> >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 *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html