Feeding cereal to your baby too soon may increase the risk that the child later develops Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disorder that can lead to severe complications later in life.
Researchers, led by Jill Norris of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, report in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Associaton that it may not be a good idea to feed babies infant cereal too soon after birth.
In a study of almost 1,200 infants between 1994 and 2002, researchers looked at the effect of introducing solid foods between birth and three months of age, and after six months. Pediatricians generally recommend that parents begin infant cereal between four to six months of age.
Children exposed to cereals before four months of age were four times as likely to develop diabetes autoimmunity than children who were exposed between four and six months of age.
Cereals in combination with breast milk, according to Ms. Norton, appear to decrease the risk of diabetes auto-immunity.