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Research Roundup: Good Bacteria at Birth, Celiac Pill, and More!

The latest medical news for people with allergies and food sensitivities

Last year, a study suggested a possible link between birth by cesarean and celiac disease (in the offspring). Now a team collaborating at several university hospitals in Sweden and at the Mayo Clinic has found elective—but not emergency—cesarean delivery is associated with increased risk of celiac disease. The finding indicates that the newborn’s bacterial flora—the normal bacteria present throughout the body, notably the gut, beginning at birth—may play a role in the development of celiac disease. In elective cesareans, babies avoid contact with the birth canal and, as a result, colonization with their mother’s bacterial flora. (Note: Celiac disease can occur only in those with a genetic predisposition for it.)

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