One more reason for mothers who breastfeed their babies to continue as long as they can. A new study conducted in the United States links breastfeeding with a lower risk of diabetes, and ensures that the longer, the lower the risk. The investigation indicates that Breastfeeding for six months or more reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by almost half for women, even decades later.
We know that there is previous evidence that links breastfeeding for at least six months (period of exclusive breastfeeding recommended by the WHO) with benefits for the baby such as reducing the risk of respiratory and ear infections, sudden infant death syndrome , allergies, obesity and diabetes. But breastfeeding is also associated with benefits for the mother such as reducing the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, heart attacks and strokes, among others.
Breastfeeding more than six months reduces the risk of diabetes
The research, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, was carried out based on data from 1,238 mothers who initially did not have diabetes. For the next 30 years each woman had at least one live birth and was routinely examined for diabetes. Participants also reported lifestyle behaviors (such as diet and physical activity) and the total amount of time they breastfed their children.
"We found a very strong association between the duration of breastfeeding and the lower risk of developing diabetes, even after taking into account all possible confounding factors," says lead author of the paper, Erica P. Gunderson, principal investigator of the Kaiser Permanente Research Division.
Women who had breastfed for six months or more in all deliveries had a 48 percent reduction in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who did not breastfeed at all. Women who breastfed for six months or less had a reduction in 25 percent at the risk of diabetes.
The longer you breastfeed, the less risk
But longer periods of breastfeeding were still associated with a lower risk of diabetes later, even for women who experienced gestational diabetes during their pregnancy.
"The incidence of diabetes gradually decreased as the duration of breastfeeding increased, regardless of race, gestational diabetes, life habits, body size and other metabolic risk factors measured before pregnancy, which implies the possibility that the underlying mechanism is biological, "says Gunderson.
The explanation that researchers find is that the action of hormones related to breastfeeding exerts a protective effect on pancreatic cells They control blood insulin levels and, therefore, affect blood sugar.
Via | Infosalus
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