How to recognize breast milk. Fat content of cow's milk: definition, ways to increase it

Igor Nikolaev

Reading time: 4 minutes

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Most livestock farmers strive to increase the productivity of cattle. Milk is one component that a skillful herd owner can influence. Some strive to increase milk yield. Others consider the fat content of milk to be an important indicator. It makes it possible to sell the product at a higher price and meets different taste needs. The ability to change the fat content of a cow's milk to one's advantage distinguishes skillful and experienced business executives. Can this be learned at home?

Fluctuations in fat content

Although milk is 88 percent water, the remaining portion is rich in nutritional content.

Proteins, milk sugar, trace elements and fat are among the criteria that depend on many reasons:

genes, breed and age of the cow;
lactation period;
quality of feeding and decent living conditions;
degree of productivity;
milking methods;
seasonality.

Fat content has always been considered the most valuable part of milk. Full-fat milk often contains more protein. And milk yield, like fat content, increases in proportion to the number of calvings (up to the sixth age of the animal), then decreases.

Therefore, you should not expect a richer product from a young cow that has calved once. Although milk after the birth of a calf is considered the fattest, it cannot be drunk without pre-treatment. This is colostrum intended for offspring. Soon the fat content decreases.

If fertilization has not occurred, the cow will produce much less milk. Fat content indicators will remain high.

Some farmers find it beneficial to avoid insemination because the cow usually gives birth during the winter. When other livestock breeders stop milking a cow two months before giving birth, their non-pregnant female continues to milk. But the amount of milk in this case still decreases.

Moreover, with the onset warm season and the first fresh grass, milk yield gradually increases. At the same time, fat content decreases cow's milk. By the end of the grazing period and with the onset of cold weather, the cow is capable of producing a product with higher fat content.

The difference between homemade milk

Indicators of milk from the store are indicated on the packaging. A conscientious manufacturer provides information about nutritional properties and what fat content the product is. And a fastidious consumer can choose which factor will be decisive for him. Either this is sterilized milk, or pasteurized, baked or for dietary nutrition.

Types of milk are distinguished depending on the duration heat treatment and heating temperature. There are also thickness indicators and fat content percentage. It should be remembered that during processing, most beneficial bacteria and vitamins are killed. Let's see the difference between homemade and store-bought in relation to fat content.

When choosing store-bought milk, the buyer is based not only on the availability of information. Sometimes nothing else is simply not available to him and there is no information about the fat content of homemade cow's milk. Meanwhile, purchasing a product from a proven farm from clean and responsible farmers brings more health benefits. But it won't hurt to pasteurize it. To do this, just heat it on the stove and immediately remove it when rising.

There is also a consumer opinion that the fat content of homemade milk is too high. It is not absorbed, causing stomach upsets and other troubles. There is some truth in this assumption. But most likely in such cases we're talking about on compliance with milking technology and sterility.

In addition, when milk is processed on an industrial scale, many enzymes are destroyed. Hence, the taste and consequences of consumption differ. There are several rules for drinking milk, including full-fat milk:

drink hot or warm, cold is considered very hard on the stomach;
eat without other foods, especially salty and sour ones, add only sugar or cook porridge with it;
you can add cinnamon, ginger or other spices.

Precious interest

A milk quality analyzer is an expensive device. The device is also used to determine the fat content of the product. If for industrial turnover or large farms it is an integral part of the business, then if you have one or two cows it is a luxury.

However, for many cattle owners, the question remains of how to determine the fat content of a cow’s milk at home. There are ways that will help you find out about this property without extra costs.

The method is based on the main property of the product – lightness. The fat in cow's milk is in the form of small globules and consists of glycerol and acids. The higher the proportion of fat, the smaller the size of the balls. The viscosity reading increases accordingly. It is thanks to the fat on the surface of the milk that cream is formed. Therefore, the calorie content of the product depends on what percentage.

For example, skim milk contains only 31 kcal per hundred grams, and 1.5 percent milk has 44 kcal. A treat with 2.5 percent fat has 52 kcal, 3.2 percent has eight kcal more. Next comes 3.5 percent milk with 61 kcal, and in six percent milk the calorie content reaches 84.

To determine the fat content of a cow's milk at home, you need to do a small and simple trick:

take clean, dry dishes. It could be a glass or a jar;
Pour a little milk into the container, up to the curved area if using a can;
after this you need to measure the distance from the bottom to the liquid level. The interval should be exactly ten centimeters;
place the milk in a dark place room temperature;
leave the container for eight hours.

After the specified time, cream will begin to appear on the surface. Their quantity will help check the fat content of domestic cow's milk. The layer of cream is measured with a ruler. Each millimeter is equal to one percent fat content. If three millimeters of cream appears during the specified time, then the fat content of the milk corresponds to three.

Of course, to talk about the absolute reliability of such simple method no need to. After all, when measuring, the density of the cream is not taken into account. It is directly dependent on the animal’s nutrition, season, genetics and other indicators. But you can find out approximately how much fat content cow’s milk has.

An alternative to this method is a similar one, but using scales.

Take the settled milk and cream and mark the boundary between them with a pencil. You need to outline the border of the milk, the border of the beginning and end of the cream. Everything is poured into another container.

After this, the weight of water is measured to the level of the very first mark from the bottom, then part of the water between the marks. This will become clear as you add it. For more accurate calculations, the can is weighed separately and then all together with the subtraction of the tare weight.

Finally, the weight of water between the marks is divided by the total mass of liquid, the figure is multiplied by one hundred percent. This is how the percentage of cream is calculated, the amount of which is proportional to the fat content. For example, with 15 percent cream the fat content is 0.25. Next, the amount of cream as a percentage is multiplied by the fat content factor.

You can also resort to tables with information about animal breeds under equal nutritional and maintenance conditions. Breeds that produce high-fat milk live mainly in foreign countries. There, breeders reach fat milk production through experiments within the herd over many years. But this form will give an even more relative result than the previous two.

Breast milk is the very first food a newborn baby eats. That is why a nursing mother tries to follow a diet and in every possible way improve the fat content of the secreted “product” so that the child gains weight and develops fully. However, unfortunately, sometimes breast milk may not be of very high quality - too fatty or, conversely, not high enough in calories. And this directly affects the child’s health. If the baby is malnourished, he does not gain weight. Conversely, the cause of dysbiosis in newborns is very often the mother’s breast milk that is too fatty. So how can you check how high quality the “mom’s product” is? You will find the answer to this question in our article today.

Normal breast milk fat content

First of all, we note that the fat content of breast milk is genetic and depends on heredity. In addition, its quality is directly affected by the nutrition of the young mother. Normally, 100 ml of product should contain 4.2 g of fat, 1.3 g of protein, 7 g of carbohydrates. The calorie content of high-quality breast milk is 280 kJ. However, when the mother gets better, the fat content of the natural food product for babies increases. In addition, if a woman does not feed the baby correctly, often changing breasts and expressing the leftovers, then the baby receives less high-calorie milk than when feeding from one breast until it is completely emptied. This is why alternating breasts during breastfeeding is used as a method of reducing fat. breast milk.

There are three ways to check the caloric content of “mother’s breast product”. Let's take a closer look at them.

Our grandmothers determined the fat content of milk by simply letting the expressed product (30 ml) sit in a glass glass for a day. Good fat milk has a white or yellowish color, but low-fat milk has a pale, even slightly bluish tint. In addition, if after a day a dense, fatty border of cream with a width equal to 1/3 of the amount of milk formed on the walls of the dish, then such a product was considered high-calorie.

How to increase or decrease the fat content of breast milk?

To increase the calorie content of the “mother’s product,” a nursing woman is recommended to follow a special diet. The diet should be dominated by foods that increase the fat content of milk: fresh vegetables and cereals, fruits, tea with condensed milk, walnuts, halva, broccoli, cheese, butter. Fish, carrots, raisins, beans, cabbage, and meat also help increase the calorie content of milk. To reduce the calorie content of “mother’s breast product”, it is recommended to exclude carbohydrate foods from the diet.

Milk crisis

Oddly enough, this condition is quite common among young mothers. Sometimes a woman feels like there is less milk, so she starts thinking about how to make it fattier. The main thing here is not to panic, but just continue to breastfeed your baby. Apply the baby to your breast at his request. You can drink lactation teas. Almost all children are slightly behind in weight at some point, and this is not at all related to feeding. Active teething, crawling and the baby's first steps increase his energy expenditure, so he may lose a little weight.

Well, if you are still concerned about the quality of your milk and are worried that your baby is not getting better, we recommend that you consult a pediatrician who will dispel all your doubts and find the optimal solution to solve this problem.

The fat content of breast milk is a fairly important indicator, since the health and well-being of the baby will depend on it. Insufficient fat content leads to poor satiety of the child and, as a result, to slow weight gain. And too fatty breast milk promotes development.

Today, some private laboratories provide the opportunity to test breast milk for fat content, immunological indicators and other parameters. There are special chemical tests for this. However, you can find out how much fat is in breast milk at home. Moreover, this method does not take much time and effort. There is also no need for financial costs for laboratory services.

Breast milk fat content

Let's take a closer look at how you can determine the fat content of breast milk using a simple and accessible test. For research, expressed milk is collected in a test tube or glass. It is better to take the so-called “hind” milk. During breastfeeding, the baby first absorbs the first portion of breast milk, which is thinner in consistency. This is “foremilk”, consisting mainly of water and lactose. But the second portion will be “hind milk”, saturated with useful substances, including fats. Therefore, before determining the fat content of breast milk, it is necessary to obtain exactly this portion.

It is worth noting that the smaller the amount of breast milk in the gland, the more fatty it will be. Indeed, in this case, fats and other components of milk are in concentrated form.

Method for determining the fat content of breast milk

The main steps of the method for checking the fat content of breast milk are as follows:

After determining the percentage, and it should be different in terms of fat content in different periods of the baby’s development, measures can be taken to increase or decrease its fat content.

The fat content of breast milk and its increase is what many young mothers worry about. They are concerned about whether the fat content of their breast milk is sufficient for the baby. What makes them think this way? There may be several reasons:

At a certain point, the child stops gaining the required weight (than younger child, the more often it is weighed - at least 1 time per month)
The child began to attach to the breast more often
Mom expresses milk and sees that it is bluish in color - and concludes that the fat content of breast milk needs to be increased. After all, we are all accustomed to thinking that the yellower the milk, the fattier it is.

The fat content of breast milk depends on heredity

There are women whose breast milk is fattier, and others whose breast milk is less fatty. These are hereditary factors, but this does not mean at all that the former can successfully feed, and the latter are doomed to feed with artificial formulas. Not at all! Both of them can successfully feed their child. But some ideas about the formation of milk are needed.

The breast contains "foremilk" and "hind" milk. Foremilk is released first. It is indeed more watery, maybe with a bluish tint. It is digested faster. The fat content of this milk is lower and it contains more sugar. Hind milk is fattier and more nutritious, which means it takes longer to digest and gives the baby a feeling of fullness. Conventionally, foremilk is drink, and hind milk is food for the baby.

The problem with a hungry baby is not the fat content of breast milk?

It happens that the baby does not latch onto the breast correctly and does not suckle effectively. What does it mean? And the fact is that the child makes great efforts to suck, but since the nipple is grasped incorrectly, his efforts bring a bad result. The baby doesn’t get enough to eat because it simply doesn’t get to the hindmilk, it worries, and cries. All you need to do is make sure that the nipple is captured correctly. The baby's lower lip should be turned outward, and the baby's lips should almost completely cover the mother's nipple. Then it will be easier for the baby to suck and milk will flow freely into his mouth.

Sometimes a mother switches breasts too often when feeding. As a result, the baby will suck foremilk from one breast, then the mother changes breasts and the baby sucks foremilk from the other breast. The stomach is filled only with foremilk, and the baby never reaches the fatty hindmilk. In this case, the mother needs to hold the baby at one breast longer so that both the foremilk and the hindmilk are sucked out.

So how can you increase the fat content of breast milk?

Taking into account the above, we conclude that there is no way for a woman to make her breast milk more fatty. But she can organize feeding correctly. Of course, you can try to increase the fat content of breast milk by uncontrolled eating condensed milk, drinking tea with milk, consuming walnuts. But remember that this can cause you to gain extra pounds and your child to develop allergies.

Nature has provided for everything. If there is a child, then mother's milk will be enough fat for him to satisfy his needs. The main thing is not to interfere with this process:

do not pump unless absolutely necessary (as grandmothers used to advise until the last drop),
Do not give your child mother substitutes (bottles, pacifiers, etc.).

A young mother needs to eat right, not be nervous, and get enough sleep if possible. Make sure your baby is latching on correctly. The baby's mouth should be wide open, the lower lip should be turned outward, and the nipple and areola should be completely (almost completely) covered by the baby's mouth.

Milk crisis

Indeed, there are milk crises in mothers, when it seems that there is less milk. Mommy begins to think about how to make breast milk fatter and wants to increase her milk supply. The main thing here is not to panic! You just need to keep feeding. Attach the baby to the breast at his request. You can drink lactation teas.

Even weight gain is not an absolute indicator of whether a baby has enough milk or not. During certain periods, the growth will be small or not at all (active teething or when the child begins to crawl, walk, that is, his energy consumption increases).

How to check the fat content of breast milk

If you doubt whether your milk is fatty, you can do a simple test at home. For this you will need a test tube.

To determine the fat content, you need to take expressed hind milk. Make a mark on the test tube from its bottom - 10 cm and fill the test tube with expressed milk up to this mark. Next, the test tube is placed vertically for 6-7 hours in room conditions. After this, the width of the cream layer formed on the surface of the milk is measured with a ruler. Usually it is approximately 4 mm - each millimeter is the percentage of fat content. That is, 4 mm is 4% fat content. This method is given to you in order to once again reassure yourself that everything is fine with your milk. Remember that nature has already provided everything for you!

Pregnancy and childbirth are over, mother and baby are already at home and learning to understand each other. A new time of excitement and anxiety is coming. Most mothers who decide to breastfeed their babies sooner or later wonder whether the child has enough food or whether the milk is nutritious enough? How to determine the fat content of breast milk, and should it be increased?

These questions do not lose their relevance throughout the entire period of exclusive natural feeding, until the child switches to regular food. These are the questions that any breastfeeding woman asks herself if the child begins to often act up or ask for the breast.

We will try to figure out how to find out the fat content of breast milk, whether this can be done independently at home or whether it is necessary to carry out an analysis in the laboratory.

The fat content of milk is an indicator that determines its nutritional value. If the fat content is insufficient, the child may not eat enough. It is worth noting that nature itself took care of everything: the mother’s body produces milk in the composition and quantity that the child needs at a given time.

Immediately after childbirth, a woman secretes very valuable and nutritious colostrum, with the help of which the baby’s body adapts to a new type of nutrition. Then transitional milk begins to be produced, which is replaced by mature milk a few days after birth.

The nutritional value of each type of milk is different; moreover, it changes with the baby’s growth in order to fully satisfy the child’s needs for microelements, minerals and vitamins. Breast milk from the mother of a newborn differs significantly from the milk produced by the mother of a six-month-old baby.

Until now, scientists cannot accurately determine the composition of breast milk, therefore, when choosing between adapted milk formulas and breasts, we can safely say that breast milk is the best food for a child in the first year of life.

If we talk about nutritional value mature breast milk, then on average it has the following indicators:

What are the criteria for determining that milk does not contain enough nutrients? Most often, a mother thinks about this if:

the child gains weight below normal or has stopped gaining weight;
the baby is constantly attached to the breast or “hangs” on the chest for hours;
expressed milk has a bluish tint.

How to check the fat content of breast milk

If you have just pumped your breasts and it seems to you that the milk is translucent and not oily enough, do not rush to get upset. It is impossible to determine whether milk is fatty just by looking at it.

Before answering the question of how to check the fat content of breast milk, you need to know about its property of “stratifying.” This occurs due to the fact that fat molecules stick together and attach to the walls of the alveoli. Therefore, first the baby sucks out the “front”, more watery milk. And after it, “hind” milk gradually begins to be released - fattier and richer nutrients. Thus, if you want to analyze the fat content of milk, to obtain more accurate results use the back one.

The method of testing milk for oiliness at home has not changed since the times of our mothers and grandmothers. To use it, take a clean test tube and make a mark at a height of 10 cm from the bottom of the test tube. Express the hind jelly to the mark you made and leave the tube upright for several hours (usually 6 - 7 hours is enough) at room temperature. After some time, the contents of the test tube will begin to separate: a kind of cream appears on top.

After the specified time has passed, measure the cream level with a ruler. One millimeter of cream will correspond to 1% fat content. If you don’t have a test tube at hand, you can use a transparent glass or any other container that is convenient for you, the main thing is that you can express a sufficient amount of liquid.

Many doctors are skeptical about the home method of determining the percentage of fat in mother's milk, and if you also doubt the reliability of the results, you can conduct a chemical analysis of breast milk for fat content in a specialized laboratory. In this case, it is worth considering that the results will only be relevant on the day of milk collection. The next day, its composition may change, and the oiliness, accordingly, too.

How to increase the nutritional value of milk

Do not panic if, after analyzing breast milk for fat content, it turns out that it differs from the reference standard. Watch your child - his condition will tell you better than any tests whether mother's milk is nutritious enough or not.

If you come to the conclusion that the calorie content of milk needs to be increased, do this very carefully and only after talking with your pediatrician or lactation consultant.

Due to a sharp increase in the percentage of fat, the child may experience colic or dysbacteriosis.

So, you have decided that the child is not eating enough. First of all, make sure that your baby is latching onto the breast correctly. Often, by correcting nipple latch, you will solve the problem of malnutrition. If you are sure that your child takes the breast correctly, try to change glands less often during feeding. If a mother constantly offers her baby one breast or the other, he simply does not get to the fatty milk. Lactation consultants recommend changing it no more than once every 2-3 hours. This way you will be sure that the baby sucks not only foremilk, but also hindmilk, which has a higher calorie content.

In the first two to three months after birth, do not limit the time the baby stays at the breast. After all, the level of lactation directly depends on the needs of the child. Simply put, than bigger baby sucks, the more mother’s breasts fill up.

Do not forget about such a phenomenon as a milk (or lactation) crisis. During certain periods breastfeeding, the mother may feel that lactation has decreased. Scientists explain this by the fact that the child does not grow evenly, but spasmodically. And when the next growth spurt occurs, the mother’s body is simply not ready for it. Don't panic, continue to put your baby to your breast as required, and in a couple of days your lactation level will return to normal.

A baby may ask to be breastfed not only because of hunger. For a little person, mother’s breast is not only delicious food and drink; clinging to her, the child seeks comfort and reassurance. When a baby is suffering from colic or teething, it is by cuddling with his mother that he calms down. Many are sure that mother's milk can even knock down high temperature!

And, perhaps, the most important thing is that a woman should not forget about herself. A nursing mother needs to eat regularly and well, get enough sleep and avoid stress, because the baby’s condition directly depends on the mother’s well-being.

How to recognize breast milk. Fat content of cow's milk: definition, ways to increase it