I realized all of my videos so far have focused on healthy food for adults. I've been neglecting a whole demographic
Sorry, buddy. So today we cover the science of breastfeeding Oh
See I got your back. Okay?
We're gonna talk about the incredible biology of breastfeeding but real quick before we get started in our society
There's a lot of pressure on mothers
There's a lot of pressure on women in general
But mothers even more pressure to be perfect to do everything right everything at the right time to go by this imaginary checklist
I'm seeing that in my own family with all of my sisters going through motherhood and having to juggle
the high
Expectations with the reality and just doing the very best they can
so as we go through the all the information we're gonna keep in mind that the mother's
Circumstances are a huge factor at the end of the day
It's much more about that connection between the mother and the baby than it is about being a hundred percent
perfect a hundred percent of the time and speaking of connection that
Amazing bond between the mother and the baby we've all seen it that's not an accident breastfeeding causes the mother's brain to release hormones
Oxytocin. Is this really small hormone with amazing effects?
It causes tiny contractions inside the breasts that help push out the milk bottoms up little dude
Even more amazing oxytocin also works directly in the brain both the mothers and the babies and it causes that feeling of bonding as well
Pretty useful hormone and it's not just in humans. Check out this dog's behavior the owners on the right the dogs facing the owner
the dogs facing the stranger
Now watch the dog after receiving some oxytocin
Laser focus
Completely ignores the stranger
So that's a pretty striking visual and it's an example of how powerful this hormone can be
Now that bond between the mother and the baby not so surprising anymore. Is it now full disclosure? I'm not a mother
I
Really wanted to have some motherly input in this video
So I tried to shoot the whole thing with my sister and her nine-month-old. We had the whole thing set up
She had some great advice for soon-to-be mothers, but there was a tiny factor we couldn't control
But I just I just kept going
and
with
The recommendations, actually there's
Medical organizations that recommend okay. Another thing I wanted to ask you
You've heard that from us I've heard about it
So we're gonna try this again soon when he's in the mood and we'll feed him right before
and we'll make sure all his needs are met and we'll
Talk to his agent or whatever it takes and we'll have a video coming up very soon with both of them one thing
We were chatting about a lot is he just loves eating his vegetables. It's just not a problem. Now, there are these fascinating studies showing
Babies tend to prefer the same foods the mother eats
it turns out the nutrients and the flavors in the food the mother's eating end up in the milk and
They influence the babies preferences for solid food as well. This is so powerful. It works even before birth
The mum eats the nutrients end up in the amniotic fluid the baby is dipped in it and after birth
He or she tends to prefer those same foods, the mother was eating during pregnancy. Those are pretty incredible results
So if you want your kid to eat these veggies you have to eat them yourself, isn't it?
Crazy that setting the example starts before the kid is even born
Another common question is how long should we breastfeed for? What's the science on it?
the World Health Organization for example recommends breastfeeding all the way to two years old if possible why well one reason
Breastfeeding is so healthy are these molecules called?
Oligosaccharides they're basically natural sugars human milk oligosaccharides or HMOs
And here's the amazing part the baby can't even digest them
Can't break them down at all doesn't have the digestive enzymes turns out they're actually food for the microbes
Inside the baby the microbiome the collection of bacteria and other microorganisms
Inside the baby's gut the microbiome is forming at this young age
and these
Oligosaccharides these natural sugars help feed and strengthen the good bacteria in the microbiome and prepare it for later on
let's pause and think about that for a second evolution makes you produce these hundreds of natural sugars these
oligosaccharides that the baby can digest at all because they feed little bacteria inside the baby's gut
That are gonna make the baby healthier later in life. Come on science is amazing
these sugars the
Oligosaccharides they also help prevent infection by fighting the bad bacteria inside the baby's gut so they promote growth of the good bacteria
And they fight the bad bacteria two for the price of one
So those are some of the benefits of breastfeeding now, they have to be weighed against the circumstances
What's what makes sense in each person's case my sister's thinking about whether she wants to go to two years old
Or she wants to stop earlier. She's still deciding
Marist feeding is very taxing on her and there's a lot of other circumstances as well
So it's up in the air TBD some women can breastfeed more and longer others shorter and others not at all
That's okay. You do what you can and don't put excessive pressure on yourself one less thing
I know that in a lot of countries. There's this taboo around breastfeeding in public
I'm actually in Europe right now where people just don't care but in the US for some people it's a big deal now
I'd hate to see somebody breastfeed less or miss an opportunity to do it because of social pressures or taboos
so
You know what just do it whenever you're ready for it whenever it's convenient for you and whenever the baby's ready
And somebody's got a problem with that. Just tell them it's doctor's orders now before you go
I know you've got things to do places to be but if you found this video helpful
Or interesting at all consider sharing it with other people who might benefit and hit that like button and subscribe for future videos
Also, I just started this Facebook page where all the videos and other nutrition information will be posted on a regular basis
So check that out
I'll put a link in the description below and feel free to link up with me on Twitter where I share a lot of science
Information every day. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you on the next one. Bye. Bye