Women who breast feed their babies for 6 months or more reduce their chances of getting diabetes in the future by half.

This is according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine on Tuesday.

The three decade long study found that women who breastfed for six or more months lowered their risk of developing type 2 diabetes as compared to those that do not breastfeed at all.

“We found a very strong association between breastfeeding duration and lower risk of developing diabetes, even after accounting for all possible confounding risk factors,” lead author Erica Gunderson, senior research scientist with Kaiser Permanente said.

These women’s chances of developing Type 2 diabetes reduced by 47 percent. For those that breastfed for less there was a 25 percent reduction in the diabetes risk.

How breastfeeding lowers diabetes risk

According to the researchers, protective effects through hormones are released after breastfeeding which act in the pancreas, thus controlling blood insulin and sugar levels.

“The incidence of diabetes decreased in a graded manner as breastfeeding duration increased, regardless of race, gestational diabetes, lifestyle behaviors, body size, and other metabolic risk factors measured before pregnancy, implying the possibility that the underlying mechanism may be biological,” Gunderson said.

Source: Capital Lifestyle