A child has until the age of two-and-a-half to establish healthy gut bacteria — with little change after this point, new research has revealed.
The study also reinforced the important role breastfeeding plays in providing good gut bacteria to babies during the early stages of their life.
Dr Stewart said: “Breastfeeding has long been understood to be good for infants and epidemiological evidence shows being breastfed early in life is associated with lower risk of many later life diseases, such as allergy and obesity.