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Inulin vs. insulin

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Inulin is a sugar, insulin is a hormone.

It's really very straightforward.

Inulin is a sugar which we can't metabolize, so bacteria etc. in our colon will do so, which means we get gas, bloating and so on, if we ingest enough inulin.
It might be good for diabetics, but if so that's just because it replaces some simple carb or sugar in their diet which then does not go on to become blood sugar, with all the problems that entails in diabetics.

You'll find it in the roots of some Asteraceae. Dunno if it's found elsewhere as well, but look for it in elecampane (Inula helenium), dandelion (Taraxacum spp.), burdock (Arctium spp.), and Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), among others.

The name inulin comes from Inula, elecampane, as this particular sugar was first isolated in the root of that plant. No wonder, as a good elecampane root contains about 40 % inulin, in autumn, when it's at its sweetest.

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Insulin on the other hand is a hormone secreted in the isles of langerhans in the pancreas. Insulin regulates blood sugar levels.

You won't find insulin in plants at all. Insulin used to be isolated and purified from animal sources (think sheep), but I gather that bacteria do the manufacturing job these days, for the insulin injections of type I diabetics.

The name insulin comes from insular ... it's from the islets of Langerhans.

Comments

I am trying to find out if inulin will cause yeast/candidiasis to INCREASE or if it does the opposite & kills off yeast. Any info?

Inulin is a sugar which we can't metabolize. Dunno if yeast can metabolize it, though. Whichever, it's not killing anything at all.

Yeast cannot eat inulin. Jerusalem artichokes contain inulin an fructooligosaccharides (FOS), both of which your body cannot digest.

Inulin and FOS are very selective probiotics; that is it is food for the beneficial bacteria that live in the colon. The only bacteria known to be able to digest it are bifidobacteria. You may know of these from fancy yoghurts like Bio-best that try to promote healthy gut flora. My experience suggests that ingesting even large quantities of beneficial flora into an unhealthy colon may do some good, while they die in the bad environment, but probably little good. There is also no proof that these flora survive the stomach environment to make it to the colon alive, though it has not been proven that they don`t survive either.

When you are born bifidobacteria represent about 90% of your intestinal flora. By the time you are thirty, they are typically only the sixth or seventh largest group.

Eating Jerusalem Artichoke causes such foul, foul, FOUL smelling flatulence because the repopulation of bifidobacteria in the acidifies the Ph and causes massive die-offs among the pathogenic bacteria. This gas lasted about three days with me. A lot of these yeasts other bacteria are nasty customers producing alcohol, hydrogen sulphide and other toxins, free radicals and promoting the unhealthy colon environment that they favor. They smell terrible when they die. When you smell them, you`ll know.

I read that on pig farms the smell of pig faeces is a major problem. Some are now feeding J.A. as 1-2% of the pigs diet and the pigs are healthier, gain weight faster, and their faeces don`t smell bad at all. I have noticed mine don`t either. I now eat a few dried chips of J.A. every day and get no flatulence. Things that used to make me fart don`t anymore. I have not once had indigestion, constipation, dihorrea or any form of digestive difficulty in the year I have been eating J.A. These issues used to be common with me.

Now, to depart from scientifically established fact into my personal speculation, I suspect this will also take care of dairy intolerances. I also believe that these healthy gut flora allow one`s body to extract consciousness from whatever one eats. I suspect the reason that goats are famous for being able to digest anything is that they are good at growing bifidobacteria. Perhaps better colon health also has some mitigating effect on diabetes.

Interesting, thanks!