What if we could prevent type 1 diabetes? New research by scientists at the University of Toronto, Canada, and the University of Bern, Switzerland, could eventually make this a reality. Turns out, the answer may lie in our guts – gut bacteria, that is.
By fluke, decades ago, researchers noticed that a particular strain of mice was susceptible to type 1 diabetes. Upon the invention of genetic analysis, they discovered that these mice share the same genes as people who are predisposed to the condition. The interesting part? Some of these mice never developed the disease.
Turns out these mice owe their health to the mix of good bacteria in their intestines. More recently, scientists have discovered why. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. Essentially, your body’s immune system attacks and destroys healthy pancreatic cells. The result? An inability to produce insulin and thus, to regulate your blood sugar levels. Where do the bacteria fit into the picture? They produce biochemicals and hormones which keep your autoimmune system in check. In essence, the bacteria keep your immune system from attacking you. In one study, the transplantation of gut flora (ie, bacteria) from healthy adult mice into the intestines of young mice genetically predisposed to the disease prevented them from developing type 1 diabetes. Now how’s that for ‘good’ bacteria?
