London - Being breastfed as a baby might be better than statins in staving off heart disease in later life, according to new research.
Babies given mother’s milk for three months or more have a much lower risk of the chronic inflammation that can also lead to diabetes and other metabolic illnesses, US researchers say.
Suckling lowers the amounts of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the blood that is linked to clogged arteries and damage to blood vessels.
Professor Molly Metzger, of Washington University, said: “We are looking at the effects of these early factors on later levels of CRP, a biomarker associated with risk for cardiovascular and metabolic disease.
“Comparing the long-term effects of breastfeeding to the effects of clinical trials of statin therapy, we find breastfeeding to exert effects that are as large or larger.”
Her findings – published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences – indicate breastfeeding has implications for children’s health decades later, she said.
The researchers used data from the US National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, including parent surveys, and blood samples providing measurements of CRP.
The findings held up in a series of sibling models – in which one was breastfed and the other not – which allow for genetic factors for elevated CRP.
Professor Metzger added: “These findings underscore the importance of a preventive approach, including but not limited to prenatal health care and breastfeeding.”
It has been suggested that high CRP levels could be an indicator of cardiovascular disease risk, even in someone who does not have high cholesterol levels – the prime cause of clogged arteries. CRP, an inflammatory marker associated with the build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries, is also a contributory factor.
Statins – currently prescribed to about 7 million Britons – can lower CRP levels as well as cutting cholesterol. - Daily Mail