Check out this article at http://pediatrics.medscape.com/28384.rhtml?srcmp=ped-101300 Maternal Diet Linked to Atopic Sensitization of Breastfed Infants WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) Oct 10 - Breast-fed infants whose mothers consume high levels of total and saturated fat appear to be more likely than other breast-fed infants to develop atopic sensitization. Breast-feeding is considered beneficial for infants in atopic families, Dr. U. Hoppu and colleagues from the University of Turku, Finland, note in the September issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. They investigated whether a breast-feeding woman's fat consumption would change this relationship. The researchers studied 114 breast-feeding babies with a family history of atopic disease. Their mothers kept a food record for 4 days when the infants were nearly 3 months old. Nearly one quarter (23.7%) of infants became sensitized to common allergens by age 1 year, most commonly eggs, milk, wheat and cats. The risk of atopy was not significantly increased by maternal atopic disease. However, "maternal intake of saturated fat during breastfeeding was associated with atopic sensitization of the infant," with an odds ratio of 1.16, Dr. Hoppu's group reports. The authors recommend that women in atopic families should be counseled to moderate their dietary fat intake during breast-feeding and preferably during pregnancy, since a high intake of saturated fat generally indicates an unbalanced diet. Eur J Clin Nutrition 2000;54:702-705. *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html