Breastfeeding can cut risk of arthritis

Arthritis is probably something that we’d all like to avoid in later life, and new research suggests that there is a simple and effective way to cut your risk of developing it.

Breastfeeding for at least a year can cut your risk factor by a half in cases of rheumatoid arthritis.

The Malmo University Hospital in Sweden carried out the study which compared 136 arthritic people with 544 people without it.

Women who breastfed their children for between one month and a year saw their chances of developing rheumatoid arthritis cut by a quarter. Even more impressively, those who breastfed for at least a year further slashed their risk factor by up to a half.

The link is seemingly related to breastfeeding only and not childbirth in general, as those volunteers with kids who had never breastfed saw no reduction in their risk.

How it works - breastfeeding increases a hormone called prolactin, which can stimulate the immune system and help to ward off rheumatoid arthritis.

Women are two thirds more likely to develop the condition than men, and therefore make up the majority of the sufferers in the UK, which totals around 400,000.

Rachel Haynes, spokesperson for the voluntary organisation Arthritis Care, supported the new research.

She said: “It is important that women feel able to make informed choices by balancing their lifestyle with the full range of evidence about the pros and cons of breastfeeding.”

These new breastfeeding benefits come at a time when breastfeeding is still an unpopular choice for young mums; Charlotte Church has spoken publicly to highlight this, as DietPixie reported previously.

Source: BBC News