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AboutBreastfed Babies Less Likely to Have Heart Disease
Breastfed Babies Less Likely to Have Heart Disease
Can breastfeeding help protect your baby from heart disease
later in life? British and Dutch researchers recently discovered that
exclusive breastfeeding seems to have a protective effect against
certain risk factors of cardiovascular disease.
The researchers studies a group of 624 adults born in Amsterdam during
the Dutch famine (between 1943 and 1946). The men and women in the
study gave blood samples in 1995 and 1996, when they were between the
ages of 48 and 53. The majority of the study participants (83 percent)
were exclusively breastfed for at least the first 10 days of
life. The
remaining participants were either partially or completely bottle-fed
cow's milk or buttermilk.
By studying the blood samples, the researchers found that the adults
who were partially or completely bottle-fed had unsatisfactory levels
of cholesterol, an indicator of increased risk of cardiovascular
disease. They determined that bottle-fed babies have different
hormonal responses compared to breastfed babies, and that the fat
content in breastmilk may protect against overfeeding. In their report
published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, the researchers
referred to animal studies indicating that hormones in breastmilk may
affect the metabolism of cholesterol and related fatty substances in
the body.
The researchers also found that the adults who were bottle-fed had
impaired insulin functioning compared to their breastfed counterparts. Among other things, insulin helps maintain sugar metabolism. When
insulin does not function properly, diabetes and other ailments may
occur.
"Our results support the hypothesis that the method of infant
feeding is an important determinant of health in adult life," the
researchers concluded." Because of the potential importance for
the prevention of cardiovascular disease, it is important that the
research in the area of infant nutrition should also focus on
biological effects in later life."
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