What's Causing an Epidemic of Insulin Resistance and Diabetes?

The good bacteria in our body must be so plentiful that we are a bacteria hotel. In a healthy person, the microbes living in and on our body should outnumber our cells by ten times! 

Yes, a trillion cells in our body means 100's of trillions of microbes! 

A healthy microbiome consists of 1,000 species of bacteria, viruses, etc., which coexist within us. Most of our microbiome resides in our GI tract; our biome weighs 3-4 pounds. The bacteria in us help us thrive by assisting in;

• Digesting and absorbing foods

• Producing vitamins and short-chain fatty acids

• Killing pathogens

• Maintaining a healthy weight

• Support detoxification

• Are inflammatory fighters

• Provide immunity

• Control hormone functions

• Absorb our nutrients

Most of these organisms are helpful and essential. Still, some are harmful and cause significant damage to the delicate balance of the ecosystem in our gut.

Insulin resistance is a concern because it doubles the risk for heart attack and stroke—and triples the odds that a heart attack or "brain attack" will be deadly, according to the International Diabetes Federation.

What is Dysbiosis, and How Does it Connect to Insulin Resistance?

Dysbiosis occurs when harmful organisms, bacteria, fungi, yeast, mold, viruses, and parasites, take over the gut environment. Like a hostile takeover, these opportunists change our physiology to favor their survival and are a detriment to ours.

What constitutes a healthy microbiome? Good bacteria are part of the microbiome. As the Chief Operating Officer in our gut, keeping vital day-to-day functions running efficiently keeps us in optimum health.

Glyphosate has a substantial play in insulin resistance.

Connecting insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, toxins contribute to diabetes and insulin resistance. Chemicals we encounter daily contribute such as:

• Dioxins

• Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

• Pesticides

• Phthalates

• BPA

Toxins destroy the microbiome balance. Once disrupted, the "foods" destroy more microbiome. An unhealthy gut results in Insulin Resistance, diabetes, etc...

• Sugary Foods. Soda, sweets, desserts, and other foods made primarily of sugar are considered low-quality carbohydrates.

• White Rice, Bread, and Flour

• Full-Fat Dairy products

• Conventional Meat

• Conventional grown junk food

• Fried Foods

• Corn, canola, vegetable, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed, peanut, and hydrogenated oils

• Alcohol

Our intestinal ecosystem sustains considerable intestinal damage from a poor diet with damage caused by antibiotics, stress, pesticides, etc. Dr. Gerard Mullin, M.D. asserts that "Dysbiosis is not so much about the microbe as it's about the impact on us, the host; it's about the relationship between the host and the microbe."

Dysbiosis is easy to identify because it starts with excessive gas, diarrhea, and constipation, and left unchecked, it shows up as skin disorders, joint pain, chronic fatigue, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and more.

Triggers of Dysbiosis

The main primary contributors to Dysbiosis are:

• Poor bacterial colonization

• Medications

• Stress

• Diet

• GMO's

• conventionally grown produce, meat, eggs, dairy

• Pesticides, herbicides, fungicides

• Antibiotics

• Environmental toxins

• Infections

• C-sections

• Not breastfed

• Chlorinated water

• Sleep deprivation

• Alcohol

• Aspartame

Trigger of Dysbiosis: Poor Colonization

The first step to Dysbiosis is at birth. A vaginal birth naturally initiates bacterial colonization. Infants born this way have a microbiota that reflects their mother's fecal and vaginal flora. In contrast, those delivered via cesarean have a flora reflective of the hospital environment and the health care workers. Children born through C-sections are at risk of delayed access to breast milk, which can be an additional detriment to developing a healthy flora.

Research in the September 2008 issue of the Journal of Nutrition showed gut microbiota after C-section, characterized by a lack of Bifidobacterial species essential to developing the immune system. In contrast, vaginally delivered babies showed a predominance of these species.

It's essential for women who want to conceive to be aware of the health of their intestinal flora. Infants born to women with Dysbiosis also have Dysbiosis. Taking care of GI infections and imbalances and supplementing with specific probiotics will help impart healthy flora to the baby.

Trigger of Dysbiosis: Medications

Several categories of medications can directly impact the health of the GI flora. The most significant ones include:

Antibiotics: This class of medications is the most common and significant cause of major alterations in normal GI tract flora. Depending upon the scope of antimicrobial activity, antibiotics can wipe out multiple categories of beneficial organisms, leading to Dysbiosis. Antibiotics don't differentiate between the good and bad guys and create an overgrowth of yeast (Candida), resulting in potentially severe and life-threatening (in the case of C. difficile) systemic effects.

PPIs: Proton pump inhibitors that block stomach acid (HCl) production provide a gateway for Dysbiosis to develop, as HCl is critical to digestion and acts as a defense against pathogens. PPIs are known to alter the gut flora directly as well.

NSAIDs: Chronic use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, aspirin, and indomethacin can inhibit the growth of good bacteria and alter the gut flora, resulting in leaky gut, which further perpetuates Dysbiosis.

Hormone-Based Medications: According to Gut and Psychology Syndrome author Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, M.D., "birth control pills alter the immune system. Steroidal hormones change the gut flora and harm beneficial bacteria. Widespread use of hormone-based medication significantly contributes to Dysbiosis.

Trigger of Dysbiosis: Stress

Stress triggers Dysbiosis and decreases blood flow, oxygenation, motility, enzyme output, and nutrient absorption. Dr. Gerard Mullin, M.D., Impacting intestinal flora, explains that stress directly suppresses the beneficial bacteria Lactobacilli and Bifidobacterium, which are critical to GI health.

Further, chronic stress diminishes immunity essential hormones and promotes inflammation, which can all result in a leaky gut. 

Adrenaline and noradrenaline stimulate the growth of E.coli, Yersinia, and Pseudomonas, which promote inflammation—culminating in a vicious, self-perpetuating cycle when you're chronically stressed, sick, and confused.

Insulin resistance was found in 55.9% of people with low vitamin D and B12 levels. Low magnesium is a risk factor for diabetes and insulin sensitivity.

Exercise, getting quality sleep, and eating a nutritious diet high in unsaturated fats like olive oil, avocado oil, ghee, MCT, butter, and coconut oil are essential. Intermittent fasting is, too. Eating fermented food like raw sauerkraut, kefir, yogurt, and kimchee with fiber-rich foods repopulates the microbiome. It corrects insulin sensitivity in people with and without diabetes.

If you want help, we have a multiphase program to reverse insulin sensitivity and diabetes.