Eating foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids decreased children’s risk for a condition called diabetes auto immunity, which often leads to Type 1 diabetes, Colorado researchers discovered.
From 1994 to 2006, scientists at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center followed 1,770 children at increased risk for Type 1 diabetes.
In that form of the disease, a person’s body mistakenly attacks its own insulin-making cells, making it difficult to regulate blood sugar.
The researchers tracked the children’s diets, noting who ate more fatty fish, flaxseed, canola and soybean oils, and walnuts – all high in omega-3 fatty acids.
Children whose diets were richer in omega-3 fatty acids were half as likely to develop diabetes autoimmunity, the researchers found.
The CU work is published in today’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Staff writer Katy Human can be reached at 303-954-1910 or khuman@denverpost.com.
