Type 2 Diabetes Risk Factors: What You’re Missing

Author's Bio: Marcie Vaske, MS, LN, CNS

When people think of type two diabetes, oftentimes they blame it on sugar or maybe weight gain. But the truth is there are some hidden factors or risk factors that you may not even be thinking of. So in this video today, I'm going to take a look at the science behind type two diabetes and what's really driving insulin resistance and the risk factors that you might be missing. But first, don't forget to hit the subscribe button to hear more gut health videos.

What Is Type 2 Diabetes

So let's go over a quick refresher of what is type two diabetes. Type two diabetes is when your body begins to not respond to the insulin. And insulin is a hormone that helps to move the sugar out of our blood and into our cells to create energy. Now, if we are unable to move our glucose into our cells over a period of time, we become insulin resistant. And this will of course lead to higher blood sugar levels, inflammation, fatigue, and eventually end up herning or harming our organs, our nerves, and our blood vessels.

But what's interesting is that blood sugar issues oftentimes start years before we get a diagnosis of diabetes just developing under the surface while all the while you feel fine.

[Video Transcript Below Video - it is the same information]

Type 2 Diabetes Risk Factors

Now, before we get into the more hidden risk factors of type two diabetes, let's uncover some of the usual risk factors. One of those risk factors is carrying extra weight around the torso or the abdominal area. Of course, a diet that is high in refined sugars and carbohydrates, a lifestyle that is mainly sedentary, meaning that you're not getting physical activity every day. Another usual risk factor is going to be that you have type two diabetes in the family, and those are all true risk factors of type two diabetes, but that's not the whole picture.

Introduction to the Hidden Risk Factors

And what I want to uncover and educate you on is that there are deeper symptoms and factors that are often overlooked how our body is dealing with glucose, but before we uncover those hidden risk factors, my name is Marcie Vaske and I'm a functional nutritionist with Oswald Digestive Clinic. And at Oswald Digestive Clinic, we work with people who struggle with gut health and deal with many different syndromes and diseases. Now I'm going to link our website here where you can easily make an initial appointment.

Gut Microbiome Imbalances

So let's move on and talk about are the hidden risk factors of type two diabetes. Number one on the list is going to be gut microbiome imbalances. Now, research shows that when our gut microbiome becomes imbalance, it can directly affect our insulin sensitivity. This means when harmful bacteria take over our good flora or bacteria, it creates this low grade chronic inflammation in the gut and making some cells more resistant to insulin.

So what's often overlooked is that by having a healthy gut microbiome, you actually have more insulin sensitivity and a better way to keep our blood sugars from stabilizing and keeping inflammation at a low to no.

Chronic Stress

Now, another big risk factor or hidden risk factor is going to be chronic stress. And I talk about chronic stress all the time and how impactful it is on our gut, but now what we're learning as well today all about on your blood sugar levels. Now, the way that this is impactful on our blood sugar is that the hormone cortisol, which is our stress hormone, actually raises our blood sugar and kind of blunts our insulin effect.

So essentially if you are feeling or your body feels like it's in flight or fight mode, your cortisol is high. So your blood sugar is always pumping because the body is thinking has to get ready to fly or fight, but when actuality, we're just sitting still, and so all this blood sugar out in our system, it's not getting into our cells, it's going to create a type two diabetes position or possible just insulin resistance.

Poor Sleep

Now another hidden factor is poor sleep. And sleep is another thing that we often take for granted thinking we need to get all the things done in a day and we only need a few hours of sleep at night. But what research also shows us is that even missing or having one poor night of sleep can make us insulin resistant the next day. And over time with poor sleep, our cravings increase for carbohydrates and all the while we're already becoming more insulin resistant. So it sets us up for a lot of blood sugar issues.

Environmental Toxins

The next hidden risk factor is going to be environmental toxins. And we often maybe not think that these toxins are hindering us at a blood sugar level, but we're around toxins all day long. And what happens is that many of these toxins actually disrupt our metabolism and our insulin signaling. So although it's very subtle, it adds up over years. This is why sometimes type two diabetes has been kind of brewing for years and years before you actually have the diagnosis.

Micronutrient Deficiencies

And finally, we have micronutrient deficiencies. So low levels of magnesium or vitamin D as well as chromium have actually been linked to a reduced insulin sensitivity in the body. Now, what's important about these micronutrients is that they play key roles in how our cells process glucose and of course, manage our inflammation.

Early Signs of Insulin Resistance

Now we've learned what the typical risk factors of type two diabetes are followed up with, what are the hidden signs or risk factors of type two diabetes. So you might be thinking, well, what should I be looking for? What are some signs and symptoms? So of you don't need to wait for a diagnosis to start making sure or being aware of your body and what is it trying to tell you?

So some signs of early insulin resistance are the following. You may have big energy crashes after meals. So say you have a lunch and all of a sudden you just kind of start feeling like you need to take a nap an hour and a half later or maybe two hours later, or you feel like you have these constant sugar cravings that you just can't get rid of. You have a sugar, and it seems like if you just need more and more to kind of quell that craving.

Also, brain fog is a sign type two diabetes, but also just insulin resistance. So feeling a little bit foggy, not being able to think clearly or get clarity. Of course, waking around the midsection is also going to be a sign that you may be insulin resistant, and this has a lot to do with that cortisol. So if you're having a lot of high stress, remember that the cortisol puts out more blood sugar, but it blunts our insulin and how that glucose gets into our cell.

I also notice you're really thirsty or you have to make frequent stops to the bathroom because you just feel like you have to pee all the time. So these are just some signs that your body is under some stress and it needs your help.

When to Seek Guidance

So if you're struggling with any of these symptoms and you're like, well, I don't really know which way to go. I know it might be some insulin resistance going on, I'm going to link our website down below where you can easily make an initial appointment.

If you're struggling with something like this and need some nutritional guidance as well, I'm going to link our free guide, which is five ways to improve your Gut health so that you can get a handle on your gut health to help support that microbiome.

What You Can Do About It

So now we know more risk factors. We know what signs and symptoms to look for, but what are we going to do about it? So number one, you're going to start eating better. You're going to start watching how much sugar you're eating, how many simple carbohydrates you're consuming, get into eating whole real foods, more proteins, more healthy fats and healthy complex carbohydrates.

You're going to start moving more regularly. A great tip is walking for 10 or 20 minutes after every time you eat. That helps to put the sugar or the glucose into your cells. It moves it out of the muscle. It makes room for the new glucose that you may have just consumed because we store our glucose most abundantly in our muscles and in our liver.

Also, think about your gut health. If you've been having some trouble with maybe some different changes in your bowel movements, maybe more bloating, more gas acid reflux, it may be something you need to look a little bit deeper into so you can support it with eating fermented foods or even just eating more vegetables.

Of course, managing your sleep and your stress. Very key for keeping our blood sugar moving appropriately, making sure that we're not creating more inflammation or eating more carbohydrates because we're so tired and we need to stay awake.

And of course, always get regular blood testing. Do your annual appointments, make sure they're running your fasting glucose, your A1C, your insulin. Just making sure that those numbers are within normal ranges.

Final Thoughts

So I hope this helped shed a little bit more light on type two diabetes, what to look for and what may be hidden that you should be recognizing. Also, the signs and symptoms. And remember, the big takeaway here is that type two diabetes occurs over a long period of time. You don't just one day wake up with type two diabetes. So recognizing, watching your body, listening to your body, you can catch it and make the changes so that you don't have to go down the road of having type two diabetes.

Thanks for watching.

If you'd like to explore any of this information further or obtain an individualized nutrition plan, you can schedule an initial appointment at our clinic.  We also take insurance and some of our clients get full coverage, which is great.

Or you can just start by downloading our FREE GUIDE: 5 WAYS TO IMPROVE GUT HEALTH