One of the many benefits of breastfeeding is that
breastmilk has several different immunoglobulins that help protect
infants from various kinds of allergies.
Until recently, what was not known, was if a breastfeeding mother's
diet would affect the relationship between breastfeeding and
allergies.
Researchers from the University of Turku, Finland recently revealed
the results of their study that showed breastfed infants whose mothers
ate a diet high in total and saturated fat were more likely than other
breastfed babies to develop allergies.One hundred and fourteen babies with a family history of common
allergies were studied. Mothers kept a record of their diet for four
days when their babies were about 3 months old. The researchers found
that 23.7 percent of babies became sensitive to things such as eggs,
milk wheat and cats by age 1. They also found that infants whose
mothers consumed high-fat diets were 16 percent more likely to develop
allergies than breastfed infants whose mothers ate diets high in
carbohydrates.
"Maternal intake of saturated fat during breastfeeding was
associated with a topic sensitization of the infant," the
researchers reported in the September issue of the European Journal
of Clinical Nutrition (2000;54:702-705).
The researchers recommend that women in families prone to common
allergies moderate their dietary fat intake during breastfeeding and
pregnancy, since a diet high in saturate fat is generally an
unbalanced diet.
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