Can drinking water contribute to your risk of getting type 1 diabetes? Maybe, say researchers who analyzed the acidity, color and mineral content of tap water from the homes of 64 people with type 1 diabetes and 250 randomly selected control subjects.
The study, conducted in Norway, which has a high incidence of type 1 diabetes, found “a strong association between acidity of household tap water and risk of type 1 diabetes and an indication that high zinc concentration in tap water was associated with lower risk of type 1 diabetes.”
Although at this point researchers do not understand how water quality is related to type 1 diabetes, they speculate that it may involve an influence on the survival of microorganisms. They note that further investigation is needed to determine whether the quality of drinking water might contribute to enterovirus infection.
-Diabetes Care, September 2002