Get Easy Health Digest™ in your inbox and don’t miss a thing when you subscribe today. Plus, get the free bonus report, Mother Nature’s Tips, Tricks and Remedies for Cholesterol, Blood Pressure & Blood Sugar as my way of saying welcome to the community!
The bacteria that could give you diabetes
Overweight, sedentary, a family history, age…
These factors all add up to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. But that list is missing a very important item…
You see, there is another risk factor that was previously unknown that could cause you to develop blood sugar problems right this very minute — a sneaky bacteria that’s invading your gut.
Here’s why…
«SPONSORED»
Crossing the gut barrier
You are probably familiar with metabolic syndrome, a term for a group of factors that raise a person’s risk for heart disease and other health problems, such as diabetes and stroke. These risk factors include a large waistline, a high triglyceride level (type of fat found in your blood), low HDL (good) cholesterol level, high blood pressure and high fasting blood sugar levels.
Now, previous studies in mice have already shown how unhealthy bacteria could invade the gut lining and promote the inflammation that drives metabolic diseases, specifically type 2 diabetes. And, they decided to test the mechanism in humans.
So, researchers at Georgia State University decided to take a look at the link between metabolic syndrome and bad bacteria in your intestine…
They took two biopsies of the gut mucosa from patients during routine colonoscopies and compared them to each subject’s history of diabetes and gastrointestinal complaints.
They found that those who suffered from blood sugar problems invariably also suffered from bad bacteria encroaching on the mucus-lined covering of their gut.
According to the researchers, this is due to the fact that when bacteria encroach upon host cells, it drives chronic inflammation that interferes with the normal action of insulin, thusly promoting type 2 diabetes
In other words, you need good bacteria in your gut to function normally, or you could end up with diabetes!
Healthy gut, healthy blood sugar
It seems every day we learn new information about the profoundly important role the gut plays in total body health. Clearly, promoting a healthy gut should be a priority if you want to prevent blood sugar problems.
Related: A fountain of youth in your gut
Here are 5 ways you can improve your gut bacteria:
- Eat the rainbow – A diverse gut microbiota is a healthy gut microbiota and the way to promote diversity is through eating a wide range of foods. Eat a variety of whole foods in order to improve the health of your gut bacteria. Colorful foods fight disease.
- Think fiber – Fiber is food for the good bacteria in your intestines and may even help prevent the growth of disease-causing bacteria. Add plenty of high-fiber foods to your diet like lentils, beans, chickpeas, artichokes, raspberries, green peas and broccoli. Inulin fiber is reported to not only fight diabetes, but work as a natural appetite suppressant.
- Don’t forget the fermented foods – One of the healthiest things you can do for your gut microbiome is to eat more fermented foods. These include kefir, kimchi, natto, yogurt, sauerkraut and Kombucha.
- Add prebiotic power – We’ve all heard of probiotics – the good bacteria in your gut. Prebiotics, on the other hand, are foods that promote the growth of beneficial microbes in your gut. This list is full of prebiotic foods and their benefits.
Sources:
- Diabetes linked to bacteria invading the colon — Georgia State University
- Diet rapidly and reproducibly alters the human gut microbiome Nature
- Gut microbiota composition correlates with diet and health in the elderly Nature
- Impact of increasing fruit and vegetables and flavonoid intake on the human gut microbiota Food & Function
By Dr. Adria Schmedthorst
«SPONSORED»
