies
(Chen et al., 2012; Tian et al., 2019; Hui-Min et al., 2019) conducted
in southeastern and northeastern China, which may be related to the
nature of postpartum eating habits in China. This postpartum practice
refers to increasing the consumption of high-fat and protein-rich foods,
such as chicken soup and pig hoof soup etc . It shows that Chinese
lactating women need to follow a more balanced diet, especially
emphasizing less fat intake.