Danish researchers concluded that gluten during pregnancy increases the risk of diabetes in a baby. The results, published in the British Medical Journal, confirm the hypothesis, which was based on experimental data on animals. According to scientists, children are at an increased risk of diabetes by 47% if their mothers abuse gluten.
How common is type 1 diabetes?
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the pancreatic beta cells. If the number of cells is reduced by 80%, the symptoms of the disease develop.
The intestinal immune system plays an important role in the development of diabetes. Many immunologists attribute the role to intestinal colonizing bacteria and food.
Women are able to influence the flora of the fetus if they abstain from certain foods during pregnancy.
The number of children with type 1 diabetes in Northern Europe is increasing by 3-4% annually. Most people produce antibodies that destroy insulin-producing beta cells in the first years of life. Researchers are convinced that autoimmune disease begins in early childhood, if not before birth.
What is the relationship between gluten and diabetes?
Gluten, which is found in wheat and is an important basic diet in Northern Europe. The role of gluten as a possible trigger for diabetes is currently under discussion.
Gluten in the intestine is practically not broken down by enzymes, therefore, it can cause an immune reaction. The first months of life are considered critical, as the newborn’s immune system learns to distinguish between “friends and enemies”.
Researchers at the Bartholin Institute in Copenhagen recently revealed an entertaining fact. NOD mice that are predisposed to diabetes remain healthy if they eat gluten-free food.
The incidence is reduced from 65% to 15%.
Scientists have found that the protective effect persists if mothers receive gluten-free food during pregnancy.
Danish researchers suggest that increased sensitivity is due to the presence of antibodies in breast milk, which is why scientists believe that children are more likely to get diabetes if they have a lot of gluten in their mother’s diets.
How many participants were examined?
The study is based on data from 63,529 Danish National Fertility Cohorts. Women filled out a “diet” questionnaire during 25 weeks of pregnancy.
Result: mothers with the highest gluten intake were 2 times more likely to have a baby with diabetes. Children whose mothers consumed the least gluten (less than 7 g / day) were less likely to suffer from diabetes.
Correlation also indicates that the effect is dose dependent. For every 10 g of gluten in the mother’s diet, the risk of developing a child’s diabetes is increased by 31%. The dose-response ratio is an indicator of causality in epidemiological studies.
Why can not completely abandon gluten?
Belgian scientists do not recognize evidence that gluten in food is the cause of increased type 1 diabetes. It is too early to recommend a gluten-free diet for women during pregnancy. You should wait and see if other research groups come to the same conclusion.
There is no solid evidence to argue that a gluten-free diet protects against autoimmune diseases. On the contrary, rejecting whole grains in the context of a gluten-free diet can even be harmful.
Previous studies have shown that people who often consume whole grains are less likely to develop coronary heart disease. This was also discovered in an analysis conducted by Spanish scientists. A 15% increase in the risk of developing coronary heart disease was observed in people who are allergic to whole grains.
Refusing gluten foods completely is not recommended. It is necessary to consume up to 20 g of gluten-containing foods in order to replenish the daily intake of nutrients.
