Carbohydrates during the Breastfeeding Phase

At least 25 different polysaccharides and polysaccharides – poly- and oligosaccharides – are found in milk. Some of these saccharides, together with the milk sugar lactose, serve as growth factors for the Lactobacillus bifidus of the infant intestinal flora. This germ promotes an acidic intestinal environment in a breast-fed child. Finally, in this way, protection against overgrowth by pathogenic bacteria is established in the child.

If a mother feeds her infant 800 milliliters of breast milk a day, the infant receives about 60 grams of lactose. This lactose content already covers 40% of the energy intake of a breast-fed child. To prevent the body’s own proteins from being converted into carbohydrates and to support the infant’s growth, 320-380 grams of carbohydrates are thus required daily for a requirement of about 3,000-3,200 calories during the breastfeeding period.