New Scientist recently reported on an interesting study that showed a correlation between consumption of cow's milk and risk for developing diabetes. This is not a new idea, a Finnish study showed the link back in 1993. Snip from the article:One explanation is that beta-lactoglobulin, a protein in cow's, but not human, milk prompts babies to make antibodies that also attack glycodelin, a protein vital for training the immune system. The mistuned immune system then mistakenly destroys insulin-producing pancreatic cells, leading to type 1 diabetes.
What is new, however, is a study by Marcia Goldfarb, of the company Anatek-EP, has detected beta-lactoglobin antibodies in children with Type-I diabetes, supporting the hypothesis posed by Finnish researchers over a decade ago. This is significant for several reasons. It could help people to manage their children's diets to reduce risk for development of diabetes, and could also conceivably lead to more effective treatments for those afflicted with the disease.The article is part of the journal's Author Choice Free Access program, so you can download it for free, go check it out!
Goldfarb, M.F. (2008). Relation of Time of Introduction of Cow Milk Protein to an Infant and Risk of Type-1 Diabetes Mellitus. Journal of Proteome Research, 7(5), 2165-2167. DOI: 10.1021/pr800041d
1 comments:
I come from a generation whose mothers looked down upon breast feeding. My entire clan of siblings and cousins were never breast fed. I ASSume that my entire generation (1940's) was like that. That should leave a decidedly large blip on the Type I diabetes radar. Does this blip exist?
I'm sure the advocates of CAM and the anti-vaxers will find a way to jump on this as proof that science doesn't know everything about something as common as cow's milk and that, therefore, science can't prove that CAM doesn't work.
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