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The recent posting on a summary on this issue was very misleading because the author seems to have completely misunderstood the research being cited:
The whole point is this mechanism may be PROTECTIVE against CD not harmful.

I quote from the article cited: Acta Paediatr Scand. 1987 May;76(3):453-6.Passage of gliadin into human breast milk: "The transfer of gliadin from mother to infant might be critical for the development of an appropriate specific immune response to gliadin later in life." [Coeliac Disease being an INAPPROPRIATE response].

See also: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11092234 J Int Med Res. 2000 Sep-Oct;28(5):234-40. Gliadin-specific IgA antibodies in breast milk.Ozkan T, Ozeke T, Meral A. Department of Paediatric Gastroenterology, University of Uludag, Medical School, Gorukle-Bursa, Turkey. [log in to unmask]

Breast-feeding helps to protect against coeliac disease because of the presence of antigliadin-IgA antibodies (AGA-IgA) in breast milk  which concludes "The encouragement of sufficient and long-term (e.g. 4 - 6 months) breast-feeding seems likely to be beneficial in preventing coeliac disease."

If you want the expert opinion from Dr Fasano see:

http://www.nuworldfoods.com/glutenfreeandmore/underst_gl_free.asp

"Breast Feeding and Gluten Submitted by the Celiac Disease Foundation www.celiac.org

Dr. Fasano..We are still getting many questions about nursing and gluten. Will you please help me with this question. Is it possible for gluten to be passed through breast milk?

There are two issues that need to be clarified:

1. As far as we know, there are no solid evidence proving that gluten is present of breast milk and passed to infants;

2. Assuming that the infant is genetically predisposed to develop celiac disease, the immune system is not mature yet to develop an autoimmune response

Bottom line, there is no rationale to recommend a gluten free diet to a non celiac nursing mom as a measure of prevention.

Alessio Fasano, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine, and Physiology Director, Mucosal Biology Research Center University of Maryland School of Medicine"

Or see the advice from his colleague Karoly Horvath:

http://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p_prodid=381&p_catid=&p_print=y&sid=91hH9H1EUJo9EUt-59105352717.ac which concludes "....To answer the question: the antibodies in breast milk are protective and do not "trigger" celiac disease in genetically predisposed babies. There are several data showing that breast-feeding has a protective effect in case of celiac disease. Furthermore, it is well documented that breast-feeding in the first year of life decreases the risk of allergies by 50% in babies whose parents have allergies."

Finally there is more sensible stuff with research citations from the CSA: CSA Library Series: Breastfeeding and celiac disease: To breastfeed or not?

http://www.csaceliacs.org/library/breastfeeding.php

So the only reason to avoid gluten while breast feeding is if the mother is herself a coeliac.

* Visit the Celiac Web Page at www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html *