Breast Feeding Can Prevent Celiac Disease

One of the most important tasks for any newborn baby is to develop digestive competence, which involves having a harmonious relationship between the trillions of foreign organisms that will inhabit their digestive tract and the cells that form their body. A new study proves that breast feeding, as compared to bottle feeding, is far superior in facilitating proper development of the bacterial types in the digestive tract. In fact, the failure to breastfeed can lead to imbalanced bacterial populations that encourage highly inflammatory digestive problems and consequent development of Celiac disease.

This Spanish study evaluated 75 full-term newborns. The study compared breast fed to bottle fed, compared those at genetic risk for celiac to those who are not, and measured the types of bacteria forming in the newborns’ digestive tracts at various points during their infancy. It is clear from their research that those at genetic risk for celiac start developing a very different type of bacterial balance of power. The balance worsens with bottle feeding and improves with breast feeding.

Celiac is an autoimmune disease of the digestive tract, and while it affects slightly less than one percent of Americans, a far higher percentage suffer from Celiac-like digestive problems, which often trigger thyroid autoimmune problems. In other words, while true manifestation of Celiac is certainly a health problem affecting many, the gluten intolerance issues affect far more people with regard to digestive issues and are common among those with persisting digestive problems and food allergies/sensitivities.

A mother’s bacterial balance of power is passed on to her child as a baseline for getting started. This means that pregnant women should take high quality acidophilus and/or eat high quality yogurt during pregnancy. Acidophilus has been proven to help women in multiple ways and pass on a better bacterial starting point for their child. Furthermore, breastfeeding is essential for the healthy development of the digestive tract, which will reduce the risk for digestive and thyroid autoimmune problems in the future. New science also shows that a proper balance of digestive bacteria influences the development of the nervous system of the child, enabling a higher level of cognitive ability.