>
>In conversing with a local dairy farmer I learned that anytime this shows up
>in a breastfed calf, the farmer knows that the mothers nutritional balance
>is off and starts supplementing the mother accordingly.  Interesting is that
>allergy is not considered the problem.

Perhaps the farmer doesn't think of it as an 
allergy issue because he's not actually 
adding/removing any known allergens from the 
diet?  Even so, it could be an allergy issue, and 
adjusting the mother cow's diet makes the calf 
better able to tolerate (correctly identify) 
potential irritants.

There is some interesting information in _The 
Immunobiology of Human Milk: How Breastfeeding 
Protects Babies_ by Lars Hanson, MD, PhD, 2004, 
pp. 154-155.  (I just typed this out for an LLLL 
email list today so some of you may have already 
seen it!)

"The ratio of n-3/n-6 long chain polyunsaturated 
fatty acid in human milk varies.  Š  Low levels 
of n-3 fatty acids have been found in milk and 
were linked to the development of atopy in 
children.  Š  A recent report showed that 
supplementation with fish oil, rich in n-3 fatty 
acids, tended to reduce allergy in the breastfed 
offspring."  [Dunstan 2003]

He then describes a study in rats where the 
groups were fed different diets with different 
n-6/n-3 ratios from late pregnancy through 
lactation.  The mother rats were also fed an 
egg-protein (ovalbumin) drink during early 
lactation so the baby rats would be exposed to 
this foreign protein via milk.  The baby rats 
whose mothers had more of the 'good' n-3 fatty 
acids compared to the 'bad' n-6's were more 
tolerant of the egg protein.  These baby rats 
reacted less and produced significantly less 
antibodies in response to it.  They calculated 
that the optimal n-6/n-3 ratio was about 1:1 or 
even <1:1.  In other words, the baby rats had the 
best outcome when their mothers' diets included 
as much or more 'good' n-3 fats than 'bad' n-6 
fats.  I have read that most western diets 
include WAY more n-6's than n-3's -- a typical 
ratio is 10:1 or 20:1.

I wonder if the dairy farmer somehow alters the 
balance of fatty acids in the mother cow's diet 
(without realizing it) -- or it there is some 
other mechanism at work.

Quoting again:
"In atopic families, mothers have tried to adhere 
to a strict diet that avoids common food 
allergens during late pregnancy. [Falth-Magnusson 
1992]  A 5 year follow up did not show any 
effect.  The same diet applied during the first 3 
months of lactation did diminsh the appearance of 
atopic dermatitis in the babies.  [Hattevig 1990] 
The effect remained at the age of 4 years. 
Another similar large prophylaxis study using a 
diet during the third trimester of pregnancy and 
through lactation gave a significant reduction of 
atopic dermatitis, urticaria and/or 
**gastrointestinal disease** (emphasis mine) 
during the first year of life.  [Sigurs 1992]"

If anyone wants the full citations for the 
references mentioned, let me know and I can send 
them.  Dr. Hanson's book is exhaustively 
referenced!

Warmly,
Margaret
mom of 3, LLLL, APL
Longmont, CO

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