In a message dated 3/4/1 6:14:02 PM, [log in to unmask] writes:

<< However, my husband was breastfed and HE needs the cholesterol meds, not

me, who was breastfed for only 3 months.  Knowing that the body makes its

own cholesterol, it appears there are a lot of other factors (genetics)

besides diet involved. >>

Jeanette,
But, it isn't that genetics are another factor which may outweigh diet.
Genetic expression is largely determined by diet. My cup analogy from the
other day applies here. Imagine when you are conceived you are given a
cup,the initial fill level of which is determined by genetics. It is then
further filled by the good nutrition of your pregnant mother (or not) and
continues to be filled by breastfeeding (or not) and continues on to be
filled or drained by dietary choices, stress, environmental contaminants and
so on. While genetics may play a significant role, someone whose cup is less
filled by genetics (in any given aspect of wellness) can take fewer risks in
other areas, whereas someone with a fuller cup can be AF, etc and still not
drain the cup so quickly. But, in the end, we can only manipulate these other
factors, not our genes (so far). So, it isn't our genes, but the way they
express themselves which determine the quality of our health.
    If your dh has genes predisposing him to high cholesterol, bf alone may
not be enough to protect him from expressing them as such, but that doesn't
mean bf isn't providing some level of protection. Another person with the
same genes may have been bf and eaten a diet more protective against high
cholesterol as well and thus not express high cholesterol. We might have
drawn the conclusion that it was bf that was protective, and be correct, but
it would have been in combination w/ other dietary factors. OTOH, that same
person who was not bf, but has a great diet may still have high cholesterol
b/c the cup couldn't be filled enough w/o bf. My point is that bf must always
have an impact on genetic expression, since it is the foundation of gut integr
ity. As I see it, any time a baby is not bf, the parents are taking an
unknown risk with the fill level on that cup!
Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA

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