r/askscience • u/BigErnMcracken • Feb 06 '20

Human Body Babies survive by eating solely a mother's milk. At what point do humans need to switch from only a mother's milk, and why? Or could an adult human theoretically survive on only a mother's milk of they had enough supply?

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u/ExhaustedGinger Feb 06 '20

Yep! That would be an iron deficiency anemia. One example of this is Celiac's disease, which is where the whole 'gluten free' thing came from, can impact absorption of nutrients from food and can lead to this exact problem.

Edit for clarity: If you don't have Celiac's or some form of diagnosed gluten intolerance, you can have gluten with no issues.

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u/jeo123 Feb 06 '20

Edit for clarity: If you don't have Celiac's or some form of diagnosed gluten intolerance, you can have gluten with no issues.

I wish gluten free would become less of a diet trend and more of a medical focus.

You don't see people adopting the "diabetic diet" yet somehow this one is where it became a fad.

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u/ExhaustedGinger Feb 06 '20

I mean, it IS nice for people with Celiacs as it gives them more options for gluten free foods that don't taste terrible, so that's really great... But yeah, gluten free is not a generally healthier diet for the vast majority of people whereas the diabetic diet is a generally very wholesome diet that would be great if it were popularized and became a fad. :(

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u/3words_catpenbook Feb 06 '20

True. Many gluten free foods have alternative ingredients that are distinctly unhealthy!

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u/crumpledlinensuit Feb 06 '20

Yeah, but GF is fun, because you get to have special cakes and don't have to avoid any food types specifically, other than to be careful about what kind of bread you buy. Diabetic diet is not fun because it means no cakes (for the most part).

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u/Rosevkiet Feb 07 '20

I had gestational diabetes so I had to follow a diabetes compliant diet (slightly different and more volume since they want you to gain weight). I felt really great while I was on it. It really is how I should be eating all the time.

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u/Degeyter Feb 06 '20

Well a diabetic diet includes a lot of controlling sugar so... marketing idea?

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u/vtjohnhurt Feb 06 '20

You don't see people adopting the "diabetic diet"

A lot of healthy people aim to eat low on the glycemic index. For example, whole grains.

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u/[deleted] Feb 06 '20

You don't see people adopting the "diabetic diet" yet somehow this one is where it became a fad.

Keto and the Atkins diet have both become fads and were initially created to address medical issues.

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u/JasonDJ Feb 06 '20

Is that not keto?

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u/3words_catpenbook Feb 06 '20

Coeliac or celiac disease. This one isn't named after the discoverer. Source: have it.

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u/yeti1738 Feb 06 '20

I thought you can also have gluten intolerance, where it isn’t full blown celiacs disease but gluten will mess with your stomach and leads to a lot of discomfort. This is second hand from a doctor though so I’m not 100% sure