The Digest

Once upon a time, people with Type 2 diabetes were encouraged to:

• Check A1C
• Get enough exercise
• Lose weight
• Talk to a certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCES)

That advice is still as important as ever. However, Pendulum Therapeutics encourages you to do one additional thing:

Be mindful of your gut health!

What is gut health?

When you think about your Type 2 diabetes management, it’s possible that you have not thought about gut health. 

So what better time than now to tell you that managing Type 2 diabetes has more to do with your gut health than you think.  

Now, when we say "gut health" what we specifically mean is “the health of your gut microbiome”—or, the health of the trillions of microorganisms living in your intestines. 

Most of these intestinal microorganisms (or “microbes”) are “beneficial bacteria,” which play an important role in maintaining a healthy body.

In recent years, gut health has been linked to many aspects of health.¹  A “healthy” gut contains a community of healthy bacteria that help support a healthy immune system.² 

The main drivers of gut-health change are shifts in:

• Stomach acid
• Gut immunity, and 
• This complex ecosystem of bacteria in your digestive system³

To learn more about gut-microbiome basics, watch Pendulum’s “Microbiome 101” video. 

What are the signs of a healthy gut?

How do you know if your gut is healthy?

According to Rosia Parrish, ND, a naturopathic doctor based in Boulder, Colorado, a healthy gut is usually functioning properly when —one to two times daily —you have a bowel movement that is well-formed and easy to pass.⁴

“These daily bowel movements should be free of symptoms like diarrhea, constipation, and loose stools,” says Dr. Parrish, who specializes in natural and complementary medicine. 

Dr. Parrish, who shared her opinion with Everyday Health, adds that other signs of a healthy gut include:

• Being free of rectal symptoms like hemorrhoids 
• Being free of abdominal symptoms such as gas, bloating, and abdominal pain

What are the signs of an unhealthy gut?

You might have a gut-health problem if you experience persistent:

• Abdominal pain
• Bloating
• Loose stools
• Constipation
• Heartburn
• Nausea or vomiting⁵

When symptoms persist, it may be a sign of an underlying problem that needs medical attention. 

How to improve gut health

Looking after the health of your gut and maintaining the right balance of bacteria is essential for physical and mental health.⁶

There are a number of practices you can include in your daily routine  to positively affect your gut (and overall) health. For example:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least 30% of antibiotics prescribed in the outpatient setting are unnecessary, meaning that no antibiotic was needed at all.⁷

Although taking antibiotics to combat bacterial infections is necessary at times, overuse of antibiotics can be damaging to your gut health as they cause major disruptions in your microbiome.⁸

Exercise regularly
Regularly exercising may increase both diversity and the amount of beneficial bacteria within the gut microbiome.⁹
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults engage in:

• 150 to 300 minutes a week of moderate-intensity, or 
• 75 minutes to 150 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity¹⁰

Get enough sleep

Getting enough good-quality sleep can improve your mood and cognition. It also improves the diversity of bacteria in your gut microbiome.¹¹ 

Establish healthful sleep habits by going to bed and getting up at the same time each day. Adults each day should get at least 7 hours of sleep.¹²

Don’t smoke

Smoking affects gut health by messing with intestinal-microbiome composition.

Research published over a 16-year period found that smoking alters intestinal bacteria by increasing potentially harmful microorganisms and decreasing the levels of beneficial ones.¹³

Is there a gut-health diet?

There is a gut-microbiome diet you can follow for improving your gut health. 

What foods are bad for the gut microbiome?

Processed high-sugar and -fat foods have always been at the root of the Type 2 diabetes epidemic. 

You can now add gut health to the list of things made worse by these foods. 

“Non-beneficial bacteria can feed off of a high-sugar diet,” says Kristin Neusel. “Typically, when we see a high-sugar, high-fat eating style, it is lacking fiber. This is a recipe for creating dysbiosis [a condition when the gut bacteria become imbalanced] in your gut microbiome.”

Jennifer McManus, RD, LDN, CDCES, says that reducing your intake of processed, high-sugar and -fat foods can contribute to better gut health.

“Also, eating plenty of food higher in fiber—especially soluble fiber—can lead to improvements in your gut health,” says McManus.

Soluble fiber attracts water and turns to gel during digestion. Soluble fiber can be found in:

• Oat bran
• Barley
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Beans
• Lentils
• Peas
• Some fruits and vegetables 

Soluble fiber can also be found in psyllium—a common fiber supplement. 

In addition to high-sugar/fat foods, fried foods—cooked in saturated- and trans-fat-rich oils—are harder for the body to digest, and may irritate the stomach, causing diarrhea, gas, and stomach pain. 

Fried foods may also promote the growth of harmful gut bacteria as well.¹⁴

How can you naturally improve gut health?

Probiotic foods have live bacteria in them that promote the health or your gut microbiome. Simply eating probiotic-rich foods is one of the easiest ways to naturally improve your gut health. 

Clinical studies have shown that consumption of probiotic-containing fermented foods —like yogurt —may create positive changes to the balance of your gut bacteria and improve their metabolic activities.¹⁵

Other foods high in probiotics include:

• Apple-cider vinegar
• Fermented pickles
• Kimchi
• Kombucha
• Sauerkraut

2. Eat foods high in prebiotic fiber

Prebiotics are foods that fuel the healthy bacteria in your gut. Prebiotic foods are usually high in the type of fiber on which your gut bacteria loves to munch,¹⁶ and include:

• Artichokes
• Asparagus
• Chia seeds
• Flax seeds 
• Garlic
• Legumes
• Onions
• Peas
• Raspberries
• Whole grains

3. Eat foods rich in polyphenols

Polyphenols are plant compounds that act on your gut microbiome by increasing the growth of beneficial bacteria to produce compounds scientifically proven to promote health and wellbeing.¹⁷

Polyphenols can also help reduce:

• Blood pressure
• Cholesterol levels, and 
• Oxidative stress¹⁸ 

Polyphenol-rich foods include:

• Beans
• Berries
• Black currants
• Black and green tea
• Blueberries
• Cloves
• Cocoa powder and dark chocolate
• Hazelnuts
• Plums
• Red wine
• Soy¹⁹

4. Consider a probiotic supplement

Adding a probiotic supplement to your diet may be a great way to improve your gut health. 

Pendulum Glucose Control was specifically designed to help with the management of Type 2 diabetes. It does this by increasing the production of butyrate and helping to repair the gut lining. Science has shown that these are areas where many people with Type 2 diabetes are deficient.

Pendulum Glucose Control’s formulation delivers 5 targeted "beneficial-bacterial strains" to your gut microbiome, plus a prebiotic:

• Clostridium beijerinckii WB-STR-0005
• Clostridium butyricum WB-STR-0006
• Akkermansia muciniphila WB-STR-0001
• Anaerobutyricum hallii WB-STR-0008
• Bifidobacterium infantis 100

 
This formulation works by:

• Supporting production of short-chain fatty acids—especially butyrate—via the fermentation of dietary fiber
• Maintaining the intestinal mucin layer, which functions as a barrier blocking the entrance of toxic substances into the bloodstream

 
Pendulum Therapeutics is so confident PGC will make a positive difference in how you manage your Type 2 diabetes that it will refund your entire purchase if it does not.

Click here to become a PGC member and get your first bottle.

 
What are some good gut-health resources?

To learn more about gut-microbiome health, you can always check the Pendulum Life Digest! Go to the search bar and type “gut health,” or just click here. 

When looking for gut-health resources, always look for credentialed, qualified sites that have registered dietitians or qualified credentialed healthcare providers providing sound, scientific advice.

For more information about Pendulum and its products, go to Pendulumlife.com. To contact Pendulum Therapeutics go to hello@pendulumlife.com or call (844) 912-2256.

Before you consider any of these gut-health solutions, talk to your healthcare provider. 
The FDA has not approved or evaluated these statements. Pendulum products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases.