Little known fact: Vitamin A is vital for breast health by Lily Nichols

Earlier this year, when I dove into the research on vitamin A to write this article on liver & organ meat, I rediscovered a paper on vitamin A and its role in breast health. 

In my opinion, Vitamin A is one of the most misunderstood nutrients and something that I am constantly learning more about. Someday, maybe I’ll put together a webinar on the topic, but until then, I’ll share little snippets here, on my blog, and on social media. 

With regards to breast health, our breasts depend on vitamin A to develop and function appropriately. This starts in utero, continues in childhood, dramatically shifts in puberty, again during pregnancy, lactation, weaning, and again during menopause.

Or, in fancy research terms: “retinoid signaling regulates almost all developmental stages of the mammary tissue.”

To highlight a few interesting points from this review article:

1. Hormones of lactation upregulate a number of pathways in vitamin A metabolism, which redirects vitamin A from fat stores and the liver to mammary tissue. Vitamin A is essential to the physical changes to breasts that facilitate adequate milk production as well as ensuring sufficient amounts of vitamin A are transferred into the milk.
   

2. You need ~60% MORE vitamin A during breastfeeding compared to pregnancy, even by conventional standards. To quote the article: “During the breastfeeding period, lactating mothers are susceptible to vitamin deficiency as the neonate feeds on her stores through the milk. Vitamin A is one of the most critical micronutrients in this period, affecting lung function and maturation, and thus susceptibility to infection. Inadequate maternal intake of vitamin A translates to an inadequate supply to the fetus during pregnancy and to the neonate during lactation through breast milk.”
   
   In addition, a baby receives 60-fold more vitamin A during the first 6 months of life than they did during the entire 9 months of gestation. Vitamin A transfer in utero is carefully regulated, so early infancy is time where vitamin A stores are built up via vitamin A-rich breast milk. Unfortunately, many mothers are deficient in vitamin A and as a result, vitamin A levels in breast milk are also low. This is a very sensitive topic, but one I cover in excruciating detail in my Nutrition for Breastfeeding webinar — it’s 90 minutes devoted to the topic of nutrient transfer into breast milk.
   

3. During weaning, the breasts go through a remodeling process called involution. Your breasts literally break down tissues that are no longer required (since you’re not producing milk anymore) and gradually rebuilds the breasts. Vitamin A is essential to this process. Interestingly (this is my anecdotal experience), I craved more vitamin A-rich foods, especially liver, during the first month postpartum and again during weaning. Coincidence? Or by design? Who knows…

There's probably a reason that liver was prized in ancestral cultures for fertility, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. I’d wager the vitamin A content is a big reason for that.