Treating Gut Bacteria May Treat Diabetes

For several years, alternative health experts have been telling us that prediabetes and type 2 diabetes may be, to a certain extent, caused by imbalances of bacteria in the gut. Recently conventional medicine has found a way to restore the balance of gut bacteria in as little as 28 days to lower blood glucose levels, lower cholesterol, and reduce inflammation.

The bacteria in the lower digestive tract tend to be one of three types, Bacteroides, Prevotella, or Ruminococcus. 

People whose digestive tracts contain mostly Bacteroides tend to have more riboflavin and vitamin C in their bloodstreams. People whose digestive tracts contain mostly Provatella tend to have higher levels of folic acid and thiamin.

And people whose digestive tracts contain bacteria that release small amounts of inflammatory toxins, not enough to cause obvious symptoms but enough to cause insulin resistance, tend to develop prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Dr. Mark Heimann of Mark Heiman, a research scientist at MicroBiome Therapeutics in Indianapolis, Indiana in the USA has been working on a combination of probiotic, friendly bacteria and the prebiotic food they need to thrive in the gut as a treatment for type 2 diabetes.

NM504 for Glucose Intolerance and Type 2 Diabetes

The specific combination of bacteria and prebiotics to feed them with which Heimann and his colleagues have had the greatest success is a product called NM504, which has not yet received a trade name. This product is the first of a new class of diabetes treatments known as gastrointestinal microbiome modulators. The gastrointestinal microbiome is not just the bacteria that live in the human digestive tract, but also the physical and chemical factors that sustain them. 

It isn't enough to introduce these bacteria into the parts of the digestive tract where they do their work. It is also necessary to provide these bacteria with the food they need, which is not necessarily provided by food that is nutritious to their human hosts, and with the conditions they need to flourish, that is, to protect them from other bacteria to establish a healthy balance in the gut.

Just How Well Do Gastrointestinal Microbiome Modulators Work?

The initial testing of the new gastrointestinal microbiome modulators has been extremely promising. Four weeks of treatment with the combination of probiotic bacteria and the prebiotics on which they feed increased the thickness of the mucus lining of the gut. This slowed down the rate at which the diabetic volunteers in the study received glucose digested from the food they ate.

See Also: One More Reason to Eat Cheese: Probiotic Bacteria Helps Tackle Aging and Boosts Immune System

Four weeks of treatment:

• Improved glucose tolerance (users of the product had lower spikes in blood sugars after meals and lower fasting sugar levels).
• Decreased total cholesterol.
• Decreased desire to eat.
• Decreased C-reactive protein, a measurement of inflammation.
• And increased immune system activity in the colon, indicating greater resistance against diseases.

If You Are Diabetic, Would Gastrointestinal Microbiome Modulators Work For You?

The research team also found that the bacteria consumed excess calories, produced vitamins, and generated a healing fatty acid known as butyric acid, which is protective against colon cancer. 

Does all this sound too good to be true?

Even the inventors of the new product admit that they need longer studies with more participants. However, there is a logical foundation for their hypotheses and the initial indications are that this kind of treatment may be extremely helpful in many cases.

So what can diabetics do while they are waiting for the gastrointestinal microbiome modulators to be tested and FDA approved so they are covered by insurance?

Here are some suggestions:

• A long list of studies has found that "dairy products," especially yogurt, help diabetics control their blood sugar levels and their weight. At first researchers assumed that the effect was due to the calcium in dairy products, but at least one researcher, Dr. Arne Astrup of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, believes that the effect may be due to the probiotic, primarily Lactobacillus, bacteria in yogurt and other fermented dairy products. Even if you don't eat dairy products, consuming other kinds of products that contain probiotic bacteria, such as sauerkraut and kimchi, and taking probiotic supplements, the more species of bacteria in the supplement the better, may help control diabetes.
• It may also help not to feed the bacteria that compete with the helpful bacteria. This means cutting out the fat--not just because it puts fat on you, but because it also feeds the Firmicutes bacteria that associated with diabetes, obesity, and inflammation. 

But don't expect miracles.

That is, having the right bacteria in your gut is as good as eating 150 to 300 calories per day less, and having the wrong bacteria in your gut is as bad as eating 150 to 300 calories per day more.

See Also: What Can A Daily Probiotic Do To Help People With Obesity?

However, if you are diabetic, the carbohydrates in 150 to 300 calories worth of food can make a huge difference in how you regulate your blood sugar levels. In some cases of type 2 diabetes, the ability to cut out the 40 to 80 grams of carbohydrate that those 150 to 300 calories of bacterial food makes the difference between needing a medication, or needing insulin, and not. Cutting out fat--not to lose weight but to starve the "bad bacteria" in your colon--and making sure your diet includes a steady supply of probiotic bacteria and the plant fibers that feed them can make a tremendous difference in how easy or how hard it is to keep blood glucose levels under control.

We'll no doubt report on MN504 when it becomes available from your doctor. In the meantime, eat natural, bacteria-friendly foods, and reduce the fat to keep the bad bacteria in check. And check your blood sugar levels frequently to see how well this works for you.