Results of a recent study by Dr Lars C Stene of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, and colleagues suggests that giving babies cod liver oil may help to reduce their risk of developing type I diabetes. Stene studied 545 children with type I diabetes and 1668 healthy children. The parents of the children involved completed questionnaires asking about the use of cod liver oil and other vitamin D supplements both in the children and in their mothers during pregnancy. Results showed that children who were given cod liver oil during their first year of life were 26% less likely to develop type I diabetes than other children. Stene suspects that cod liver oil’s apparent anti-diabetic abilities may originate from the anti-inflammatory properties of its long-chain n-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Am J Clin Nutr 2003;78:1128-1134.
