The Human Milk Contents of Iron, Copper, Zinc, Calcium and Magnesium in a Population with a Habitually High Intake of Iron

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Abstract
The contents of Fe, Cu, Zn, Ca and Mg were determined in human milk samples from 18 Ethiopian and 23 Swedish women. The Ethiopian women belonged to 2 groups with different socioeconomic situations, a nonprivileged and a privileged group. Both groups had an excessively high dietary Fe intake.sbd.20-30 times that of the Swedish women.sbd.from the Fe-rich traditional diet. Despite this, the mean concentrations of Fe in the milk, as well as of Zn and Mg, were similar in all 3 groups. The mean Cu concentration was significantly lower in the Ethiopian than in the Swedish milk samples, the lowest mean value occurring in the privileged group. A significantly higher mean Ca concentration was found in milk samples from the Ethiopian women than from the Swedish, the highest mean concentration being noted in the nonprivileged group. The levels of minerals in breast milk showed no correlation to the birth weight of the infants or the length of gestation. An excessively high dietary Fe intake does not increase the breast milk content of Fe in mothers with a good Fe status. The reasons for the differences in the content of Cu between the Ethiopian and Swedish milk samples are unclear. The higher Ca content in milk from the Ethiopian mothers, despite a low dietary Ca intake, may be a result of an increased endogenous cholecalciferol synthesis due to greater exposure to sunshine.