Infant Cereal Linked To Diabetes?

cbsnews.com ^ | Oct. 2, 2003 | Emily Senay

[foolscap]

(CBS) There is new evidence that age matters when it comes to introducing cereal to the diet of a baby at risk from type 1 diabetes.

Medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay explains on The Early Show that those with type 1 diabetes have the misfortune of their immune system attacking and destroying the cells in the body that produce insulin.

The medical community does not fully understand what causes it. But, Senay explains, a baby is at risk if there's a family history or genetic susceptibility.

Two new studies in the latest Journal of the American Medical Association show a link between diabetes risk and a baby's age when cereal is introduced into the diet.

The research showed that cereal introduction before four months of age increased the risk four times of developing diabetes autoimmunity, or the antibodies that are the precursor to type 1 diabetes.

Research also showed children who were not given cereal until after six months of age were five times more likely to develop diabetes autoimmunity.

Senay does says not every baby who has a family history of type 1 diabetes will go on to develop it. And not all babies who develop the precursor antibodies will develop full-blown diabetes.

The relationship between the timing of the introduction of cereal and diabetes risk is not fully understood. Senay explains what these findings suggest is that there's a timeline to the development of a child's immune system.

The current theories are that the developing immune system of a baby can't handle cereal too early or large portions later on. Another theory is that infants not fed cereal during the critical developmental stage between four and six months miss out on key nutrients involved in the development of the immune system.

Experts are quick to point out that parents should not avoid giving their at-risk babies cereal altogether.

Senay does say parents should be sure to follow the current guidelines and try to breastfeed for at least six months, and introduce cereal between four and six months of age.

Research shows that diabetes risk was reduced in babies that were breastfed, irrespective of the age at which cereal was introduced. The medical community believes breast milk gives babies a lot more benefits as well, although it's not clear exactly why breastfeeding might reduce the diabetes risk.

[ChemistCat]

Oh, I know it. When a baby who was sleeping through the night starts waking repeatedly to eat, you know he needs more calories. You have a choice at that point--give up your sleep to nurse more, or mix up some cereal. With the third child I did the first and she is undeniably healthier than the first two.

I don't feel GUILTY for anything I did. Frustrated that I listened to doctors instead of my common sense on some aspects of it. They refuted everything my mom did, basically--and now they're refuting everything they said ten years ago! But I do have to wonder if that overprocessed gunk we call "infant cereal" was the healthiest choice I could have made at that point. If you've ever mixed up you know the feeling--good GRIEF, this isn't FOOD! Do you know some of these companies fortify their cereal with iron filings to meet the iron requirement? Forget the fact that it's about useless to the body....

[corkoman]

My understanding is (I am not a doctor) that Type I is "caused by a virus".

I have a strong belief that you are correct in suspecting a virus as the primary cause of Type I diabetes.

All this stuff about TIMING of carbohydrate introduction is goofy.

Viruses are increasingly identified as the culprits in a lot of situations where they were never on the list of potential causes. My dinero is on the virus.

[Ditter]

Thanks for clarifying that. I thought it was just me. LOL

[Marie Antoinette]

I don't feed my babies infant cereal. They are breastfed until they can eat REAL food, not overprocessed flakes of grain from a cardboard box.

They are able to eat (without having teeth!) cooked carrots, potatoes, peas, broccoli and more! At 6 months my kids are more interested in just tasting different foods that the rest of us eat. We don't "do" baby food from a jar either. You can save SO much $$ by opting out of the commercially prepared baby goo market.

[waterstraat]

Hasnt diabeties had a great increase in the past few decades? Does this correlate to the amount of mothers who give cereal to their children compared to the few in the the 1800's or early 1900's??

[Conservababe]

Mothers have always fed cereal to babies as their first solid food.

Grits, oatmeal, cream of wheat...

Is it the cereal or the cardboard box that it comes in that some object to, really?

[MHGinTN]

We have a little guy in the house who will be three weeks old on Wednesday. Thanks so much for posting this article!

[untenured]

I've been a type I for 23 years, so I try to pay attention to the research. I remember some years back a study or two showed that having infants drink a lot of cow's milk seemed to be associated with development of Type I. That early research never panned out, and now few people think that.

I suspect this research will turn out the same. It's so common for the press to take a single study and make more out of it than they should. Most of what we know from statistical work on any given issue has been learned through the consensus of many studies. But the press jumps on anything that sounds interesting.

It seems certain it's an autoimmune disorder, so perhaps some infectious agent will be the cause. But we're a long way from knowing.