Lo and behold — Probiotics might just help you reduce your blood sugar levels

“A friend in need is a friend indeed.”

An old saying that holds true for the microorganisms in your gut too. Your gut contains millions of friendly bacteria that are together called as the microbiome. They are permanent residents of your intestines and keep you healthy in more ways than one. As time passes and you eat a wide variety of foods, these tiny friends tend to get pushed off track. Probiotics are foods or supplements, that can help boost and restore these friendly bacteria. Recent research says that having the right bacteria in right quantities is vital to maintaining our health!!!

If you are suffering from diabetes, you already know how an unregulated diet can badly affect your blood sugar levels. Probiotics might just be the answer to your dilemma.

Confused? Let’s break it down.

What is “gut microbiome”?

Your entire digestive system, especially, the intestine, is home to 100-300 trillion micro-organisms. These are together called the Gut Microbiome, or simply put, “The Good Bacteria.” They are so numerous that they outnumber your own body cells by 10 times!

Why do bacteria live there, and what do they do?

These tiny friends can help to fight a wide spectrum of diseases. They coordinate immune responses and stimulate the fighter cells in our body. The microorganisms in our gut protect us from pathogens by producing antibiotics naturally! They are “Our Valuable Team Members” and fight for us against the disease causing bacteria.

Do they only fight gut-related disorders?

Microbes are present all over our body, from skin to hair to tongue, fighting diseases like herpes and conditions like ulcers! Recent studies have found benefits of probiotics in obesity, cancer, diabetes, urogenital health and many more health conditions.

What’s their role in diabetes?

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which inadequate glucose utilization in the body results in higher than normal glucose levels in the blood. People with diabetes also show an imbalance of the different microbes living in their gut. This imbalance can further put you at risk of deranged metabolism.

Does taking a probiotic supplement really help?

Probiotics are found to be useful in the case of diabetes and several studies have already shown this. In people with diabetes, probiotics may actually help in improving insulin levels. Taking a combination of prebiotic and probiotic may improve the levels of blood sugar within 3 months. How convenient would it be to have a simple capsule that could solve most of your diabetes issues!

What are the ways you could get some of these good bacteria for yourself?

Getting probiotics is easy. You probably know of most of the foods that can put these good bacteria in your gut. We have been eating them for ages! Kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, natto, tempeh, and buttermilk are some foods that contribute highly to improving the quality of your digestive health. All of them contain a large number of good bacteria. However, the acid produced by your stomach may kill most of them as the food goes through your digestive system.

A way out is to take a probiotic supplement. They contain a large mix of bacteria to survive the stomach acidity and provide you with health benefits. Bacteria belonging to the genus Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are exceptionally useful. There are several probiotic supplements that contain these bacteria.

The bottom line

So, what are you waiting for? Grab some probiotics and take charge of your blood sugar levels. These ‘good bacteria’ may positively regulate your blood sugar levels, and also improve your overall health.