October 28, 2003
NUTRITION NEWS FOCUS
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Today's Topic: Infant Feeding and Diabetes

A perfect example of "when the experts disagree" appeared when two
articles on the same topic were published in the same medical journal
with different conclusions.  The first study on almost 1,200 children
in the U.S. found that infants who began eating cereals before
3 months of age or those starting cereal after 7 months were
significantly more likely to develop antibodies in the blood
associated with type 1 diabetes later in life.  The other study on
1,600 children in Germany also found early cereal consumption, but not
later, increased production of these antibodies.

The studies were published in the October 1, 2003 issue of the Journal
of the American Medical Association.
< http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/290/13/1713 >
< http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/290/13/1721 >

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Both studies failed to
find any association between consumption of cow's milk and antibodies
against insulin-producing cells.  An accompanying editorial concluded
that the appropriate response to these studies should be cautious
interest.  Only snapshots from the movie between birth and endpoints
are seen in these types of studies.