Breastfeeding may protect children against gluten intolerance otherwise known as coeliac disease, suggests research published ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
People with coeliac disease develop a permanent sensitivity to gluten, a protein found in cereals such as wheat, rye, and barley. An estimated 1% of the UK population is affected. And infants who were being regularly breastfed when they were first introduced to foods containing gluten cut their risk of developing coeliac disease by 52% compared with those who were not being breastfed. It may be that a child is simply exposed to less gluten during weaning if s/he is being breastfed, suggest the authors. But breastfeeding might also cut the number of gastrointestinal infections, thereby reducing the potential to weaken the lining of the bowel, or it may curb the immune response to gluten.
Breastfeeding may protect children against gluten intolerance
