June 16, 2008

Diabetic Living's Eating Out Guide


Eating Out Guide
From Diabetic Living magazine
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When at a restaurant, read the descriptions on the menu carefully and learn to read between the lines. Cooking techniques and ingredients can make all the difference. Try to pinpoint healthful cooking methods, such as foods that are baked, grilled, broiled, or roasted. And look for vegetables in the recipe title or description — tomato sauce versus cream sauce, for example. With our ordering tips and practical tactics in your back pocket, you'll be making smart choices in no time. Mangia!

Just for Starters
Starting with a healthful small soup or salad can help you eat less overall. This strategy also gives you something to nibble if your meal mates are feasting on garlic bread or fried mozzarella sticks. For soup, may we suggest the vegetable-rich variety? And for salad, select the house or another small green salad, with the dressing on the side. If you choose oil and vinegar, go heavier on the vinegar and lighter on the oil.

Use Your Noodle
Pasta has suffered some hard knocks during the recent low-carb mania. But there's no need to erase pasta from your list of healthful foods. Mary M. Austin, M.A., R.D., CDE, immediate past president of the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE), and a full-blooded Italian, suggests: "If you order pasta, be prepared to share it. Most restaurant portions are at least two cups, which may be more carbohydrate than your eating plan recommends." Pasta is made mainly from enriched flour and water, so the calories come from carbohydrate and a little protein, not from fat. However, when you choose stuffed pasta, especially one that's filled with cheese, the fat content can soar. It might help you to know that 1 cup of cooked pasta contains about 30 grams of carbohydrate or two carb choices. The bottom line? When you order pasta, select an unstuffed shape, opt for an appetizer portion, or share an order, then top it with a low-fat sauce.

Sauce Smartly
Topping pasta with a healthful sauce can have dramatic results. According to the book Restaurant Confidential, an average serving of spaghetti with red or white clam sauce can have about 900 calories and 26 grams of fat, compared to an average serving of fettuccine Alfredo at 1,500 calories and 97 grams of fat. And, even though it's lower in calories and fat, you should still split the spaghetti.

Pizza by the Slice
Pizza can be a healthful restaurant meal or takeout food, as long as you take steps to trim the fat and serving size. Control portions by ordering the right number of slices — about two per person. Just so you're not tempted, don't let slices linger in front of you. Box up the extras when the pizza first arrives. For toppers, the more vegetables the merrier — go wild with onions, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, or spinach. Skip such high-fat toppers as extra cheese, pepperoni, sausage, or meatballs. For the crust, thin is in. Choose thin-crust pizza (whole wheat if available) and avoid deep-dish or stuffed pizza. And to make sure you have something else to nibble besides pizza, order a side salad.
Last Updated: 03/26/2007
Diabetic Living magazine helps readers manage their health while providing them with a wealth of diabetic-friendly recipes, nutrition tips, exercise hints, health information, and the lastest recommendations for diabetes care. Subscribe to the magazine now and get two full years for the price of one — and as a bonus you'll receive the current issue e-mailed to you right now. Or sign up for the online Diabetic Living Diet, with hundreds of delicious recipes and an interactive meal planner customized just for you, and get a year of Diabetic Living magazine FREE.

June 15, 2008

Healthy Snacks

Keeping snacks around the house is a necessary evil for my husband TB and me in case our sugar gets low. When that happens, we need a quick carb pick-me-up and the healthier the better.

The best choices begin at the bottom of the food pyramid and contain 15 grams of carbohydrate per serving. Good options include air-popped popcorn, baked tortilla chips and salsa, graham crackers, pretzels, bagels, and cereal.

Fresh fruits and vegetables also make excellent snacks, and they're portable. To make a snack more substantial, add a source of low-fat protein, such as a glass of low-fat milk. Add reduced-fat peanut butter to a slice of bread or a bagel, low-fat cheese on crackers, or a slice of turkey breast on whole-wheat bread.


These are snacks that won't put on the pounds as quickly as the junk will.

Now I have to figure out a snack that I can carry along with me. I have emergency sugar tablets in my purse at the moment and in a real pinch, they'll do.

June 03, 2008

Fat Cells Established in Childhood?

Oh noes....

Number of fat cells remains constant in all body types

A new study by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientist Bruce Buchholz – along with colleagues from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden; Humboldt University Berlin, Foundation of Research and Technology in Greece; Karolinska University Hospital; and Stockholm University – applied carbon dating to DNA to discover that the number of fat cells stays constant in adulthood in lean and obese individuals, even after marked weight loss, indicating that the number of fat cells is set during childhood and adolescence.

...

In a study of 687 adults, the researchers found that number of fat cells increases in childhood and adolescence, but levels off and remains constant in adulthood. The group looked at whether the number of fat cells changes under extreme conditions such as drastic weight loss by radical reduction in caloric intake, such as through bariatric surgery.

The treatment resulted in a significant decrease in BMI and fat cell volume; however, it did not reduce the number of fat cells two years after the surgery. Similarly, significant weight gain (15-25 percent) over several months in non-obese adult men resulted in significant increase in body fat volume but no change in number. Subsequent weight loss back to baseline resulted in a decrease in fat cell volume but no change in the number of fat cells.

“If you are overweight and you lose weight, you still have the capacity to store lipids because you still have the same number of fat cells. That may be why it’s so hard to keep the weight off,” Buchholz said.


What's further inspiring to note is that one conclusion is to focus on children and preventing them from becoming fat when they are young. It all sounds very discouraging but I refuse to believe that it's already too late for TB, my kids and me to slim down and be healthy!

May 28, 2008

Let's All Eat Like Cave Men!

This article comes from the Vital Choices newsletter I get in my email. I thought it was fascinating.

The case for eating like a caveman is based on evidence from modern hunter-gatherers, whose diets resemble those of prehistoric ancestors, and from chemical and physical examination of the remains of prehistoric people and their habitats.



From these studies, it is clear that prehistoric hominids and humans ate diets high in wild game (meat and/or fish) and green plants, with no grains and relatively few seeds or starches (largely from tubers).



Scientists call stone-age eating patterns Paleolithic or hunter-gatherer diets, using the terms almost interchangeably due to the diets’ similarity. ...

Pilot clinical trial affirms healthful impacts of “caveman diet”

Last year, scientists at Sweden’s famed Karolinska Institute placed 20 healthy volunteers on a caveman-like diet for three weeks (Osterdahl M et al. 2007).



Before and after the study period, they measured the participants’ weight, body mass index, blood pressure, and cholesterol profiles.



The volunteers were then given a list of “caveman” foods they could eat, including fresh or frozen fruit, berries or vegetables, lean meat, unsalted fish, canned tomatoes, lemon or lime juice, spices and coffee or tea without milk or sugar.



Banned foods included any dairy, cultivated or processed foods, such as beans, grains, salt, peanuts, milk, cheese, bread, pasta or rice, sausages, alcohol, sugar, and fruit juice. ...


So far it doesn't seem too bad except if I did this I'd have to give up cottage cheese, which I love, and garbanzo beans. No more sandwiches! No bread, no processed cold cuts...hm, maybe not so easy. But the results are cool!

At the end of the study, all of the 14 volunteers who completed the diet successfully lost weight, reduced their blood pressure, and slashed blood levels of a clot-causing agent.


These were the average changes (Osterdahl M et al. 2007):



* Lost five pounds.
* Calorie intake dropped by 36 percent.
* Body mass index (BMI) dropped by 0.8 (Healthy BMIs range between 18.5 and 25).
* Systolic blood pressure fell by 3 mmHg.
* Levels of the clotting agent plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 dropped by 72 percent.


Supposedly we are not different from our Neanderthal ancestors in terms of what we should eat and that's why we are having such problems with obesity. I think I'll read the book mentioned in the full article. Fascinating stuff!

May 20, 2008

Anti-Inflammatory Diet

When I see a title like that, I'm thinking BRAT (bread rice applesauce toast) diet or something similar that you eat when you are sick. When I read the article, though, I realized that it's the same common sense food plan promoted for people to lose weight and stay healthy. I'm not sure why it would be called an anti-inflammatory diet unless the alternative (what most Americans eat) is an inflammatory diet.

This is what Dr. Weil suggests:

Step One: Look at your carbs. The majority of carbohydrates in your diet should be in the form of less-refined, less-processed foods with a low glycemic load. You can do this by replacing your snack foods made with wheat flour and sugar with whole grains, beans, winter squashes, and sweet potatoes.

Step Two: Replace your cooking oil. Instead of safflower and sunflower oils, corn oil, cottonseed oil, mixed vegetable oils, butter and margarine, use extra-virgin olive oil as your main cooking oil (for a neutral tasting oil, use expeller-pressed, organic canola oil).

Step Three: Decrease your consumption of animal protein. Except for fish (such as omega-3 rich salmon) and reduced-fat dairy products, animal derived protein should be limited. You can easily replace meat with vegetable protein such as beans, legumes and whole soy foods.

Step Four: Eat more fiber. Try to eat 40 grams of fiber a day, simple to do if you increase your consumption of fruit, especially berries, vegetables and whole grains.


I really like Dr. Weil's website. I've learned so much from it. He offers so much useful information and tips. Want to learn more? Click here.

May 19, 2008

There are more and more stories out there about obesity increasing among kids and it's scary. Kids are now at risk for the same complications we adults have with obesity: heart disease, diabetes, and so on. I got an article in my email newsletter about ways parents and grandparents can help kids by setting a good example...even if we ourselves are heavy:




1. Incorporate a vegetable into every meal, especially in casseroles. Peas, broccoli, asparagus, red, yellow or green bell peppers, spinach - you name it, vegetables provide nutrients and fiber.
2. Use more beans and legumes, and less meat. Chickpeas, lentils and beans of all varieties are good sources of fiber and protein.
3. Serve up whole grains. Brown rice and bulghur wheat provide a delicious, grainy taste and texture - and have more fiber and protein than their white counterparts. Choose true, relatively intact whole grains like these over grains that have been ground into flour.
4. Switch sweets. Instead of soda, stock the pantry with sparkling waters. Pour fruit juice into a pitcher and dilute it to lessen the sugar content. Stock your kitchen with fresh, whole fruits, and leave the cookies in the store.


If we start healthy eating habits when kids are little, they're not going to know the difference and they won't miss the sweet or salty junky things. The whole article is here.

May 01, 2008

Becoming the deadly apple

So now I've become an apple: a woman with a 35-plus size waist. I have high blood pressure already and am now at an increased risk for a heart attack. Why did I let this happen to me? Here's another good reason I must lose weight:

According to the research, elevated health risks seem to come along with a waist measurement of greater than 35 inches in women and greater than 40 inches in men. Abdominal fat is worse than fat on your buttocks or thighs because that extra fat surrounds important organs such as the liver and pancreas. When you have fat in this area of the body, your body can't use the insulin produced by your pancreas efficiently — and that leads to insulin resistance, which causes high blood glucose levels. In turn, the high blood glucose puts your organs at higher risk. If you lose weight, the amount of fat stored around your waist and important organs will decrease, and they will work better, helping you stay healthy.


The advice to reduce abdominal fat is an exercise program that doesn't skimp on other areas of the body:

The best approach is a well-balanced program that includes aerobic activity (anything that gets you breathing hard), strength exercises for your entire body and stretching. For health gains, try to do at least 30 minutes daily.


I need a good chair exercising program or a swimming pool but we can't afford a gym. What a bind! :(

April 25, 2008

Write It Down

I know I'm supposed to keep a food journal. When I do, it does help me stay in line. My problem is that I keep forgetting. I'm really good about it for the first 3 or 4 days but then I begin to forget. Why is that?

From Everyday Tips:

...a food journal gives you a tool to monitor your progress and identify patterns in your eating habits.

The feedback from your food journal can also strengthen your weight-management skills. Write down a complete list of your meals and snacks within 15 minutes of eating. Most successful record keepers total their numbers at the end of the day or the first thing each morning on a weekly summary sheet. Keeping good records is a skill that takes practice. Most people don't enjoy keeping records, so you may stop and start from time to time. But even done sporadically, it's worthwhile work so you can check in on your diet.


So I guess starting and stopping every three days isn't too bad after all. Still...I'd like to remember to do this everyday!

April 24, 2008

Apatrim

Has anyone seen something that seems to be an article in their newspaper called "Demand soars for 'fast acting' diet pill"? The article goes on to talk about this miracle drug, apatrim, that suppresses appetite and makes people lose weight. It's so popular, according to this article, the phone lines are jammed with callers and supplies are limited. Wow! A miracle drug, just what we've been waiting for!

What could be wrong with it, too? There was this research study that shows the drug works within minutes to suppress your appetite. Even better, dieters "don't have to starve or suffer through intense exercise and it's been clinically shown to get great results."

And also, "Apatrim contains an amazing compound that has a known ability to help control hunger pangs*. This allows people to eat the foods they want, they just eat less*."
Aha. We'll get to those stars in a minute.

How does it work? "The active ingredient in Apatrim comes from a plant that grows in India. This 'miracle' plant is Caralluma Fimbriata and it has been used by native tribes in India for centuries to reduce hunger and quench thirst during times of famine and drought."

TB and I saw this in our Burlington County Times and thought it sounded great but a little too good to be true. And was this a real news article or an advertisement? I decided to check it out online. Well, well. Here's what I found:

Diet Drug Report



Newspapers around the country are running full-page ads -- disguised to look like regular news pages -- filled with misleading claims for a new 'miracle' diet pill called Apatrim that allegedly enables dieters to lose weight without either cutting back on eating or increasing their exercise.

The pages contain a bylined story from the Universal Media Syndicate (intended, no doubt, to be confused with the Universal Press Syndicate, which carries columnists such as Dear Abby and William F. Buckley Jr.) urging overweight readers to phone a toll-free number to order "every dieter's dream." ...

What we can confirm is that Caralluma Fimbriata, like the South African "succulent" plant Hoodia Gordonii, has indeed been chewed for many years by Indian tribesmen during long hunts to suppress appetite and enhance endurance.

But from there, the breathless weight-loss claims for Apatrim not only become more suspect, but seem likely to ultimately involve its distributor, PatentHEALTH, LLC , with the judicial system. ...

The so-called clinical trial referenced in the ad, an anemic study that involved only 26 participants followed for four weeks (a serious Phase III clinical trial of a diet drug would involve thousands of participants tracked over at least a year), was sponsored by the developer of Slimaluma -- not Apatrim. ...


Slimaluma was the first to start marketing a weight loss pill using Caralluma Fimbriata. Gencor Pacific, which makes Slimaluma, has sued the company making Apatrim for
false advertising, false comparative advertising, and a variety of other charges stemming from their efforts to sell a a non-extract Caralluma fimbriata powder product.


And those stars? Well, at the end of the article, there was a * and it read: "These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration..." Why is this is such small print?

Another miracle drug bites the dust as far as I'm concerned!

April 10, 2008

The Me In My Head


I wrote several times about the person I see in my head compared with who is really there is the pictures and the mirror. TB was messing around with photoshop last night and sent me this picture. This is just about spot on to the person I see in my head.

I think I will print it and tape it up on my desk so that it can motivate me. Here's what I really look like:

April 09, 2008

Weight and Inadequate Sleep

As I sit here wrestling with insomnia it occurs to me I'm totally not surprised that there's a link between lack of sleep and being overweight/weight gain. In my case, pain and complications of being overweight prevent me from getting a good night's sleep. By day, I'm more listless and less likely to exercisse than I would be if I had enough sleep (roughly 7 hours). Lately, I've been sleeping 2-4 hours, waking for several and then sleeping again for another 2-3. That's just messed up.

The Everyday Health newsletter had an article about being starved for sleep last month. They cited two studies conducted about weight and lack of sleep.

New research suggests that people who don't get enough sleep tend to weigh more -- and that sleep can affect levels of the appetite-regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin.

"There is a dynamic balance between proper sleep and proper health. Sleep deprivation affects weight and a lot of other things. If you cheat sleep, there are a number of consequences, including affecting your hormones, appetite and mood," said Dr. Patrick Strollo, medical director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Sleep Medicine Center.


The article suggests if you don't get enough sleep, pay attention to your eating habits. If you can't get the sleep you need, go for a short walk rather than snacking on foods. Right...that's if you're not too tired to go for the walk!

April 08, 2008

Say No To Coffee Mate

Well, someone is always finding out harmful details about tasty products. Now it's Coffee Mate, which is something I enjoy occasionally. I knew it was fattening but I liked to pretend it wasn't so bad. But...here is what I found out:

A serving size is a teaspoon. Who takes a teaspoon of creamer? C'mon, be honest! One teaspoon won't flavor the 20 ounces I drink at one time. There's almost 15 calories and .99 grams of saturated fat in a teaspoon of Coffee Mate. As I say, who uses just a teaspoon? Most of us use more like a tablespoon. It adds up!

Just because it says "fat free" doesn't mean it is.

If a product has less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving – trans fat, saturated fat or total fat – a manufacturer can round the number down to zero. So if an unrounded teaspoon has 0.27 grams of fat and you add a rounded teaspoon to a warm beverage a few times a day ...


That adds up too!

What to do? There's always good old milk and, happily, there's either fat free Land'o'Lakes half'n'half or fat free International Delight dairy creamers. Thank goodness!

The whole article is here.

April 07, 2008

Exercisiing and the Neighborhood

Should I be surprised that the neighborhood can influence how much exercise you get? Of course not. But here's another article that identifies a problem but hasn't any suggestions for a solution. The problem is too big to be solved. If you live in a neighborhood where you are afraid you might be robbed or killed of course you will be less likely to go for a walk. If you live in a such a neighborhood, you're also very likely to be too poor to afford a gym--otherwise you'd move to a safer place, right? Therefore the obesity level would be higher in poorer, high crime neighborhoods. Amazing, Dr. Watson! The whole article is here.

I would love to be able to walk in my neighborhood. There are no sidewalks but I would be able to walk along the side of the road down to the lake and back. The reason I don't exercise in my neighborhood has more to do with pain than anything else. I'm also afraid I'll fall or faint and not be able to get back up. Still, I need to do something. I can't lose weight anymore just by dieting.

Why am I trying to lose weight when I want the surgery anyway? The less I weigh the better off I'll be!

April 05, 2008

Not Doing So Well

We've been under a great deal of stress recently and I know I gained weight instead of losing it. :( I have to look around a find a food therapist--one that will help TB and me with our emotional eating.

Weight Watchers had an interesting article about couples and weight gain. It's no surprise to me that couples gain weight together! It's certainly true that TB and I have similar BMIs! On the upside, we are "more likely to achieve better results if they tackle weight loss as a couple." The whole article is here.

I have read several articles now that tell me even drinking diet soda can lead to weight gain. I'm still not sure I agree but I sure can't dispute the fact that I'm gaining. Doubters? Read this article. Now I see some acceptable alternatives to soda and I need to try them:

1. Water--I always used to drink ice water until we moved to NJ. The water around here is full of iron but I guess I can drink bottled.

2. Green tea--I am not a fan of tea but I do like this on occasion. It's full of anti-oxidants too.

3, Sweet stevia--I never heard of this one! Apparently it was banned for a while because the FDA needed to research it. It has no carbs nor calories and seems to help with diabetes and glucose intolerance! Let me go try that one!

4. Diet tonic and lime--I've never tried gin and tonic but this is what it is minus the alcohol. Hmmm....

5. Low sodium vegetable juice--I like V-8!

6. Coffee--without all the yummy creamer I've been drinking! I have to switch back to first 2% and then 1% milk

So...I just have to keep on trying.

March 30, 2008

Nana Needs To Lose A LOT of Weight

I've posted before that I have an image of myself that is thinner than I actually am. It gets me into trouble when I'm trying to maneuver around and sometimes I've been shocked and embarrassed when I couldn't fit somewhere. Mostly, I can't bear to look at pictures of me.


Who is that? That can't be me,. I think. I don't look like that!

But I do. And now I'm the heaviest I've ever been in my life which is why I need the surgery. I haven't been able to get the weight off using other methods and I'm tired of pain and tired of people staring at me like I'm a freak. Usually when I post pictures, I either don't post any of me or I crop everything out except my head. But here is the truth of it from when I was outdoors blowing bubbles with Little T.



I remember feeling surprised when people didn't notice or realize I'd had a breast reducton. Now I understand why--that's a big belly that takes up a lot of the picture!


I have a pretty smile but I don't think that's what people are staring at when I walk by. They don't smile at me--that's how I know. There's a look of distaste or disgust which really annoys or upsets me. It's definitely time to do something!

I realize I won't get down to what I weighed when I graduated high school. Maybe I won't be able to even get this far. This picture was taken a little over 15 years ago. I was about 25 poounds overweight.



I'd e happy with my weight in this picture, taken 5 or 6 years ago.



That's my darling TB on the left of me, by the way. He's in on this with me too.

So here is the big reveal. I'm at 318 lbs now and need to lose at least 100 to feel healthy again. Wish me luck!

March 27, 2008

Just another thing to add to the list of complications...

After posting about our decision to get bariatric surgery I read an article that came in my email from CBS news:

Fat Belly Linked To Dementia
NEW YORK, March 26, 2008(CBS/AP) Having a big belly in your 40s can boost your risk of getting Alzheimer's disease or other dementia decades later, a new study suggests.

It's not just about your weight. While previous research has found evidence that obesity in middle age raises the chances of developing dementia later, the new work found a separate risk from storing a lot of fat in the abdomen. Even people who weren't overweight were susceptible.

That abdominal fat, sometimes described as making people apple-shaped rather than pear-shaped, has already been linked to higher risk of developing diabetes, stroke and heart disease.

"Now we can add dementia to that," said study author Rachel Whitmer of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif.


So if we're not done in by a heart attack or a stroke, we might just lose our minds. Wonderful. If ever there was good reason to lose weight, it would be the risks of getting hit by any one of these things.

Read the whole article here.

Surgery or Not Revisited

Well...never say never. I was positive I did not want weight loss surgery and if I even considered it, I would only be interested in the lap band. Many months later of pain, increasing disability and inability to enjoy life, TB and I have come to the conclusion that we need and want the surgery.

Yesterday we went to the N.J. Bariatrics Center. This wasn't our first visit. A couple of weeks ago, we went to an informational seminar about the two types of surgery and we had the opportunity to meet both of the doctors, Dr. Brolin and Dr. Chau. The seminar provided a great deal of information and input from a man who'd had a bypass a couple of years ago. We were especially impressed with this man and decided to schedule ourselves an appointment to see Dr. Chau, the surgeon who does the lap bands. Dr. Brolin does riskier bypass surgeries.

If we thought we were informed at the seminar, we learned even more at the consultation. We met with Dr. Chau who explained in detail the benefits and risks of each surgery and what they entail. We also met with a dietician who explained what our lives would be like -- food wise anyway -- post surgery. An insurance specialist explained all the steps we needed to take for precert. The whole process will take 3 months.

TB and I decided that since he is in the most intense pain and the one who needs to get back to work, his procedure will come first. Our next step is to get letters of support from our doctors and to begin a paper trail that shows we are getting counseling about the surgeries.

TB decided that although he is terrified of it, he wants the bypass because it will help him faster. It scares me but I can't sit here and dictate to him what to do when his pain is so severe he gives his quality of life a 1 on a scale of 5. That's pretty sad for a man of only 54.

And so we're off on this new journey.

March 22, 2008

Always Hungry

One of my biggest stumbling blocks to eating healthier to lose weight is that I always seem to be hungry after the second dzy on the plan. Some plans say I shouldn't let myself get to the point of feeling hungry; others say I just ought to suck it up and get used to it. To lose weight, we have to suffer the hunger pangs. So when I got my daily Managing Diabetes newsletter I was interested to see an article about constant hunger. The link for the article is here.

The first question I have to ask myself is: am I feeling genuinely hungry or do I just want to eat? Hunger is a physiological response and all you want to do is fill that empty stomach. Appetite is different. You just seem to want a specific food--like potato chips, maybe?

How many calories would I need to not feel hungry all the time? The article says:

If you go on a very-low-calorie diet of less than 1,000 calories each day, you will feel very hungry much of the time. It is better for you to eat more calories each day — say 1,200 to 1,500 — for a slower but longer-term weight loss. In the long run, severely restricting calories can backfire, leaving you feeling constantly hungry and constantly wanting to eat. And no matter how much you cut back while you're on the diet, you can't eat so little forever. You'll eventually need to learn to eat at a higher calorie level to maintain your weight.


Well, I don't know about this...when I was on Weight Watchers, I'm assuming I was eating the upper limit of calories 1500-1600 and I still felt hungry! I can only stand feeling hungry for so long before I start raiding the pantry for everything I can find and then I gain it all back! I don't seem to have the will power I did when I was younger.

I should see a nutritionist...

March 20, 2008

Here I am, like the proverbial bad penny, showing up here again. I'm sticking with blogger this time--it's just easier.

I really enjoy reading my newsletters about diabetes. One offers some delicious recipes and the other very useful information. This article is about insulin resistance:

10 Fascinating Facts about Insulin Resistance
By Amy Tenderich of www.DiabetesMine.com

If you have diabetes, you're surely familiar with the phenomenon of insulin resistance, or the body's reduced ability to respond to the action of the insulin hormone. Insulin resistance is typical of Type 2 diabetes, in which – unlike in Type 1 – the body still produces insulin but is unable to use it effectively. What happens is, your cells fail to break down glucose molecules to generate energy, so your blood glucose (or blood sugar) runs abnormally high.

Having spent the last three years researching a variety of topics around diabetes, I've learned some fascinating facts about insulin resistance, which remind me what a complex system the human body is. For one thing, I've learned that what scientists really know about it seems to fit into a walnut shell. For another thing, it's far more widespread than you might imagine.

Let's have a look at some of these amazing particulars about insulin resistance:

1. Scientists are still not sure what causes insulin resistance, and massive research efforts are underway to determine the cause. Some researchers think a defect in specific genes causes insulin resistance, but little more is currently known.

2. People with insulin resistance often over-produce insulin that their bodies can't use. This causes something called "reactive hypoglycemia" or low blood sugar following meals. In other words, the body "overshoots" its own insulin needs, causing a large spike in insulin, followed by a drop in blood sugar. Over time, these repeated insulin spikes may lead to a decrease in pancreatic reserve, or more insulin resistance, and eventually Type 2 diabetes. Therefore – counterintuitive as it sounds -- hypoglycemia is often an early sign of Type 2 diabetes.

3. Here's one that puzzled me: it's estimated that 20-25% of the healthy population may be insulin resistant, but not all people with insulin resistance develop diabetes. Scientists simply do not yet know why some people with insulin resistance eventually develop diabetes and others do not.

4. What we do know is that insulin resistance is aggravated by physical inactivity and obesity, because too much fat interferes with our muscles' ability to use insulin. Lack of exercise worsens this effect. A recent study showed that even in sedentary people aged 60 and older, adding regular short-term exercise into their routines not only improved insulin resistance, but also significantly enhanced their beta-cell function – which helps the pancreas continue to do its job producing insulin.

5. Ever heard of Syndrome X? This much-hyped combination of physical problems is now more commonly referred to as "Insulin Resistance Syndrome." The reason is that people with insulin resistance and high glucose levels tend to have the following factors in common: excess weight around the waist, high LDL (bad) blood cholesterol levels, low HDL (good) cholesterol levels, high level of triglycerides (yet another fat) levels, and high blood pressure. This can be a deadly combination, leading in particular to heart disease, if not treated aggressively.

6. When it comes to diagnosing insulin resistance, there is no single test that can directly detect it. Instead, a doctor has to look at the full clinical picture, including checks for the above-mentioned indicators of Syndrome X, and several others. Nothing is ever easy with diabetes!

7. There's a link between insulin resistance and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a health problem that can affect a woman's menstrual cycle, ability to have children, hormones, heart, blood vessels, and appearance. Many women who suffer from PCOS have problems using the insulin produced in their bodies. Some researchers conclude it's insulin resistance that causes the PCOS, but others say the cause is unknown. It's estimated that 30-80% of women with PCOS are also insulin resistant. PCOS is the most common cause of infertility, which – in case scientists can eventually prove a cause-effect relationship – would mean that insulin resistance indirectly presents itself as a leading cause for infertility.

8. ... and men get hammered, too. There's some scientific evidence that men who are insulin resistant also have low levels of testosterone secretion, the most important sex hormone in the male body. Low testosterone can spur decreased sex drive, erectile dysfunction (ED), and lowered sperm count that reduces fertility.

9. Osteoporosis is another potential problem resulting from insulin resistance. As noted, insulin is a "master hormone" that controls many anabolic hormones such as growth hormone, testosterone, and progesterone. Your bones are actually built upon the command of such hormones. When these hormones are reduced, the amount of bone building is reduced, and the amount of calcium excreted is increased. So you end up with brittle bones, susceptible to fracture.

10. Finally, the good news is that you can heal insulin resistance. I don't say "cure" because that concept is quite controversial. Changes in your diet and exercise habits can substantially aid the body's ability to balance insulin levels. This begins with avoiding processed food, sugar cereals, high-sodium snacks and soda, and instead concentrating on lean meats and dairy, high-fiber grains, and vegetables. Regular exercise of 30 minutes or more per day, 3-5 times a week is also beneficial for regulating metabolic function and hormonal balance. Many new drugs are also available to increase insulin sensitivity, including Metformin, Januvia and Byetta. But does bringing your insulin resistance into check mean you have cured it, or "cured your diabetes"? Most doctors would say no. As long as your glucose levels are in good range, and you're living healthy, it depends on your perspective, I suppose.

Amy Tenderich is creator of the popular web log www.diabetesmine.com and co-author of the guidebook, "Know Your Numbers, Outlive Your Diabetes."


I didn't mean to do this but I've learned that copying the entire article--even when I mention the author's name--still violates copyright. I was looking to try and find a direct link to the article and haven't been able to yet. The blog by the author, Diabetes Mine, has so much useful information! That link is here.