Lipases in Breast Milk

Lipase is nothing but an enzyme found in our body. Some nursing mothers carry high deposit of lipases in their breast milk. As such, lipases facilitates in several bodily functions. One of the tasks involve breast milk fat breakdown. The fat breakdown enables the baby to digest breast milk easily. However, over production of lipases in breast milk can backfire as it can spoil the milk very quickly.

Also, don’t be surprised if your baby starts rejecting your breast milk because lipases can affect the taste of the milk. Excessive bitterness can lead to extra work before being able to breastfeed the baby. Let’s figure out the causes of break milk lipases before we jump into the solution part.

Inflammation of one’s pancreas can lead to over production of lipases in our body. In some cases, the lipase level goes beyond three times the normal range. Certain stomach conditions can also result into excess lipase production. Besides this, gall bladder infection is also cited as one of the reasons for increased lipase levels in our body. Some studies also suggest that kidney failure can cause excessive outbreak of lipase levels.

Over here, scalding one’s milk can be hugely beneficial. One should scald and not boil the milk before freezing them. This is a must as most babies won’t accept the taste change caused due to excess lipases content in the breast milk. As such, scalding will not bring about a significant change in the milk’s taste, but it will certainly make the milk drinkable.

Make sure that you choose a microwave over a stove in order to scald the breast milk. The fact of the matter is that use of microwaves will help you retain more nutrients in comparison to the use of stove or similar equipments. Your best bet would be to scald the milk to about 180 F (82 C), or until you see little bubbles around the edge of the pan. Once this is done, you need to quickly cool the milk and store it.

Remember, scalding the milk will lower the nutrient value; but they are still a good choice over other milk sources. Also, as long as your little one is not completely relying on heat treated milk, scalding the milk shouldn’t bother you much. If this doesn’t work, then you need to stop freezing the milk. Remember, milk can be stored safely in a refrigerator for a week or so. That being said, below are a few pointers that you should keep in mind while storing the milk.

Firstly, make sure that you freeze the milk in glass bottles and store them in a freezer that doesn’t have an automatic defrost cycle. It’s believed that this feature can cause more issues than resolving your problem. In conclusion, excess lipase level in breast milk isn’t a grave issue at all, but it does add to your existing work burden. Also, the remedy is simple, but it will require you to harvest some efforts from your end.