I read an interesting bit in last night's paper that quoted a study that
suggested that the incidence of asthma has doubled in the US and other
developed countries in the past 20 years because children are suffering
fewer childhood infections, like whooping  cough and TB. These infections
"may train the immune system not to react to irritants such as pollen and
dust mites." Without such infections, the theory is that the body remains
more sensitive to the allergens which can cause asthma and other allergic
reactions. Researcheers from hospitals in Japan and the UK conducted the
study.

Of course, I wouldn't imagine that there's any data in the study regarding
whether the subjects in the study were breastfed. But it raises a lot of
interesting questions, I think...

Cheers

Nancy