HEALTH Health and nutrition with

FROM GUT to GOODNESS

Blood sugar is a good metric to keep an eye on, even if you’re not one of the 3.8m people in the UK with the condition of diabetes. This month Ali Hutchinson presents the case for consistently fuelling the body instead of relying on blood sugar spikes...

Words: Ali Hutchinson.

ACCORDING TO PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND over 3.8 million people in the UK have diabetes with the number of people experiencing pre-diabetes even higher, many of whom don’t even know they are experiencing such a dramatic issue with their blood sugar levels.

It’s estimated that even more are suffering from other forms of insulin-resistance or blood sugar problems like polycystic ovary syndrome PCOS and metabolic syndrome – the combination of diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension) and obesity.

Most of us are aware that the foods we eat on a daily basis directly affect our blood sugar. It’s a pretty simple formula: the more sugar you eat, whether it is in the form of carbohydrates, artificial sweeteners, sugar, or fruit, the more likely your blood sugar is to be elevated.

When you eat any of these things, your blood sugar spikes, but when these sources make up the majority of your diet – cereal and toast for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, pasta with a creamy sauce, meat pie with potatoes or fish and chips in the evening, your blood sugar is constantly elevated, and this puts you on the path to diabetes and other metabolic health problems.

What you’re probably not aware of is how this affects your gut health – the window to your overall health.

As Hippocrates – the father of modern medicine – said: ‘all disease begins in the People who are overweight, or who struggle with weight loss resistance – a symptom of underlying metabolic problems – tend to have lower microbiome diversity with lower amounts of the beneficial bacteria and higher amounts of harmful ones. So let’s take more advice from Hippocrates and ‘let food be thy medicine and medicine thy food,’ as a first step to managing blood sugar, healing our gut and restoring microbiome balance.

Actions you can take today: n Eat a diet rich in wholefoods – anything that doesn’t come with a wrapper or have an ingredient list! n Reduce or eliminate the amount of processed foods you eat n Reduce your sugar intake and eliminate artificial sugar from your diet n Add pre- and pro- biotics to your diet –I always recommend a good supplement in addition to eating foods rich in both –think Sauerkraut, Kimchi, Miso, fermented milk or yogurt, Tempeh etc. n Eat organic if possible – don’t peel fruits and vegetables if they are clean as there’s more fibre in the skins n Increase your fibre intake – both soluble and insoluble fibre – aim to eat 30 different fruits and veg a week. Taking small steps like this can have a big impact on your gut health and blood sugar levels allowing you to look and feel your best.

gut.’ And he was right, the growing research into gut health is discovering that underlying gut problems are a factor – if not a major factor – in a wide range of diseases, from depression to lupus, and blood sugar problems are no exception.

Gut health and blood sugar... The food you eat can affect your blood sugar, but it can also change your microbiome – the trillions of microorganisms and their genetic material that live in your intestinal tract.

These microorganisms are critical to your health and wellbeing which is why I’m so passionate about looking at our gut health as a window to our overall health.

Many of the same foods that spike blood sugar have been shown to wreak havoc on your gut.

For example, artificial sweeteners found in everything from yogurts to soft drinks, cakes, pastries and processed foods, have been implicated for years in poor microbiome health and bacterial imbalances in the gut.

Since food can directly affect both blood sugar levels and your gut health it makes sense to focus on healing your gut to help you to rebalance your blood sugar.

And that’s exactly what the latest research from scientific institutes like the Mayo clinic in the USA is showing. Studies that surround blood sugar and the gut show a direct correlation between the two.

Find Out More: If you’re experiencing gut or sugar issues and would like to have an informal chat to see how we might work together please get in touch. Or if you’re struggling with perimenopause or menopause, or need support with energy levels, weight loss or weight management, book a free call via my blog www.ali-hutchinson.co.uk or email: hello@ali-hutchinson.co.uk or call 07973 843020.