Benefits of breastfeeding
Benefits of breastfeeding
Data presented at the AACR meeting supports the idea that breastfeeding protects from breast cancer.
Submitted by Curtis on Tue, 04/17/2007 - 10:59am. | Tags: General Science | Life Science | News
carcinogens
Submitted by Curtis on Tue, 04/17/2007 - 2:23pm.
I also think that the "squeezing out carcinogens" model is a bit far-fetched. There are two better models, in my mind. One has to do with differentiation, that breast feeding induces some sort of terminal differentiation that protects from cancer. The other model is simply reduced number of menstrual cycles. Breast feeding should protect from the normal remodeling that occurs during the menstrual cycle. Total number of menstrual cycles correlates with breast cancer risk.
"squeezing out carcinogens"?
One of the explanations given in the article for why breastfeeding may be protective was "squeezing out carcinogens". Really? I don't know why but this explanation seems a little out there. Would it make sense for the body to put massive amounts of carcinogens into the milk that is used to feed infants? That argument doesn't seem to make sense from an evolutionary standpoint. It is still interesting that breastfeeding has such a large protective effect.