How Breast Milk Shapes Your Baby’s Mood
Not just any breast milk. Your breast milk.
As researchers gain a better understanding of the relationship between breast milk and baby gut bacteria, they have started to explore how breast milk impacts behavior.
This includes:
- Crying
- Suckling
- Activity
- Emotions
You see, your gut bacteria don’t just affect your digestion. They literally create, transport, and consume hormones and brain chemicals.
This means that your babe’s gut microbes have a direct impact on his mood.
The thing about breast milk is that it’s full of microbes and it’s full of food for microbes. Breast milk dramatically impacts your baby’s gut—and well, you can see where this leads. It’s like this:
Traces of Roundup In Formula And Breast Milk
Roundup is a common herbicide that contains glyphosate. Genetically engineered Roundup-Ready crops are resistant to glyphosate and make it easy to control weed growth.
But at a cost.
Residual glyphosate can be found in foods that are made with Roundup-Ready crops. This means:
- Corn
- Soy
- Canola
- Alfalfa
- Sugar beets
The general consensus has been that consuming small amounts of glyphosate is safe. But that all changed in early 2015 when the World Health Organization announced that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic.” Since then, small food companies, advocacy groups, and some doctors are sending in samples to be tested for glypohsate.
Tests by private labs show glyphosate in both infant formula and breast milk.
According to some scientists, glyphosate depletes manganese — a mineral that protects the gut and supports a healthy mix of bacteria. Low levels of manganese have been link to autism and mood disorders like depression and anxiety.
Blood Sugar During Pregnancy Linked To Autism
High blood sugar during pregnancy can affect your baby’s organ development and function. Especially during the first half of pregnancy. In a study with over 300,000 children, researchers found that mothers who developed gestational diabetes were more likely to have a baby that would later develop autism.
This was only true when gestational diabetes was diagnosed before 26 weeks of pregnancy. And it wasn’t true of mothers who had already been managing type 2 diabetes.
Screening for gestational diabetes early in pregnancy is good thing — and if you develop it, finding ways to manage blood sugar may reduce your baby’s risk of developing autism.
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