Transferred to breastfed children: “May increase the risks of certain types of cancer”
Many women in Sweden have higher levels of the environmental toxin PFAS in their breast milk than the guideline value for drinking water.
When Sveriges Natur’s reporter Isabelle Strengbom had her breast milk analyzed, it turned out that the PFAS levels were 6 times higher than the guideline value.
– I would have liked to be able to offer a breast milk that is free of environmental toxins, but I can’t, says Isabelle Strengbom.
Sveriges Natur’s report describes how PFAS is transferred to breastfeeding children. A few years ago, the Swedish Food Agency decided to lower the limit value for PFAS in drinking water, from 90 nanograms per liter to four. When Isabelle Strengboms tested her breast milk, it ended up at 25 nanograms, a figure that is still quite low compared to previous studies when the average content was sometimes upwards of 100 nanograms per liter.
– PFAS are endocrine disruptors, it can negatively affect the immune system and it can also increase the risks of certain types of cancer, says Mattias Öberg, researcher in toxicology at Karolinska Institutet.
Do not break down
The PFAS toxins remain and accumulate in our bodies, that is why the levels become so high when PFAS are excreted with the breast milk. By having low limit values for drinking water, it is hoped that in the long term it will contribute to women getting less PFAS in their bodies.
– We do not want what is in the body to end up in the breast milk and then be transferred to our children. That is why we have low limit values for drinking water, explains Mattias Öberg.
To breastfeed or not?
Several PFAS compounds are now banned, and they are now slowly decreasing in nature. But no one knows how long it will take before the values are harmless. So how should one think when it comes to breastfeeding? Most researchers and experts seem to agree that the benefits outweigh. Not least because breast milk counteracts the bad effects of PFAS.
– Some of the risks we see with PFAS against, for example, the immune system are offset by the fact that breastfeeding strengthens the immune system. Therefore, the general recommendation that one should breastfeed is very healthy, says Mattias Öberg.
Isabelle Strengbom also does not hesitate about the choice to breastfeed or not.
– If I would have known that I had this level of PFAS, I would still have chosen to breastfeed. Because there are so many benefits to breastfeeding. Of course, I would like my breast milk to be free of environmental toxins. But it doesn’t work. I can’t influence it, she says.