Usually, if someone suffers from diabetes later on in life, it’s somehow linked to how much time their ass spends in a chair and how many cheesecakes, hamburgers, fries and tacos hang out in their intestines. Discovery provides a new take on this: air pollution. A new study points out the presence of a strong link between all the particles floating around. The numbers of diagnosed patients have doublesd in the past 15 years.

There is no mystery that pollution, specifically air pollution can be a nightmare for anyone with respiratory issues, but diabetes, it seems a little off. The research team is not sure as to how the chemicals entering our lungs affect our ability to process glucose. Let’s not be so quick to discard this as a tool to displace blame. “Air pollution made me diabetic” is not going to become the new “cows are responsible for all of our ozone problems”.

The correlation established by this study is anchored as there are previous studies suggesting that air pollution is associated with insulin resistance, a quasi-epilogue for type 2 diabetes. You can find the study in the Diabetes Care. Scientists focused on the smaller particles (2.5  micrometers in diameter or less). These particles are more likely to enter your lungs and penetrate your bloodstream.

Before you run out and buy a mask and some air filters, I strongly suggest you take a look in your fridge.

via Discovery News