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Your gut bacteria determines spike in blood sugar levels

M

MarkLondon

Member
Messages
11
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Did anyone see last nights "trust me I'm a doctor"?

It seems research in Israel has concluded that the spikes in blood sugar levels can vary from person to person depending on your gut bacteria.

For example, one person can eat a load of chocolate and have a dramatic increase in glucose levels whereas for someone else it will have no effect.

And eating natural fruit for some can be just as bad as can be eating sweets for others.

It seems the conventional idea that too many carbs can be bad for diabetics seems to have gone out of the window!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03gqssd
 
I think the research shows that individual gut bacteria have a different effect on how your body processes individual foods. As usual the BBC gave us a rather dumbed down version.

It is extremely interesting research, and the papers make interesting reading.

This could have a major impact on the understanding of nutrition.
 
Does raise the question as to whether some people are just as likely to get diabetes if they have a high protein - low carb diet and whether in fact pure sugar has any effect at all on increased glucose levels. It might be the case that you can't stop diabetes unless you know how your bacteria is controlling your body.
 
Seems like good news that they are realising one size doesn't fit all in the diet and nutrition stakes. More or less whats been said on this forum for years - that we are all individual with individual responses to different foods and that's what we have been looking at with testing our blood sugars after meals. The interesting bit is that they are saying gut bacteria can be responsible for these differences (and therefore changing gut bacteria may change the responses.
It was for normal people with out diabetes though so don't think we can celebrate just yet but could explain why some diabetics on this forum can tolerate some carbs better than others.
Not a surprise though that grapes and orange juice spiked her levels (she thought they were healthy ) since we know that they contain lots of fruit sugars. She was surprised which just confirms how little most doctors know about nutrition. If that changes it's all good!
 
Even though grapes and orange juice pushed up the sugar levels it's strange how ice cream didn't when that contains pure sugar!

One worry aspect is how are people going to know what's good and bad for them as it's impractical to get gut bacteria tested in the short term as no tests currently exist on the NHS.
 
I agree with seadragon - this forum has been stating what seems to me to be an obvious truth for years: everyone is different and you need to find out what your individual response to various foods is. No easy answers, but we knew that. Bet the gut bacteria theory isn't as simple as it sounds either!
 

When the research has been concluded if such a test were then to be available it would signify real progress.
 
I'm sure it's a factor..like so many other things. it's probably even a very big factor...like how many simple carbs we eat.
I have no expertise in human biology sadly or in any kind of science which might inform me as to the evolution of and impact of such bacteria...but a couple of years in my first degree were in archaeology and it is pretty clear that our diet today is far more destructive than anything eaten by our hominid or or early homo sapiens ancestors. Their diet was determined by available sources (and so often very limited, resulting in specialized diet which might lead to extinction if climates changed dramatically), and the remains and evidence of our mesolitihic, hunter-gathering ancestors up to about 8,000BCE show way less indication of certain diseases and conditions common to modern man (with his ridiculously wide ranging available sources...called shops) ..so I am wondering...how has our environment and the changes in diet over millennia changed the way bacteria develops and thrives or doesn't in our weakened human systems...and I'm thinkin....carbohydrates...carbohydrates...carbohydrates...and not a whole lot of hunting or gathering going on. Ideas?

Also, more importantly - is there any additional safe bacteria (edible kinda stuff like yakult etc) which may assist us? This still evolving homo sapiens sapiens would like to sort his gut out!
 
Who would have thought that for some people eating protein is likely to cause more of an increase in blood sugar levels than any amount of carbs?

Have the health profession got it so wrong in thinking that too many carbs are one of the main culprits in the rise of diabetes?
 
I was very interested in the programme, it seemed to me to indicate that everyone is different and we all need a personal food guide - I am a Type2 Diabetic, diagnosed March 2015, put on Metformin, Blood tests every 3 months, brought own meter and test fairly regularly, 4 months ago metformin dose doubled as sugar levels still too high. Have gone as far as restricting diet to almost zero carbs and zero sugar and levels are still too high. Went for latest blood test, phone call from doctors and have to go and have another one as the hospital failed to process the samples, but I know from my tests that blood sugar levels are still too high.
I feel bad that I cannot get the sugar levels under control almost a year down the line. Cannot get new glasses because eye sight is fluctuating and struggling with eye sight because it keeps changing.
I have to also add that in the past year I have also had a great deal of stress in my life and I do believe this has an impact although my doctor does not agree.

Even before I became diabetic I believed that there was more to being over weight than simply eating too much and all the wrong foods. So I will be looking out for any further up dates on the programme as I believe it has real possibilities.
 
MarkLondon said:
It seems the conventional idea that too many carbs can be bad for diabetics seems to have gone out of the window!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03gqssd
Click to expand...
No it hasn't. We cannot process carbs. It was an interesting programme though. Strange how people react differently to the same food. It does have implications for dieting, but I was surprised that diabetes wasn't even mentioned - if I remember correctly.
 
[QUOTE="MarkLondon, post: 1044621, member: 188492"
It seems the conventional idea that too many carbs can be bad for diabetics seems to have gone out of the window!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03gqssd[/QUOTE]
Sorry, second post. It does have implications for what is a good balanced diet andthe eatwell plate. The one size fits all is obviously no longer valid.
 
Firstly, we do metabolise protein, and one product is glucogen, similar to carbs, but at a lower amount. There is a description at:
http://www.insulin-pumpers.org/howto/pfandbs-2.html

The problem with LCHF diet advice I have seen is that proteins are almost ignored in the advice, as if they have no effect. In terms of BGL this may be considered so, but there are other health considerations being ignored, as those 'pumping iron' will attest to. it is possible to overdose on protein EDIT: Sorry, this para is off topic. No response needed.

As to the med profession getting it wrong about carbs, then I agree but not in the way you put it. I think the broblem is that the medics are pushing high carb diets (aka 'eatwell') while current thinking is going in the opposite direction. The jury is still out.
 
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The research does not say anything like that.

It does not show that some people can eat Carbs with no or only a small BG response.

The study shows that people can have different responses to the same foods, and that the response can be predicted by looking at the make-up of their gut bacteria.
 
Because of my unique condition, I have done quite a bit of research about certain aspects of blood glucose disorders.
And I came across Helicobacter pylori in Wikipedia in the RH page and the links below that for one of the causes of these disorders is this bacteria that cause ulcer like growths in the lower abdomen. This bacteria is disruptive to the process of digestion and creates hormonal imbalance and how we use glucose and insulin.
Since discovery, the amount of research needs more done, but there is many theories of what this bacterium does to those susceptible to the diabetic umbrella of conditions.
One of the problems is it is not easily diagnosed and you an have it for years without knowing about it.
 
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