Breastfed Babies Are Healthier: Formulas Are Higher In Arsenic, Study Shows

Breast-fed infants are less exposed to arsenic than formula-fed ones, according to recent findings published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Researchers measured arsenic in home tap water, urine from 72 six-week-old infants and breast milk from nine women in New Hampshire. Urinary arsenic was 7.5 times lower for breast-fed infants than formula fed ones.

"This study's results highlight that breastfeeding can reduce arsenic exposure even at the relatively low levels of arsenic typically experienced in the United States," said lead study author Professor Kathryn Cottingham, in a news release. "This is an important public health benefit of breastfeeding."

Arsenic is naturally found in bedrock and is a global contaminant of well water, which can result in cancer and other diseases. Furthermore, early life exposure has even been associated with an increased fetal mortality, decreased birth weight and diminished cognitive function. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set a maximum contaminant level public drinking water. However, private well water is not subject to the same regulation and is even a primary water source in rural parts of the United States.

"We advise families with private wells to have their tap water tested for arsenic," added senior author Professor Margaret Karagas, principal investigator at Dartmouth's Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Center.

Study co-lead author Courtney Carignan also noted the following, courtesy of the release: "We predict that population-wide arsenic exposure will increase during the second part of the first year of life as the prevalence of formula-feeding increases."