Diabetes May Start in the Intestines
February 27th, 2012Via: Science Daily:
Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have made a surprising discovery about the origin of diabetes. Their research suggests that problems controlling blood sugar — the hallmark of diabetes — may begin in the intestines.
The new study, in mice, may upend long-held theories about the causes of the disease. Because insulin is produced in the pancreas and sugar is stored in the liver, many scientists have looked to those organs for the underlying causes of diabetes.
The findings are reported Feb. 16 in the journal Cell Host & Microbe.
In the new research, scientists studied mice that are unable to make fatty acid synthase (FAS) in the intestine. FAS, an enzyme crucial for the production of lipids, is regulated by insulin, and people with diabetes have defects in FAS. Mice without the enzyme in the intestines develop chronic inflammation in the gut, a powerful predictor of diabetes.
“Diabetes may indeed start in your gut,” says principal investigator Clay F. Semenkovich, MD. “When people become resistant to insulin, as happens when they gain weight, FAS doesn’t work properly, which causes inflammation that, in turn, can lead to diabetes.”
Research Credit: anchoviesmegma
Link has an error (cryptogon.com).
This is actually about Type II diabetes: insulin resistance, for people who can’t be bothered to go to the original.
It’s serindipitious for me since I have spent a number of hours recently, investigating the intestinal microbiome and its effects on both physical & mental health.
This is ancient ‘news’ from Hippocrates Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food. which has garnered increasing attention from researchers in the last decade or so but I didn’t see a mention of the fact that, as long ago as the 80s, researchers were using FRUCTOSE to induce diabetes in laboratory rats.
Fructose, among other things, makes the intestinal wall permeable. This has implications not only for bacterial disease but also for food allergies/sensitivities (not to mention fatty liver & diabetes).
I assume the majority of cryptogon readers are cautious about their diets but how many people are actually aware that Agave syrup, in any form, is up to 99% FRUCTOSE? HFCS generally has only 55% fructose but agave was sold to the health-food crowd as, er, healthy and I know and know of more than a handful of bewildered, health-conscious people who have developed ‘adult-onset’ ‘wheat allergy’.
Jest sayin’