Some Formula can cause diabetes?

Jodi - posted on 06/14/2011

Gotcha :)



Thanks for the link :) I will have a read of it after I've got dinner on. I think it would be fantastic if they can identify ways of dealying or eliminating the onset of Type 1 diabetes in some children. I have a couple of RL friends who have children with Type 1 diabetes, and it is an incredibly difficult disease for the families to live with. One of them has a son going through puberty at the moment, and they have had to install an insulin pump, because his blood sugar levels have just gone NUTS due to his hormones. It cost them $8,000!! But the alternative was totally unthinkable to them. The other has 3 children, two of whom have it.



So I absolutely agree that we should pay attention to these things. But I don't think we should turn this into a "formula caused it" kind of thing :)

Johnny - posted on 06/13/2011

It appears to have been published over a year ago. Got to wonder why they drag it out now...

http://www.ajcn.org/content/91/5/1506S.a...

Johnny - posted on 06/13/2011

I didn't mean that Jodi, sorry. It's just that people seem to get very defensive as soon as they see something that might possibly be the slightest bit negative about formula and don't stop to listen or think it through. Reading this article indicates to me that they are working on improvements and the idea may have stemmed from issues that Type 1 Diabetics had with formula. It just seems like people want to either bash the stuff or ignore any potential downsides completely. Neither way seems in the best interests of our kids.

Katherine - posted on 06/13/2011

I looked for the study and couldn't find it....

Jodi - posted on 06/13/2011

I wasn't suggesting not to pay attention, I was answering the OP. The question was does formula cause it :D That's all. The article doesn't give a huge amount of info, and if I had Type 1 diabetes in my family, I would definitely follow up on more info about this study, because it could have merit.

Johnny - posted on 06/13/2011

Just because it isn't the original cause of the disorder shouldn't mean that we do not pay attention to things that can trigger onset or worsen symptoms. My mother has a genetic heart defect, but she stays away from many types of foods because they could trigger her symptoms and cause a crisis.

Katherine - posted on 06/13/2011

I changed it Rebecca :P

Jodi - posted on 06/13/2011

Unless the child has a genetic predisposition to Type 1 diabetes, no formula, no amount of formula, no how, no way, can CAUSE Type 1 diabetes. Trigger it in a child who has a genetic predisposition? Perhaps, I'd be interested in the full study. But CAUSE? No.

Katherine - posted on 06/13/2011

It did examine infants carrying the HLA genotype.

Rebecca - posted on 06/13/2011

Um, I'm pretty sure the article says it is not all formula just some. The opening sentence was about choosing your formula wisely.

Unless you mean that formula fed children can actually cause diabetes...like in others? I'm not sure if that's just a typo or what?

Johnny - posted on 06/13/2011

Unfortunately I think it may be possible. As a mom who used formula, I don't like to think that it could have increased my daughter's health risks, but at this point there are quite a large number of studies all pointing to the fact that it most likely does. I'm not sure how successfully they've managed to control for family history, later nutritional intake and other contributing factors though. So it's possible that eventually it will be proven not to be a problem. However, it probably makes sense that the human baby is naturally able to break down breastmilk successfully and could have problems doing so with other substances that are not biologically normal. Many adults can not successfully digest cow's milk, so it's not that surprising that the formula made from it may cause issues for babies. Hopefully studies like this will find new ways to make formulas that are more easily digested and lead to fewer problems. Because not everyone can breastfeed.

Jodi - posted on 06/13/2011

Crap. Type 1 diabetes is genetic. This study does not seem in any way to be insinuating that formula feeding causes Type 1 diabetes. It is suggesting that a different type of formula may delay or minimise the risk of its onset.

Cathy - posted on 06/13/2011

And vaccines cause Autism....!!! It's Crap (incase anyone missed my sarcasm)

Type 1 diabetes ... while environmental factors can play a role in the progression of the disease, you still have to have a genetic predisposition.