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Wednesday, November 23, 2005Women who breastfeed for more than six months might reduce their risk of developing the more common type of diabetes, says a new study thought to be the first to make such a connection. In addition, researchers report today in The Journal of the American Medical Association, it appears that women's risk of type 2 diabetes declines with each additional year they breastfeed in their lives. Although you can't tell it from the abstract, the data inside the paper suggest that the benefit occurs only up to a point. The women with the lowest incidence of diabetes were women who breast fed for 3-6 months - in their entire lives. Beyond that, the number of cases of diabetes increased with the length of breast feeding. Unless I'm completely misreading the unlinkable data, it appears that claims for breastfeeding and the prevention of diabetes are premature. (There are, however, plenty of good reasons to breast feed. It's cheaper, easier, it's all the nutrition a young baby needs, and it gives a young mother a chance to relax several times a day.) posted by Sydney on 11/23/2005 07:17:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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