Research Shows How Gluten Affects pregnancy and infant diabetes

Danish Scientists have shown for the first time a link between eating a high-gluten diet when pregnant and an increased risk ailing state.
The research shows eating lots of gluten as bread, pasta and cereal, can double the chances compared to eating little.

The team of international researchers set out to examine whether a similar effect was found in humans.
The study, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) were data for more than 63,000 pregnant Danish women .

The women, who were enrolled into the Danish National Birth Cohort between January 1996 and October 2002,
completed a food frequency questionnaire when they were 25 weeks pregnant, which measured the amount of gluten they consumed.
The participants were followed up until 2016 to track the development of type 1 diabetes among their children.

The experts found that the average gluten intake among women was 13g per day, ranging from 7g to 20g.
They identified 247 cases of type 1 diabetes among children after an average follow-up period of 15.6 years.
Children of women with the highest gluten intake had double the risk compared with those with low intake.
The BJM said more evidence is needed to make better recommendations to change pregnant women's diets.
The researchers at the National Institute for Health and Welfare in Finland wrote: "Given that a causal association between maternal gluten intake and type 1 diabetes in children has not yet been established, it is too early to change dietary recommendations on gluten intake in pregnancy.
"However researchers and the public should take note of the possibility that consuming high levels gluten might be harmful.