A project sponsored by the European Union that has been investigating for four years how to prevent gluten intolerance is studying the possibility that Breastfeeding combined with small gluten shots could prevent celiac disease.
It is the most frequent food intolerance in the European Union and increasingly among children, so any way to stop it would be very hopeful for parents.
'Prevent Celiac Disease' It is an investigation that is being carried out with 1,200 children from ten EU countries and Israel whose objective is to verify if celiac disease can be avoided with a controlled dosage of gluten plus breastfeeding before it develops.
The baby may be genetically predisposed to suffer from the disease, but it is the environmental factor, specifically the consumption of gluten, that triggers celiac disease, so it is believed that its controlled introduction while breastfeeding could prevent it from manifesting.
There is increasing agreement that the important thing is not to delay the age of introduction of gluten, but to prolong breastfeeding. It has even been associated to remove the breast before six months with an increased risk of being celiac.
As experts have commented, "breastfeeding is very important, to children who have more breastfeeding, it protects them from having the disease, not indefinitely, but yes longer, some years."
Today, celiac disease cannot be prevented or cured. Although the development of a vaccine has been reported, this is a relatively simple treatment to implement that could give good results.
Therefore, they suggest introducing small amounts of gluten little by little while breastfeeding. Alternating gluten-free cereal porridge between breastfeeds, instead of radically cutting breast milk, could be a good way to prevent celiac disease.
