Home
You can view the current or previous issues of Diabetes Health online, in their entirety, anytime you want.
Click Here To View
See if you qualify for our free healthcare professional magazines. Click here to start your application for Pre-Diabetes Health, Diabetes Health Pharmacist and Diabetes Health Professional.
Latest Health Articles
Popular Health Articles
Highly Recommended Health Articles
Email to a Friend
Send a link to this page to your friends and colleagues.
Special Infant Formula May Protect Babies from Type 1 Diabetes
Other researchers caution that the findings are too preliminary to start making recommendations, and point out that the hydrolyzed formula is considerably more expensive.
If you have a new infant in your family and a family history of type 1 diabetes, feeding your baby a special formula when weaning off breastfeeding may protect against the development of the antibodies associated with type 1 diabetes, thus potentially shielding your child from developing the disease itself. This is the finding of a new study, conducted by Finnish researchers, that was published in the November 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The researchers randomly assigned 230 babies at high risk of type 1 diabetes to receive either a regular infant formula or one that was extensively hydrolyzed -- meaning that the proteins in the formula are already partially broken down and more readily available for digestion. They found that the extensively hydrolyzed formula cut the rate of developing diabetes-linked antibodies in the blood almost in half. Five immune system auto-antibodies have been linked to type 1 diabetes. Having one of these antibodies indicates an increased risk for the disease, while having two or more means between a 50 and a 100 percent risk of developing type 1 diabetes.
"We observed that early dietary intervention [with extensively hydrolyzed formula] decreased the frequency of diabetes-associated auto-antibodies, which are markers of an ongoing disease process, by about 50 percent by the age of 10 years," said the study's lead author, Dr. Michael Knip, a professor of pediatrics at the Hospital for Children and Adolescents in Helsinki, Finland.
The study built upon previous research suggesting that breastfeeding may offer protection against type 1 because it delays the introduction of formula. Formula is made of complex proteins that may trigger the development of auto-antibodies as the proteins are broken down for digestion.
The current randomized, double-blind study compared regular baby formula to one that was extensively hydrolyzed. Babies were offered the formula during the ages of six to eight months old whenever breastfeeding wasn't available. They were then followed until they were about 10 years old. After adjusting the data to try to account for the duration of exposure to one of the study formulas, the researchers found that the extensively hydrolyzed formula reduced the risk of having one diabetes auto-antibody by 49 percent and the risk of having two or more auto-antibodies by 53 percent. Researchers speculate that the extensively hydrolyzed formulas may reduce gut permeability or changes in gut microflora, among other things.
According to Knip, "It is possible to reduce considerably the initiation of the diabetes disease process in at-risk children in a simple and safe way: weaning to an extensively hydrolyzed formula." He added that "based on the current results, we think that it is justified to recommend weaning to a highly hydrolyzed formula for babies in families with a member affected by type 1 diabetes."
***
Sources:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_105395.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrolyzed_protein
Categories: Breastfeeding, Diabetes, Diabetes, Health, Research, Type 1 Issues
You May Also Be Interested In...
-
Diabetes Health
Diabetes Health is the essential resource for people living with diabetes- both newly diagnosed and experienced as well as the professionals who care for them. We provide balanced expert news and information on living healthfully with diabetes. Each issue includes cutting-edge editorial coverage of new products, research, treatment options, and meaningful lifestyle issues.
-
Topics
- Diabetic / Diabetes Health
- Type 1 / 1.5 Diabetes
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Blood Glucose / Sugar
- High/Low Blood Sugar / Fast Acting Glucose
- Insulin- Pumps, Pens & Syringes
- Continuous Glucose Monitors, CGM, Infusion Sets
- Type 2 Medications
- Hyperglycemia
- Hypoglycemia
Comments
Of course, the study doesn't compare children who never received any formula and had the continued benefit of breastmilk. If they had not received funding from formula manufacturers, might the 'recommendations' be different???
So what's the name of this formula and where can we buy some??
Please ask the authors when posting items like this to consider the benefits of breast feeding and extended breast feeding. I understand not everyone is able or willing to breast feed for the full 12 months or longer, but posting that "based on the current results, we think that it is justified to recommend weaning to a highly hydrolyzed formula for babies in families with a member affected by type 1 diabetes."
can be very misleading. I would like to see proof that there is a reason to stop breast feeding for infants/toddlers of diabetic parents or a correction to say that if the child is weaned prior to the 12 month mark that weaning to a hydrolyzed formula is recommended over a regular formula.
Gee, I wonder who funded this groundbreaking study...
The entire thing is based on the pretense that "weaning off breastfeeding" is expected, natural, and even the right thing to do. This is FALSE. For some moms and some babies, formula feeding is necessary, yes. But if you can, you should breastfeed until your baby is old enough to live off of solids alone. Breastmilk protects against diabetes and a plethora of other problems, and guess what?? It's free! Funny how the article neglected to mention that.
Add your comments about this article below. You can add comments as a registered user or anonymously. If you choose to post anonymously your comments will be sent to our moderator for approval before they appear on this page. If you choose to post as a registered user your comments will appear instantly.
When voicing your views via the comment feature, please respect the Diabetes Health community by refraining from comments that could be considered offensive to other people. Diabetes Health reserves the right to remove comments when necessary to maintain the cordial voice of the diabetes community.
For your privacy and protection, we ask that you do not include personal details such as address or telephone number in any comments posted.
Don't have your Diabetes Health Username? Register now and add your comments to all our content.
Register...
Register your Diabetes Health Username here.
Have Your Say...