Diabetes, Gut Bacteria, and Proteins

In a prior post I discussed the role of protein in diabetes. As I discussed then, although most diabetes diet management focuses on carbohydrates and particularly simple sugars, diabetics need to watch their protein levels as well.

Just last week, a new study came out linking a specific type of protein in the blood, called branched chain amino acids, and increased insulin resistance. And then the researchers also found that the higher levels of branched chain amino acids were linked to a particular type of gut bacteria.

Let’s back up for a second. If you recognize the term “branched chain amino acids,” it’s probably because they’re quite popular among athletes and bodybuilders these days. They’re considered to be among the highest quality proteins and, particularly for the bodybuilders and athletes, the proteins that cause the most amount of muscle growth. And how do they do that? In part by raising growth hormone levels, including insulin growth factor. All of which is a good reminder that, when it comes down to it, insulin isn’t just about clearing sugar from the blood, it’s also about promoting growth of tissue. The problem is that it’s growth of all tissues, including not just muscle but also fat tissue.

But here’s the most important message: don’t get caught up in the hype about probiotics. The bacteria in your body plays a huge role in your health, and many scientists have said that, actually, you have more bacteria than cells, and actually more bacterial DNA than human DNA! But the tricky part is that we don’t know how any of these work together, and were only just beginning to understand. The evidence in favor of eating probiotics is slim, and at this point there are no clear recommendations on which probiotics can have a beneficial effect on the body.

Rather, the more important thing to remember is that a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise and good food, usually improves the quality of bacteria that we already have. Fiber is particularly important in maintaining healthy gut bacteria, and almost all Americans are too low in it.