High gluten diet may increase diabetes risk

WOMEN WHO have a diet high in gluten during pregnancy could increase the risk of their children suffering from diabetes, research suggests.

A study which examined data on more than 63,000 pregnant women from Denmark suggests that a diet high in bread, pasta and cereal could lead to children developing type 1 diabetes.

Previous studies among animals found that a gluten-free diet during pregnancy almost completely prevented the condition in offspring, experts said.

A team of international researchers set out to examine whether a similar effect was found in humans in a study published in the

(BMJ), It found that children of women with the highest gluten intake had double the diabetes risk compared with those with the lowest intake.

The authors said more evidence is needed before health officials make recommendations to change pregnant women’s diets.

Lucy Trelfa, of Diabetes UK, said: “Finding a link between eating more gluten during pregnancy and a higher risk of type 1 diabetes in babies is interesting, but importantly, this research does not show that gluten causes type 1 diabetes. It’s also far too early to say just how big a player gluten is.

“Scientists are looking at a range of factors in our genes and our environment, like gluten, that might increase the risk of developing type 1 diabetes.

“But how those factors work together, and their individual importance, is still unclear.”