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 skilled and experienced business executives. Can this be learned at home?
What determines the fat content of human milk?
The percentage of fat in human milk is a variable value, which depends on the stage of lactation, the needs of the child, and the duration of feeding.
Fat content of breast milk in percent (according to A.F. Tour)
| Type of milk | Fat content, % per 100 ml |
| Colostrum | 2,8-4,1 |
| Transition milk | 2,9-4,4 |
| Mature milk | 3,3-3,4 |
Human milk is characterized by the highest fat content in the first days after birth, and then it decreases. However, even in this dependence, not everything is so simple. If you take milk from two women at the same stage of lactation, its fat content will not be the same. Any variations are a consequence of the individuality of each individual mother-child system, which at the moment functions exactly as necessary for the child, taking into account his needs and health status.
Since the fat content of mother's milk is programmed by nature itself, it is unlikely to change it with the help of food. Then it remains unclear why the baby is still hungry. The answer, as usual, lies in the organization of breastfeeding, in which the duration of feeding plays a leading role.
Mother's milk is divided into two types - front and rear. Foremilk is more liquid and transparent. It quenches thirst more than saturates the child’s body with nutrients. This milk mainly consists of lactose and water. Hindmilk is fattier due to a higher concentration of fat. At the very beginning of feeding, the baby quenches his thirst with fore milk, and at the end of feeding he eats fatty and nutritious hind milk. Insufficient duration of feeding can actually reduce the final fat content of milk obtained during breastfeeding.
Contraindications
Lactose is not fully absorbed by every body, and its individual intolerance becomes a contraindication to drinking cow's milk. Lactose favors the formation of a putrefactive environment and sometimes causes digestive problems. The chemical composition of milk becomes depleted when boiled, but in its fresh form it is contraindicated for infants due to contamination with bacteria.
Milk is contraindicated for people with salt deposits in blood vessels
For diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, and pancreas, it is worth replacing the consumption of fresh products with fermented milk.
How to determine at home
Many women, faced with breastfeeding problems, think about how to check the fat content of their milk. To do this, you can do a special test, for which you will need a regular ruler and a test tube.
1 way
- Express milk from one breast as completely as possible using your hands or a breast pump into any suitable container.
- Mix the milk well and fill the test tube with it to the pre-made mark on the wall of 10 cm.
- Place the test tube in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours. During this time, the milk must settle, so you cannot shake the test tube.
- In the morning, a layer of separated cream will appear in the test tube.
- You need to take a ruler and measure how many millimeters this layer is in centimeters.
- Next, divide the resulting value by 10 cm and multiply by 100%. This is the desired percentage of fat content.
Method 2
If you have accurate scales, you can do the analysis in another way. To do this, you need to prepare breast milk and let it settle, as in the previous method. You can settle in any suitable, pre-weighed container, but if it is too wide, the accuracy of the method will decrease. Next you need to do the following.
- Mark the top and bottom layers of settled cream with a marker on the wall of the container.
- Pour all the milk into another container.
- Pour water into the empty container first to the top mark and weigh.
- Then pour water to the bottom mark and weigh again.
- Calculate the difference between the obtained values, and then subtract the mass of the pre-weighed container. The result is the mass of water between the two marks.
- Divide the resulting value by the mass of water in the container, poured to the top mark without taking into account the mass of the container itself, and multiply by 100%. So, using water, we will get an approximate value for the percentage of cream in milk.
- The percentage of cream is proportional to the fat content. 15% cream corresponds to a fat content factor of 0.25. If the percentage of cream differs up or down, the fat content coefficient must also be adjusted, based on the fact that when the amount of cream changes by 1%, the fat content coefficient changes by 0.01. For example, for 14% it is 0.24.
- Now you can find out the fat content of milk by multiplying the percentage of cream by the fat content coefficient.
Example
We found that the difference in the mass of water between the upper and lower marks in the container is 2 g, and the entire mass of water is 20 g, then 2/20 * 100% = 10%. The fat content coefficient will be 0.20. Milk fat content = 10%*0.20. The resulting value is 2%.
These methods make it quite easy to conduct a mini study of the fat content in milk at home.
Measuring instruments
To check the fat content of milk immediately after milking, farmers with large herds of cattle often purchase a special device - a butyrometer. Such devices are indispensable on large livestock farms that trade in milk. The product in which it is necessary to find out the percentage of fat content should not contain impurities and additives, peroxide and starch, which prolong the shelf life of milk.
Using a butyrometer, you can determine the fat level from 0 to 6%. The device looks like an oblong tube consisting of a narrow and wide part. Once the milk sample is placed in the device, it will need to be heated and separated to separate the components of the product.
How to use the butyrometer:
- milk is poured into the tube;
- a component required for determining fat content is added – concentrated sulfuric acid. Thanks to the substance, a reaction begins that separates the product into fat and whey parts. At the border of contact between the two environments, a clear boundary is formed;
- isoamyl alcohol is poured in.
The butyrometer must be closed so that during the measurement procedure milk does not leak out of it, stain the laboratory surfaces and personnel clothing, and the loss of the product does not affect the results of the study.
The device is placed in a water bath, which is purchased complete with the butyrometer, and heated to 65-70 o C.
It is important to control the heating temperature using a thermometer so as not to spoil the product or get a false result. Afterwards, the butyrometer is placed in a centrifuge, where, as a result of exposure to milk at 1000 revolutions per minute, it is separated into fat and whey. The result (percentage of fat content) is determined using a butyrometer scale.
Where can I get tested for fat content?
A more accurate analysis to determine the fat content of breast milk and its nutrient content can be done by special private clinics and laboratories. The cost of such an analysis will depend on the research methodology.
You can also contact laboratories to determine the quality of food products. For example, at the Moscow Independent Laboratory for the Quality of Raw Materials and Food Products, determining the fat content in milk will cost 550 rubles.
Laboratories that make it possible to determine all the components of milk operate in maternity hospitals. They are equipped with breast milk analyzers (such as Miris HMA (Human Milk Analyzer), which simultaneously allow you to determine such indicators as protein, fat, carbohydrates, dry matter and calorie content. Therefore, if a woman is faced with such a task, she can go to the maternity hospital, where she herself gave birth.
Milk crisis: should we panic?
Milk crisis is a common occurrence that occurs for various reasons, including nervousness. During this period, the woman begins to panic greatly and eats everything to increase the fat content of breast milk. Unfortunately, these actions do not always lead to a positive result.
If a mother is faced with a milk crisis, the main thing is not to panic. A nervous post office may even run out of milk. Try to just keep feeding. To enhance lactation, drink special tea, which can be purchased at the pharmacy.
With the birth of a woman's first child, many changes occur in her body and in her life. Becoming a mother is a completely normal phenomenon. All skills are acquired over time. It is important to understand that nature provides everything. The mammary glands secrete such an amount of milk that is enough for the baby to feed. If a woman is faced with a problem where it is not there at all, only then can she switch to dry infant formula. In any other situation, try to feed your child breast milk - it is very important for the normal development of the child’s body.
If breast milk turns out to be low-fat
What should you do if the fat content analysis results are not high enough? First of all, you need to understand that the results obtained at home are indicative in nature and you should not rely entirely on them. Data from specialized laboratories are more accurate, but due to various factors (completeness of pumping, regularity of feeding the child, the woman’s health status), the results of a single analysis may also be unreliable. It is best to check again and then draw a conclusion for yourself.
The fat content of mother's milk determines its nutritional value. It is difficult for a woman to independently determine by her appearance whether there is enough fat in her milk, but she can draw the appropriate conclusions based on the behavior of her child. If the baby eats well, develops and gains weight, then there should be no problems with fat content. If the baby does not eat enough, is constantly capricious and gains body weight very slowly, then it is worth doing a home test to help approximately determine the percentage of fat content of mother's milk.
Cheese
The fat content of cheese is determined in almost the same way as for cottage cheese. For calculations, you need to know the weight of whey and milk from which the cheese is made, as well as the fat content and weight of the final product. To calculate, you need to substitute everything into the formula:
L cheese=(Lm*Wm+Lc*Wc)/W, where:
- Wm – weight of milk;
- Wc – whey weight;
- Lm – fat content in percent;
- Lc – whey fat content in percent;
- W – weight of cheese;
- L – fat content of cheese.
Useful tips
- There is no need to express the front milk, leaving only the hind milk for the baby
- Drink as much water as your body requires. There is no need to be afraid that water can make breast milk less fatty
- Divide your meals into 5-6 times. Eat small meals
- Try to be less nervous and stay positive
- Feed your baby on demand, do not limit him by time
Watch your baby. If he feels good and is gaining weight steadily, then there is no reason to worry. There is no need to try your best to increase the fat content of milk, especially since it is more difficult for a child to get milk that is too fatty, he gets tired faster and, as a result, does not get enough. In addition, digestive problems may occur.
Detection of soda and chalk impurities in milk
To prevent milk from spoiling for a long time, manufacturers add chalk or soda to it. You can identify these impurities in milk (unless the manufacturer has normalized the pH level of the milk after adding them) by adding acetic acid - the milk will instantly sour (curdled), and the appearance of foam will indicate the presence of chalk or soda in the milk (Fig. 9).
Figure 9. Detection of soda and chalk impurities in milk
During the experiment, when acetic acid was added, the milk curdled in all three samples (Fig. 10).
Figure 10. Results of detection of soda and chalk impurities in milk
Conclusion: milk samples do not contain chalk and soda impurities.
To make sure the experiment was correct, we added a small amount of soda to the milk, and then acetic acid. Foam has formed (Fig. 11). The presence of chalk in milk also makes itself felt by foam.
Figure 11. Assessing the reliability of the experiment to detect soda and chalk impurities in milk
Conclusion: the results of the experiment to identify impurities of soda and chalk in milk can be considered quite reliable. It should be noted that the reliability of the experiment will be absolute if, after adding impurities, the pH of the milk is brought to the original level.
Baby is not gaining weight well: possible reasons
Some breastfeeding women may mistakenly think that if the baby is not gaining weight, then the culprit is insufficiently fatty milk. However, the reasons may be completely different:
- Mom puts baby to breast incorrectly
- If you feed according to a schedule, not on demand
- The baby does not latch onto the nipple correctly
- The baby sucks out little milk (for example, falls asleep before reaching hindmilk)
- If you change breasts during one feeding
