Breast is best - for heart too

2004-05-14 11:27

Paris - The first major long-term assessment of the cardiovascular benefits of breast-feeding says mother's milk helps curb the fatty proteins which contribute to heart problems.

British investigators measured the cholesterol levels of 216 teenagers aged 13-16 who, in their infant years, had taken part in a trial involving more than 900 babies who were given either milk formula or breast milk.

Those who had been breast-fed had a 14% lower ratio of so-called "bad" to "good" cholesterol in their blood (the "bad" forms of these lipoproteins are a cause of high blood pressure) compared to those who had been given infant formula.

This group also had lower concentrations of so-called c-reactive protein (CRP), deemed a herald of future clogged arteries.

"Infant nutrition permanently affects the lipoprotein profile later in life," proposes lead researcher Atul Singhal of London's Institute of Child Health.

"Our findings suggest that breast milk feeding has a major beneficial effect on long-term cardiovascular health."

The study appears on Saturday in the British medical weekly The Lancet.

Singhal says the trial is sufficiently wide in numbers, scope and duration to draw a clear conclusion about the benefits.

Last November, an overview published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) of the effects of breast-feeding on adult blood pressure said the claims of benefit were unfounded.

It said that published studies had been based on small numbers of volunteers, which exposed the findings to the risk of statistical bias.

Breast-feeding is known to have many good health benefits, including good neural and psychological development and protection against allergies and obesity.

- AFP