Arsenic! Yet another thing to be linked to type 2 diabetes…

We’ve known for a long time about the presence of arsenic in the environment. But a new study has found that even small amounts of arsenic have a link with diabetes.

That’s right. Small amounts.

Researchers looked at how much arsenic was in the urine of the folks in the study. Those with arsenic had a 24% increased risk of having diabetes than those that had no arsenic. We already know that arsenic exposure can lead to cancer and other health problems, but the diabetes link is a new one.

But where is the arsenic coming from, you may ask? Good question.

The assumption is that arsenic is coming from the water supply, as the researches discounted the non-toxic natural arsenic in food and fish sources.

Arsenic can find it’s way into the environment and water supply from coal burning and copper smelting. It’s found in the pressure treated wood used to make decks. It’s also found in some insecticides and fungicides, though that is banned in many countries. Arsenic gas is even used in microchip production.

It can also be found naturally in rock and soils. That’s been a problem with well water and chronic arsenic illness in rural China and places such as Vietnam and Bangladesh.

But another source of arsenic is nutritional supplements. Sea algae and kelps can contain a lot of arsenic too.

Arsenic binds and disrupts the sulfur containing metabolic enzymes that help us produce energy. Previous studies have found that pancreas cells, where insulin is produced, produce less insulin when treated with arsenic. Less insulin leads to diabetes.

It’s actually unclear in this study if the arsenic contributes to diabetes, or if something about diabetes causes the arsenic to clear from the body differently.

Urine can be tested for arsenic, as they did in this study. You can also check hair and even nails, but those may not be reliable because of external contamination.

Luckily, filtering the water is something we can all do. On the public level, cities can beef up testing and filtering for arsenic. And at home, this study provides just one more incentive for filtering of tap water.

You can also use treated wood to build decks that has not been treated with arsenic. And you can make sure to use integrative pest management techniques to avoid harmful insecticides and fungicides.

Arsenic and diabetes. Who knew?

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