ABSTRACT
Early-life diet is important in normal health and development for all children as it can have far-reaching and irreversible health consequences. Those consequences, whether beneficial or detrimental, are the result of a complex interplay between genetic predispositions, dietary content, and the timing of exposure to novel dietary components during infancy and early childhood. Multiple published studies implicate early-life diet as an important factor in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes (1). What is not clearly understood is the mechanism through which earlylife diet acts to either precipitate or delay the onset of type 1 diabetes. Two main details have been investigated with regard to this relationship: the types of foods in an infant’s diet and the timing of introduction to these foods. To further complicate the picture, there is not always agreement between studies about specific findings or their interpretation. In spite of (and sometimes as a result of) the information available, there is no consensus about any overarching mechanisms that might unite current scientific findings into a cohesive picture regarding the contribution that early-life diet makes in the development of type 1 diabetes.
