Digestive Enzymes: An Unexpected Diabetes Game Changer

Tweetypie

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Also, as an aside, a few months back, I experimented with papaya whole fruit and some of its seeds to aid digestion. I have since stopped it for other reasons. However, it helped a bit with digestion and most interestingly, the papaya didn't effect my blood sugar too much. As well as the quest enzyme digest, I am also taking lemon balm tea which is said to help poor digestion associated with anxiety. It is also said to help the gallbladder with secretion of bile, necessary to aid fat digestion.
 
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Winnie53

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@Tweetypie that's interesting. I hope you'll continue to post what you're doing and learning here. :)

I now better understand that digestion is an important piece in the "restoring health" puzzle.

I'm just finishing Jordan Rubin's book, The Makers Diet. He lost almost half his body weight and came very close to death from a condition he refers to as "Crohns Colitis". I found this interesting because after the colonoscopy, following my 9 month inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) flare in 2015, my gastroenterologist said to me, "No cancer" then "I don't know if it's Crohns or Colitis marching up your colon but you have a very inflamed colon."

I know what caused the flare, eating 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed a day for three weeks, something I later learned no one with IBD should do. Lucky for me, the colonoscopy prep "reset" my gut flora and I went back into remission within a week of the colonscopy, thanks in great part, I believe, to a combination of the specific carbohydrate diet, the low carbohydrate ketogenic diet, and a soil based pre-biotic and pro-biotic formulation I started taking months earlier.

Interestingly, Rubin's book advocates the diet I'm already on with a few additional refinements. In addition to using diet and digestive enzymes, he also advocates eating fermented foods so that's where I'm heading next. Digestive enzymes are continuing to work well for me. I stopped taking the probiotic, but am now thinking I need to add it back.
 
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Alicki

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Dandelion tea is also good for your pancreas and liver. I think I have gallstones causing havoc....more testing....


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KevinPotts

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Dandelion tea is also good for your pancreas and liver. I think I have gallstones causing havoc....more testing....


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Oh my goodness, I know that can be so painful! I feel for you.


Diagnosed 13/4/16: T2, no meds, HbA1c 53, FBG 12.6, Trigs 3.6, HDL .75, LDL 4.0, BP 169/95, BPM 85, 13st 8lbs, waist 34" (2012 - 17st 7lbs, w 42").

16/6/16: FBG AV 4.6, Trigs 1.5, HDL 2.0, LDL 3.0, BP 112/68, BPM 6O, 11st 5lbs, waist 30", PWV 7.0. Lifelong migraines and hay fever gone.

Regime: 25g LCHF, run 1 mile daily, weekly fasting, occasionally longer fasts.
 

KevinPotts

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@Tweetypie that's interesting. I hope you'll continue to post what you're doing and learning here. :)

I now better understand that digestion is an important piece in the "restoring health" puzzle.

I'm just finishing Jordan Rubin's book, The Makers Diet. He lost almost half his body weight and came very close to death from a condition he refers to as "Crohns Colitis". I found this interesting because after the colonoscopy, following my 9 month inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) flare in 2015, my gastroenterologist said to me, "No cancer" then "I don't know if it's Crohns or Colitis marching up your colon but you have a very inflamed colon."

I know what caused the flare, eating 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed a day for three weeks, something I later learned no one with IBD should do. Lucky for me, the colonoscopy prep "reset" my gut flora and I went back into remission within a week of the colonscopy, thanks in great part, I believe, to a combination of the specific carbohydrate diet, the low carbohydrate ketogenic diet, and a soil based pre-biotic and pro-biotic formulation I started taking months earlier.

Interestingly, Rubin's book advocates the diet I'm already on with a few additional refinements. In addition to using diet and digestive enzymes, he also advocates eating fermented foods so that's where I'm heading next. Digestive enzymes are continuing to work well for me. I stopped taking the probiotic, but am now thinking I need to add it back.

Thanks Winnie, that's another book I'll be down loading later today:)


Diagnosed 13/4/16: T2, no meds, HbA1c 53, FBG 12.6, Trigs 3.6, HDL .75, LDL 4.0, BP 169/95, BPM 85, 13st 8lbs, waist 34" (2012 - 17st 7lbs, w 42").

16/6/16: FBG AV 4.6, Trigs 1.5, HDL 2.0, LDL 3.0, BP 112/68, BPM 6O, 11st 5lbs, waist 30", PWV 7.0. Lifelong migraines and hay fever gone.

Regime: 25g LCHF, run 1 mile daily, weekly fasting, occasionally longer fasts.
 

Alicki

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Anyone have any experience with bicarbonate sodium to reduce acidity? My pineapple, and papaya enzymes contain some of this stuff. Docs say is safe but just would like to check with you


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Alicki

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If you have any experience. I can EAT at last with this! No inflammation, no pain, less anxiety. I can EAT! Youpi!!! Feels wonderful


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Winnie53

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@Alicki I wish you had access to naturopaths and functional medicine doctors like we do in the US. I can't answer your questions as I have no experience with these problems so haven't researched it, but you can.

The key is to figure out what the root cause is of all your symptoms. Hopefully, all this testing you're having done will provide you with enough information to begin researching all available treatments, conventional and alternative, also to determine the root cause and how to address the problems with diet, nutritional supplements, etc., medication if needed. Before starting any supplement or treatment strategy, I do a lot of reading online, including reading studies and abstracts. I also read books written by people that I feel are well credentialed. I spend hours and hours on Amazon.com reading book reviews then order the one or two books that I think have the best information.

As for the bicarbonate sodium, be sure to research the benefits, side effects, and dosages. There are a few exceptions, but nothing's 100% safe, dosage is important too.

It's exciting to find anything that works when not feeling well. Hope what you're doing is safe and continues to work for you. :)
 

Winnie53

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@KevinPotts I'm finishing the book now. Fascinating story, and interestingly, he was recommending 10+ years ago what's being recommended now. I haven't looked yet to see if he's written more books. Afraid to. My book pile is close to toppling. :)
 

KevinPotts

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@KevinPotts I'm finishing the book now. Fascinating story, and interestingly, he was recommending 10+ years ago what's being recommended now. I haven't looked yet to see if he's written more books. Afraid to. My book pile is close to toppling. :)

Ahhhh Winnie, that's why you need to get a little Kindle:) Yvonne and I both got one for Christmas after years of resistance and it's one of the best things we've done:).

No space probs, cheaper books:)
 

Alicki

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I'm in Switzerland not the UK so plenty access to naturopath. My massage therapist this morning massaged the gallbladder and said it was inflamed, so might be a gallbladder issue... Hopefully the endoscopic ultrasound will shed some light


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Alicki

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Thanks for your support


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Winnie53

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@Alicki that's interesting. Something to research if you're up to it. :)

We watched someone now in her 30's suffer for about three years unknowingly with a gall bladder problem. Not long after seeing a gastroenterologist, she was scheduled for surgery. When they removed it, her gall bladder was packed with stones.
 

Alicki

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Mine does not show any stones! But I think it has some. The endoscopic ultrasound should give answers, it's much more precise! Everything points to that: food intolerances, difficulty digesting fats, thirst! But I saw it on the screen, no stones show! I bet stones are stuck in ducts, would explain a lot.... Patience is a virtue with these things. The good thing is that I've totally reversed my diet and it's super healthy now! I don't feel in danger but am fed up of not knowing..... Oh well when I read other accounts, if I only have indigestion, I guess it's better than people who can't work anymore because they are in so much pain .... The worst thing about gallbladder issues is that you can remove it and still have pain. Grrh!!


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Alicki

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Hi, we re ok that side, I think its the gallbladder, typical symptoms but nothing is showing up. the EUS Will exclude masses on the pancreas and see if there arnt any small stones...


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Winnie53

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Another interesting study. This one looked at salivary amylase concentration, digestion of starchy foods, and postprandial blood glucose levels. The results surprised the researchers...

"High Endogenous Salivary Amylase Activity Is Associated with Improved Glycemic Homeostasis following Starch Ingestion in Adults" http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3327743/

Abstract
In the current study, we determined whether increased digestion of starch by high salivary amylase concentrations predicted postprandial blood glucose following starch ingestion. Healthy, nonobese individuals were prescreened for salivary amylase activity and classified as high (HA) or low amylase (LA) if their activity levels per minute fell 1 SD higher or lower than the group mean, respectively. Fasting HA (n = 7) and LA (n = 7) individuals participated in 2 sessions during which they ingested either a starch (experimental) or glucose solution (control) on separate days. Blood samples were collected before, during, and after the participants drank each solution. The samples were analyzed for plasma glucose and insulin concentrations as well as diploid AMY1 gene copy number. HA individuals had significantly more AMY1 gene copies within their genomes than did the LA individuals. We found that following starch ingestion, HA individuals had significantly lower postprandial blood glucose concentrations at 45, 60, and 75 min, as well as significantly lower AUC and peak blood glucose concentrations than the LA individuals. Plasma insulin concentrations in the HA group were significantly higher than baseline early in the testing session, whereas insulin concentrations in the LA group did not increase at this time. Following ingestion of the glucose solution, however, blood glucose and insulin concentrations did not differ between the groups. These observations are interpreted to suggest that HA individuals may be better adapted to ingest starches, whereas LA individuals may be at greater risk for insulin resistance and diabetes if chronically ingesting starch-rich diets.
 
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this forums interesting. i myself have very bad digestion (extreme bloating) and general IBS / SIBO type issues after many rounds of antibiotics for acne. My gut flora is a mess and it seems when i eat something rich in carbs i.e. a bowl of oats, my blood glucose can remain high for up to 6 hours before beginning to drop. the reason for this must be due to the fact my food is not being digested properly and so food i eat raises my BG over an extended period of time.

anyway, i would not advice taking enzymes. they are basically like crutches and will never replace the ammount of enzymes our bodys can and should be producing. i'm a strong believer that everyone can naturally heal any digestive problems they have (so long as nothing has been removed ie gallbladder) by doing liver and gallbladder flushes.

I suggest anyone who is interested in improving their digestion look up 'the amazing galbladder and liver flush' i am attempting my first flush next week so whilst i cant personally attest to it curing my digestion, the author explains everything in a very clear and simple manor which makes perfect sense.
 

Winnie53

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Interested in results from liver flush @diabetesman101 I'm all about finding ways to heal the body. Read up on it from a variety of sources first. Make sure you understand the benefits and risks first. :)
 

Brunneria

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I love the idea of healing anything, but sometimes we need crutches, especially during that healing process...
 

Alicki

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I agrée. If it was nt for papaye enzymes, i would be starving now. The body needs help a bit for a while. I ve Gone down from one tablet * 2 à Day to 1/2 a tablet * 2 à Day .


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