More mothers are breastfeeding than ever before. However, getting breastfeeding going can be difficult. Babies with inherited metabolic disorders, such as medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (let's just call it MCAD) can be especially vulnerable to low blood sugar if they aren't getting enough milk in the early days of breastfeeding.
Certain defects in the way the mitochondria work may lead to diabetes, and the ways our bodies adapt to high blood sugars share many features with the ways our bodies respond to mitochondrial disease.