Veggies Cut Diabetes Risk

Increasing vegetable intake in pregnant women may help prevent type 1 diabetes in their children, according to a study from the Sahlgrenska Academy. Researchers analyzed the blood of approximately 5,700 five-year-olds to measure the amount of certain antibodies that indicate risk for developing the disease. Risk markers were doubly common in children whose mothers did not eat many vegetables while pregnant. Children who displayed the least amount of risk markers had mothers who ate vegetables daily during pregnancy. Further investigation is needed to see if vegetables themselves have this beneficial effect, or if it is another related factor. Approximately one in every 400 to 600 children in the US suffer from type 1 diabetes.