Hi,
I have an 11 month old and just recently have seen the studies that cow’s milk consumption may be linked to diabetes. I supplemented with formula from the beginning because I didn’t have enough supply. Honestly, reading the studies makes me feel sick… I wish I had seen them a year ago, and I wish my endo had said something. I had read that breastfeeding can reduce the chance of D, but I thought it was because of the benefits of breast milk and not the avoidance of cow’s milk. So, just wondering- is this something that doctors normally tell their pregnant patients?
I’m currently pregnant. In a child care class I attended they said no child should have cow’s milk before 1 year of age. Not because of diabetes, but because they can’t digest it properly. By no cow’s milk, they meant they have to have breast milk OR formula until they are 1–just don’t give them regular milk from the grocery store.
I’d never heard this before, and it didn’t make sense because most babies until the last 20 years ago were fed cow’s milk during infancy, yet the incidence of Type 1 is very low. It turns out this advice is mostly distributed on natural foods/eco websites. Here is some critically reviewed and scientific information on the issue of mucosal immune function:
I am a mom of a T1D diagnosed at age 6 (7 months ago). WHile I haven’t read much on this study you are speaking of I find it interesting and am going to look into it further. I breastfeed my daughter exclusively for a year before introducing cow’s milk into her diet. She now is T1D. My older son (9) nursed exclusively for 1 1/2 months (was not producing enough milk) before I began to supplement with formula. His pediatrician then recommended I introduce cows milk during mealtimes into his diet at 6 months old and he does not have any health issues. In all of the information I have read, the experts say that breast-feeding “may” help not only reduce acute illness, such as the common cold and ear infections but also prevent chronic illness, such as T1D. I guess there are exceptions for everything/everyone but I don’t think these things are predictable and cow’s milk cannot possibly be the only variable. Genetics and environmental factors must also play a rule. I could beat myself up for all of the things I’ve done imperfectly as a parent but I did breastfeed for the recommended year and my daughter still has to live with a chronic illness for the rest of her life.