Dietary fibre as an adjunct therapy for reducing kidney injury in diabetes

Diabetes and its complications are arguably the epidemic of this century. The number of individuals with diabetes has doubled over the last 20 years and it is thought that 15-20% of Australians have elevated blood glucose levels predisposing them to type 2 diabetes. Most of the global burden of diabetes is due to morbidity and mortality arising from complications of the disease, including diabetic kidney disease (DKD), which occurs in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. It well recognised that nutrition profoundly influences the development of type 2 diabetes and diet is a modifiable risk factor that drives DKD progression. Our laboratory has recently shown that a resistant starch fibre supplement can improve kidney injury in a mouse model of diabetes by targeting the gut microbiome and dampening inflammation. We will now translate these studies into the clinic. The aim of this study is to investigate whether resistant starch supplementation can alter the microbiome and its metabolites and slow the progression of diabetic kidney disease in individuals with diabetes and early stage renal damage.