Here is what I put together last fall in response to the abstracts of
these two studies  (still haven't read the entire papers).  My
understanding was informed by the discussion on Lactnet at that time;
I don't remember which people made which points originally.

* The infants in both studies already had risk factors for type 1
diabetes.  They were not representative of the general population.
There is no reason to believe the recommendations should apply to the
general population.

* There was no control group for _exclusively_ breastfed infants.  As
mother's milk is the biological norm for our species, we operate on
the premise that it does not increase the risk of any disease.

* Breastfeeding was not clearly defined.  It cannot be determined
from the abstracts whether breastfed babies received supplements.
Previous research has indicated that early exposure to cow's milk
proteins (ie, formula supplements) can increase the risk of
developing diabetes.

* A possible confounder is age of weaning.  Again, it is not clear
from the abstracts if this was accounted for.  Many babies are weaned
from the breast around the middle of the first year.  It's possible
that if babies are weaned just before cereal is introduced (ie 6-7
months or so), they may have a different response than if the cereal
had been started while they still had the protection of breastmilk.

* There is no reason to believe that cereals are  biologically
necessary for correct development and health.  Babies don't release
their own amylase, an enzyme needed for digesting starches, until
about six months of age (it is present in breastmilk however).  Why
would babies need to eat a food (cereal) that they are not physically
able to digest?

* Breastfeeding has previously been shown to be protective against
diabetes.  We do not believe that that finding is overturned by the
present research.

* Other research has shown that exclusive bf thru 6-7 months and even
later is health-promoting in many ways: babies have better iron
status, bone density, immune response, etc.  Again, this body of
research is not overturned by these two studies.

Hope this helps someone!
Warmly,
Margaret
LLLL, APL
Longmont, CO

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