How The Gut Microbiome Is Connected To Your Diabetes

Hello all! Welcome back for another round of nutrition overload! 

If you tune into our weekly Facebook lives AKA “Tuesdays with Taylor” (inside The Warrior’s Tribe), you’ll know I spent several weeks dedicated to the microbiome and its importance related to our health. Hence mind-body-gut connection--NO not some cheesy health fad people are talking about, but an actual scientific concept that continues to have connections being made in the research that is out there. So without further ado, let's get into it! 

What is the microbiome?

Something to know right off the bat is that there are bacteria all over our skin, hair, and inside our bodies. These are typically “good bacteria” which form a symbiotic relationship with us, meaning that both the bacteria and the host (aka humans) benefit. For example in our gut microbiome, bacteria break down different food products that we wouldn’t normally be able to digest. While the bacteria are afforded a nice warm SAFE place to live. Therefore we both benefit. This may gross you out, but in fact is essential to human life and without it we would not be able to function. 

Some important definitions to keep in mind…

• “Bio or biota” refers to bacteria

• Micro means small, so a microbiome is a small “community” of bacteria

• Prebiotics are products that bacteria eat to help themselves flourish.Think of this like food for the bacteria since “pre” means “before”

• Probiotics are foods or supplements that contain live cultures of bacteria themselves. Pro means they PROMOTE something, in this case bacteria. Don’t worry though it is good bacteria strains like lactobacillus or bifidobacterium

Why is it important? 

 Like I said above, the gut microbiome helps us break down food products we normally would not be able to digest. And it is even possible to DICTATE which type of bacteria grows in your gut based on the type of foods you eat. That might seem weird, but there are bacteria that digest foods better than others, so for the sake of this article, we will call those that digest foods well the “good” bacteria and those that don’t digest well “bad” bacteria. In that sense you can feed your gut certain types of foods, the foods that the good bacteria like and they will continue to grow and flourish. Start to feed it not so great foods and you will encourage the bad bacteria to overgrow. Having good bacteria in our gut microbiome helps appetite, digestion, bowel movements, can aid with weight loss efforts and help us better control our blood sugars. 

Not only that, but 90% of our body’s serotonin is produced in our gut. If you don’t know, serotonin is a neurotransmitter and contributes to overall mood. If you are low in serotonin, you tend to show depressive-like symptoms. Since it is produced in the gut, if you eat not so great foods, you are down regulating your body’s serotonin. This means you have some control over your mood directly by the food you put in your mouth. Of course not all serotonin is produced in the gut and everyone’s case is different, so don’t get me wrong we are not going to cure depression by eating a couple bananas, but it is safe to say the better we eat, the better our mood. 

With diabetes we tend to shy away from talking about mood and motivation to control our levels. But can we just for a minute pay some attention to the importance of our mood? If we aren’t feeling great or feeling our best, we likely aren’t all that motivated to control our blood sugars. We’re even less likely to work out which helps decrease insulin resistance. Even missing a day or two of exercise can deeply impact our levels. And most of the time we usually don’t assume it's our microbiome, we attribute it to many different things. While it isn’t always going to be your microbiome that’s making you feel blah, it is definitely something that is easily overlooked and neglected.

A small connection to make is that sleep while regulated by melatonin can be influenced by serotonin, and studies show that those who have trouble sleeping or insomnia tend to be low in serotonin levels as well. I don’t know about you but when I am sleepy, I crave high fat, high sugar foods with LOTS of caffeine which aren’t always the best for our diabetes or our gut. In fact even just two days of lack of sleep can lead to changes in the microbiome. So make sure you get your full eight hours a night to keep that gut nice and healthy. 

But how does it impact my diabetes?

The gut microbiome has a huge influence over our day to day lives and is something we don’t even realize is either contributing to our success or keeping us where we’re at. The major point to take away is that the foods that are good for the microbiome are also good to help better control diabetes. Think high fiber foods, fruits and veggies...all good foods we’ve been told to eat forever to help slow digestion of carbs and therefore slow the rise of our blood sugar levels! So think of it like a two for one! 

Above I mentioned that 90% of serotonin is produced in the gut and serotonin directly impacts overall mood. The first thing to note is that if we are feeling great and have an overall good mood, we are likely to be more engaged with our diabetes care. I know on some of my bad days I eat what I want, I rarely check my levels, and/or I lack the motivation to exercise. When all this gets added together I get really down on myself and feel defeated by my diabetes. It really takes a lot for me to get back into it. While eating great foods to promote the health of your gut won’t fix every bad mood you have, it does give you a fighting chance and increase your chances of feeling better. Not only that, but serotonin can also influence the quality of your sleep. Studies do show that we have better control with blood sugars when we get a consistent amount of sleep nightly. And remember my spiel above about mood...well sleep can also influence our overall mood and motivation for the day. Isn’t it so amazing to think you have direct control over some of the things that will influence your blood sugars? I think it is! 

Last but not least, when the “good” bacteria are prosperous in your gut, it can help control hunger hormones and aid in weight loss. Now while not everyone's goal is weight loss, the down regulation of hunger hormones can be a good thing. When your blood sugars are high you tend to be hungry because your body is fooled into thinking it is starving since the sugar is just hanging around in the bloodstream and not getting into the actual cells that use the sugar for energy. Well if our levels are already high, then we’re going to be hungry, prompting us to eat again which will cause a vicious cycle of continuous eating and no relief from high levels. Eating foods that will help your microbiome can help to downregulate these hormones which is always a great thing. Just like above with serotonin, keep in mind that every BODY is different and so this may not be a 100% fix for you, however, it does allow you some control over your blood sugar levels and ultimately your control. 

What foods should you feed your microbiome?

In general good foods to keep your gut working and moving include high fiber foods. These include whole grains, fruits and vegetables.  These are basic foods that should be included in a healthy diet anyway--refer back to my first blog https://www.ftfwarrior.com/fight-blog/2020/1/21/nutrition-basics-every-diabetic-needs-to-know for some examples of these types of foods.  Fiber serves as a prebiotic, and if you’re unsure what that means, scroll back to the top. 

Other specialty foods include probiotics that contain live cultures directly and/or fermented foods. These foods include yogurt, keiffer, kombucha, apple cider vinegar, sauerkraut, kimchi, tempeh, cottage cheese, and of course supplements that contain cultures directly. 

Foods that you should avoid feeding your microbiome since they will promote the overgrowth of those bad bacteria include: processed sugary foods and high-fat foods. So with that in mind it includes soda, sweets, red meat, processed cheese, and alcohol. 

That being said, always keep the bigger picture in mind so staying hydrated with enough water and getting enough physical activity can promote the growth of good bacteria. Making sure you eat a variety of foods and colors as well will help. Plus these are great things to do for your overall health and diabetes management anyways, not JUST for the microbiome. 

Last but not least, start slow! Don’t go full-blown probiotic one day..you will get your gut moving which can either be somewhat painful or cause extra bowel movements. Be sure to also drink lots of water if you aren't already as this will help keep everything moving right along. 

Hope this helps you with your journey and understanding of nutrition and how it impacts your diabetes. As always, let me know what your favorite pro/pre biotic foods are in our comments section below...I always love to try something new. 

And as always, keep up the fight! 

Taylor