New findings on how diet affects our immune system
Breakthrough research by a Sydney-based research team has shown that the amount of dietary fibre in the diet plays a fundamental role in keeping the immune system healthy and autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes at bay.
The role of nutrition and gut health in the development of autoimmune disease is an exciting new field of investigation. Researchers initially targeted this area to understand why autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes were so prevalent in western countries.
One of the obvious differences is diet with people in western countries consuming more “fast” foods. In addition to the effects that this has on weight gain, a diet of highly processed food appears to reduce the quantity and quality of gut bacteria.
It has been known for a while that having a decent colony of “friendly” bacteria results in a healthy gut and a healthy body. Recent research by JDRF scientists in the US showed that animals raised without these friendly bacteria are significantly more susceptible to type 1 diabetes.
So how does this all connect? The researchers in this case have found that immune cells actually interact with the product of fibre digestion – a group of molecules called “short-chain fatty acids”. These molecules interact with the immune cells to create an anti-inflammatory effect, thus reducing or preventing an autoimmune response.
Whilst this research has been undertaken in mice and therefore not conclusively proven in humans, it is a pretty simple message to follow. Eat a healthy diet with plenty of unprocessed fruits, vegetables and grain products and you could be helping your body to resist the onset of type 1 diabetes.
My 14 year old daughter was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease aged 11and 1/2 in year 6 and Type 1 2 years later. She has always had a balanced diet with lots of fruit and vegetables,meat and fish mostly prepared fresh at home and had plenty of water to drink. Only very rarely was she allowed to eat any fast foods. She was encouraged to go out to play and get dirty when young and to always wash hands before eating. How does this scenario square with findings in this article?
I Have an 12 year old daughter who was diagnosed with coeliac disease at age 4 and this year my 8 year old daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 3 months after suffering a bad virus. All 3 of my daughters were breast fed and we have always eaten an abundance of of fruit, vegetables, organic meat and eggs and have never consumed fast food or soft drinks. They all excerise daily as they are passionate about classical ballet and therefore are very aware of healthy living. Likewise, I ask the question of how does this scenario square with with the research findings?
we can relate…my 10 year old son was 3 years old when he was diagnosed with coeliacs and 8 years old when diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. admittedly the gluten free diet may not be as rich in fibre as a normal one, however he has had fibre fromother sources, namely fresh produce. the hygiene hypothesis certainly does not wash with us, as it should be my daughter and not my son who is the diabetic for this to be true. He has always been a typical boy, happily getting down and dirty!! I believe there is a viral link personally, and am wondering if your children have had chicken pox? He had the worst case of chicken pox imaginable at age 2 and a half, and was not long after diagnosed with coeliacs. He was diagnosed with diabetes a few months after a severe gastro virus. Makes you wonder……
I was diagnosed with Hashimotos disease about 4 years ago which is an autoimmune disease and my son who is 8 was diagnosed as a Type 1 Diabetic in July this year. We also have been pretty particular with diet, sourcing organic where possible and not having a lot of fast foods. He has not had chickpox nor any other severe illness. Wish there was a way of knowing what makes this happen?
My 3 year old daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 21 months old and then 6 weeks later with Coeliac disease. I was very careful with what I ate throughout my pregnancy and she was great at eating healthy fresh meals more so than any baby food. I gave her plenty of fibre as she had constipation issues and never up to that point had sweets, lollies or cordials of any kind and didn't eat chocolate as when she tried it, she didn't like it! So have to agree, this doesn't fit in with the new research findings!
My daughter who is 17, is a type 1 diabetic. She is also a fraternal twin and her sister and two brothers are not diabetic. At age 11, she had a bike accident which involved surgery. Whilst in hospital, she was in a room with two other girls, both diabetic. They had auburn coloured hair, like her. Not long after, she contracted a viral infection and was diagnosed with diabetes. The only real sugary food all my children ate was jam and occasional sweets. She did drink more than the others. Coincidently, my auntie became a type 2 diabetic after the sudden death of her sister. She ate a healthy diet and was not overweight and had blonde/auburn hair. Perhaps redheads are more sensitive as they need more anaesthetic for an operation as they feel pain more. Interestingly, my cousin's wife, who was a redhead, died from leaukemia after living up north whilst the French were testing nuclear energy in the Pacific Ocean. This was not proven. Therefore, I think healthy food plays a role in preventing type 1 diabetes and other diseases but I think those with auburn genes are at risk to other triggers that may weaken the immune system such as stress, trauma, or a viral infection.
I am 51 & have Hashimoto's & rheumatoid. My brother is 55 & coeliac and my son is 20 and has Type 1. We are the first members of our family that we are aware of to suffer from any of these illnesses (definitely no type 1 before) & all have arisen within the last nine years. My brother & I were raised in the bush and exposed to stacks of animals & plenty of dirt. Our diet was typical for the 60's in Australia – no fast food whatsoever. My son was diagnosed 2 years ago & his diet was reasonable- fruit every day, vegies every evening & fast food once a week.
Both my brother & I are fairly highly stressed peresonalities & my son contracted Type 1 in his HSC year. I am very interested in this debate for obvious reasons. Do u think our fast-paced, over-regulated, highly stressed environments could hold the key?
My 20 year old daughter was on a very healthy diet prior to developing type 1 diabetes – we rarely ate fast foods, preferring to eat fresh fruit and vegetables. We had trouble convincing our daughter as youngster, but she was given no choice. Getting diabetes made it more difficult for our family to maintain a healthy diet as the need for carbohydrates necessitated us having lots of processed foods available. Living in the country we did not always have access to fresh.
interesting comments on why we get type 1 diabetes. in my case i had a motor cycle accident and went into shock, soon after I got diabetes . That was over 30 yrs ago and diet was pretty healthy not much junk food then and none of my 3 brothers or sister have diabetes. I have heard others say ithappened after an accident or shock.
My 10 year old son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 2 and a half. My son got chicken pox and not long after was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.[this was the trigger I believe] . My son always ate healthy and
always played outside. I would like to find out what percentage of children got chicken pox prior to getting type 1 diabetes ?
I am with the other people who have commented here. My daughter contracted type 1 at age 16. She had rarely eaten take away food, she wouldn't even buy food at the school tuck shop preferring home made sandwiches, home grown vegetables and fruit and eggs from our own chickens. We never bought soft drinks. After diagnosis we were told to increase carbohydrates (why are diabetics given this bad advice?) so she started eating processed foods – pasta, bread and so on. This proved disastrous and ended up with a 43 kilo weight gain over little more than a year. Endocrinologists and dieticians couldn't help. Eventually a naturopath reluctantly agreed to try to help her and her health improved gradually over several months thanks to a high protein, low carbohydrate diet with numerous supplements. Type 2 diabetes is rife in our family, usually diagnosed during or after periods of severe stress
I've found all these comments interesting. Like most people my diet played no part in my contracting type 1 diabetes. I was a very active healthy child, who never ate take away. I was diagnosed with diabetes when I was 9 years old, 45 years ago. Had no family history of the condition. I come from a large long living family. I was and still am a very active person.
At the time the only thing that happened that the doctors thought might have triggered the condition, was I had been accidently kicked off the top of one of the old fashioned high slides. I got concussion and was hospitalised. This incident happened about a year or so before I got sick.
I suspect that in the case of type 1 diabetics that there are a number of things that are the trigger, and the reason some of us go on and develop diabetes is that we are already have a pre-disposition to it..
I would put it down as a viral. My son Daniel was 8yrs old when diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. We have always been healthy eaters. As a toddler he was fed grain bread, fresh fruits/veges and healthy snacks. Before getting diabetes he had a bad cold. I took him to the GP but was told he will get over it, couple weeks later he was diagnosed as diabetic. There is no history of type 1 in my family or my partners family. I simply put it down to the viral infection. All we are hoping for is a Cure.
The above article is an insult to those who have been living with the illness for years and years .
When is such complacency going to stop.
Hoping for a cure is not enough .
Doctors told us 10 years ago that there would be a cure ..
Down the track there is NO CLEAR advancement on any cure !!!
Type 1 diabetics live in limbo.
…. at the governments expenses of priority given to Type 2 self induced maleur.
Perhaps the article was meant for those who have brought the illness on upon themseleves through their hedonistic lifestyle.
Thank you everyone for your comments on this article.
JDRF did not intend to imply that choices made by people with type 1 diabetes or their families, including dietary selection, caused them to develop the disease. We acknowledge that our choice of headline may have given a misleading impression about the subject matter of the research – we have changed the headline to clarify this and we apologise for any offence caused.
The reality is that the "environmental triggers" for type 1 diabetes, which are the reasons for the increasing numbers, are complex. This makes it hard to explain the scientific progress that is being made.
There is significant evidence to suggest that the growth in type 1 diabetes is associated with life in Western societies – type 1 diabetes is relatively rare in developing countries.
Researchers are examining things like diet, lifestyle, hygiene standards, rates of breastfeeding, exposure to sunlight, and common viruses in western society.
This is because those are the factors that differentiate life in developed countries like Australia, Canada, Finland, from places like Papua New Guinea and Pakistan, where type 1 diabetes is extremely rare.
The research described above was conducted by the reputable Garvan Institute in Sydney and funded by The Cooperative Research Centre for Asthma and Airways (CRCAA). Asthma is an autoimmune disease so some of their results are relevant for the type 1 diabetes community.
Although individual examples and families (some of whom have commented above – and you are commended for your commitment to a healthy diet) don't fit the stereotype, according to the Garvan Institute "the majority of people in countries like Australia, the United States and Britain eat much less fibre than they need to stay healthy."
See the Garvan website for more information: http://www.garvan.org.au/news-events/news/new-fin...
There's no doubt that it can be hard to keep the faith about a cure for type 1 diabetes. But the pace of progress is increasing, and there are now more human clinical trials happening around the world – for cures, for prevention, and to treat complications – than ever before.
Only medical research will find a cure for type 1 diabetes.
interseting report cases !!!!!! .. perhaps doctors and researchers should use real life case studies in order to come up with hypotheses and theories about the increasing occurrance of type 1 diabetes !!!!
My 12 year old son was diagnosed with the chronic illness at the age of 2. No clear explanation was given to us back then .. not much has changed .. and nothing much different has been said to us since ..!!! Where really is the incentive to cure type 1 diabetes.???.. When will it be acknowledged that type 1 diabetes is at a critical point as much as cancer !!!
Could someone PLEASE tell me what is SO BREAKTHROUGH about this above report .. research shows you are what you eat !!!! ??? Really .. is this where our fund raising money goes toward ???
does this report really merit a place of publication in a forum of such readers as i hear here.. I do not think so !!
In our family particular case .. we have been natural unrefined , unprocessed , organic where affordable, vegetarian, non preservative, non coloring eaters for the last 40 years !!!!
Our son developed diabetes 3-4 months after having child related vaccinations. These were australian set ruled as 'compulsory' in order to be able to be placed in kindergarten.
Our child may or may not have had a cold or a virus at that age .. most children do have such syptoms around the teething age bracket… doctors back then seemed to latch at anything to respond to our queries …
The problem with any of these discourses is that NONE of them can be proven .. doctors have NO clear idea.
The explanation of genetic 'pre disposition' to the illness is the discourse stopper … end of discussion .. exit ….
… if researchers really want to explore options ….. why have i or you the above case studies not EVER been asked to provide research input data…
is there any effort to research who is accountable for the increasing diagnoses of the illness in our infantile population ???
Was there not a research article in the last update about the introduction of wheat into the diet being a trigger – or am I mistaken? You would think that people would equate wheat as also meaning high fibre.
Research articles can be confusing and cause families to feel guilty. Especially with the newly diagnosed.
We have been living with the disease for quite some time – 2 very small children diagnosed within 4 months in 1976.
We were left in the wilderness also with the fact that coeliac disease is an associated disease and can affect close family members. Consequently, 2 other family members are now living with the complications of being undiagnosed with Coeliac Disease for most of their lives. Apparently, now, it is an automamtic occurrence that families are alerted to this fact and even tested??
Looking back at our history – yes, a major "shock" , or immunistaion could be a precursor maybe to either of the diseases, but who is to know?
Continuation of previous message
Updating us with the latest in research, can be interesting, but, also cause so much angst, especially to the newly diagnosed family. It is a fine line!
We, as a family at times feel "frustrated and confused" with all the findings of these associated diseases. We not only follow and donate to the research into Type 1, but also Coeliac Disease and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, yes, one of the Coeliacs in the family has this as well. We are also waiting results from one of the family members with Type 1 to see if they also have Coeliac Disease!
I have also read about a central data base for all research. Has anyone done a collaborative assessment of all the findings into these associated diseases?
Surely, from a layman's point of view this would be worthwhile.
You are absolutely correct about the importance of learning from other diseases. One of the unique challenges of researching type 1 diabetes is that it involves so many different types of scientist – immunologists, endocrinologists, geneticists, molecular biologists and so on. This means it has traditionally been difficult for them to communicate their results in a way that we can all use. Times and technology is changing and increased collaboration means more sharing of information – Rituximab (see recent story on this blog) was originally a cancer drug that was then used for rheumatoid arthiritis and now type 1 diabetes.
JDRF has recently coordinated a national symposium to bring together all types of researcher to discuss ways to working together. This means we will be seeing more and more type 1 therapies taken from our existing knowledge of associated diseases.
As quoted in response: …. This is because those are the factors that differentiate life in developed countries like Australia, Canada, Finland, …….. from places like Papua New Guinea and Pakistan, where type 1 diabetes is extremely rare.
Do these countries have enforced vaccination shemes …?????
Why is the dicsussion concerning type 1 diabetes ALWAYS related back to diet and lifestyle choices…!!!
Once again the reinforcement of tangible validations for this chronic illness always seems to be the easier way out. .. and also a way of 'pointing the dagger' at afflicted sufferers.
If , if at all diet related to the development of the illness, then one argument could be proposed…. Why then are governments permitting such food products to be manufactured and marketed to the populace.
In a type 1 diabetic, the autoimmune system has been traumatised in some very specific way .
Has there been any specific research done exploring the possible ways in which viral intrusions or western vaccination invasions that has statistically shown any connected evidence with the increasing diagnosed numbers of type 1 diabetes?