News and Notes

What's for breakfast?

From Dr. W.C.Douglass:

Is your breakfast worse than no breakfast? I came across a study that I can say without a doubt is amateurish and useless. Here's what the researchers concluded: "Eating breakfast might have beneficial effects on appetite, insulin resistance and energy metabolism... [sugar abnormality] rates were 35 percent to 50 percent lower among people who ate breakfast every day compared to those who frequently skipped it." Come again? Talking about breakfast, without identifying what they mean by breakfast, is about as sensible as talking about love or religion or sex without some qualification. A nutritious breakfast IS good - but the breakfast chosen by most Americans is worse than no breakfast at all. The big food companies have convinced most people that food barely adequate for barn animals and lots of sugar and starch are the way to start your day. And the junk medicine study mentioned above perpetuates the food industry's propaganda by saying that "people who ate whole-grain cereal each day had a 15 percent lower risk of insulin resistance syndrome." If you start your day the Kellogg way, you'll get what you deserve - obesity and diabetes. Cereal, muffins, and other standard breakfast offerings contain massive amounts of sugar - or pure carbohydrates that your body converts to sugar. Bombarding your system with these foods every morning will make your pancreas work overtime to produce insulin - and wearing out your pancreas will lead to diabetes. Calling it "insulin-resistant diabetes" or "adult onset diabetes" or "insulin resistance syndrome" distracts us from the simple truth: that the most common addiction in the world - and far more harmful than cocaine or heroin - is SUGAR ADDICTION. In the good old days prior to WW II, diabetes was called exactly what it was: "sugar diabetes." What you eat for breakfast shouldn't be any different than what you eat for the rest of the day.

A high animal fat breakfast gets you off to a stable start, free of violent fluctuations in blood sugar. So...

(1) Eat eggs, which can be prepared in a hundred different ways from raw, to poached, to juevos rancheros.

(2) Pork (especially bacon), medium rare beef, and poached fish are all excellent sources of fat and protein that will keep you satisfied much longer than a donut.

(3) Dairy products (including cheese) are good too - just make sure they're all unhomogenized.

(4) If you need something sweet to go along with your protein- packed breakfast, have a piece of fresh whole fruit - not juice or canned fruit.

(5) Wash it all down with a cup of black coffee and you'll be set to face the day. 

Herbalife has a complete high protein eating plan that can be customized to your weight, height, and weight-loss goals. Their delicious shakes provide 9 g of protein per 2 tablespoons of the powder mix, and each tablespoon of the protein powder adds another 5 g. When mixed with juice or skim milk and a 4 oz can of fruit, they make a thick, filling shake that satisfies for hours. The protein powder can also be mixed in with any liquid in any recipe to supplement your protein intake. On 2 shakes a day, with one regular balanced meal, I've lost 6 pounds in 2 weeks and gained energy and alertness. Since, in most cases of Type 2 diabetes, weight loss makes control of the disease easier, a program like this that builds up health while taking off the pounds can have almost miraculous results.

 

Why learn to cook?

When men outlive their wives or become caretakers, culinary ignorance can mean more than the loss of some of life's simple pleasures. It can lead to poor diets that exacerbate or cause serious health problems.

A growing recognition that kitchen confidence can be critical to the health of older men has medical and social service agencies around the country offering classes to help get them cooking.

It's more than just a matter of taste, said John Morley, director of geriatrics at St. Louis University School of Medicine. Older men who can cook tend to be healthier because they eat better and are more social. Though there is little data on the subject, Dr. Morley estimates that more than a million older men face nutrition-related health concerns because of an inability to cook for themselves.

According to dieticians, men who can't cook are more likely to rely on fast or frozen foods, or even skip meals. Those habits not only lead to poor nutrition, but can also interfere with prescription medicines, said a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

Widowers often socialize less than married men. That can create a dangerous cycle of depression and diminished appetite, both of which can become serious health risks. Knowing how to cook also means living life independently. Regularly eating out or living on frozen meals can be difficult, expensive, and less nutritious than cooking one's own meals with fresh, healthful ingredients.

It is better to learn cooking skills before they become necessary. A friend of mine recently fell and injured her shoulder, so that her husband had to do the cooking. He had never cooked and had no idea how to, so it was a struggle for both of them. A man who can cook--and remember most of the top chefs are men--is a real treasure to any woman who holds down a job. A working woman really has 2 full-time jobs, home and work, and having a man who will take part of that burden is wonderful.

 

 The Pyramid: the rest of the story

 CDC researchers have found that the total calorie consumption of Americans has increased steadily over three decades. And most of that increase came from a jump of calories from carbohydrates in both women and men. Meanwhile, calorie intake from fats and other protein sources changed very little.

The study cited two possible reasons: 1) Americans are eating more "food away from home" and 2) increased portion sizes.

Both fit the facts, but another factor can be added: THE PYRAMID! The USDA Food Guide Pyramid recommends 6 to 11 servings per day from the grain group: bread, cereal, rice and pasta. The maximum recommended servings per day of fruits, vegetables and meats COMBINED is 12. Gee, do you suppose it's a coincidence that the trends in calorie intake exactly mirror the recommendations found in the pyramid? Eat plenty of bread, cereal and pasta, but go easy on the meats, fruits and vegetables, and what do you get? An obesity epidemic of epic proportion!

The results you get are up to you--take responsibility for your health

When it comes to diet and nutrition, for every question, there are at least two answers. Since everyone is different, what works for one often is ineffective for another. We see the same thing in drug reactions. For example, one person can take medications that carry drowsiness warnings and never get sleepy, while another nods off taking the non-drowsiness formulas. The consensus on diet seems to be that some limitation of carbohydrates is good. Some diets almost eliminate carbohydrates, while others stick to whole grains and avoid the refined, highly processed carbs. The human body seems to need a certain amount of dietary fiber per day to keep the digestive system moving, so whole grains, fruits and vegetables with lots of fiber do double duty. These foods also fill the stomach on fewer calories, and take longer to digest than more processed foods. Thus they satisfy the appetite on less food and keep it satisfied longer. Calories do count. If we eat more than we burn off, the excess will be stored, and we will gain weight. But it does not seem to be a straight mathematical formula. There are so many nutrients that the body needs that not all calories are created equal. Some calories are almost empty of any vitamins, minerals, proteins, etc. while others are loaded. The more nutrition we can pack into the calories we consume, the better off we are. Scientists are finding out more and more that balance is necessary. Many nutrients can only be absorbed and used by the body when other nutrients are present. If any are missing, the rest just go in one end and out the other(literally). People spend millions on supplements in pill form that dissolve so slowly that very little is absorbed, or that do not contain the catalyst nutrients needed for there to be any absorption at all. The key is to do your own research as to what your body responds to. Track your results, make very few changes at a time so you know what is producing those results. Be proactive, not merely reactive and take responsibility for your health. No matter how good the medical advice you get, you are the one who has to live it.

Watch Labels for Whole Grains

Consumers may be deceived by breads labeled "nine-grain," "rye bread" or "made with whole grain." Breads with these labels are in fact primarily made with refined wheat flour, not whole grains. Consumers need to carefully examine the food labels in order to identify whole grain products. Whole grain products should list a whole grain ingredient, such as "whole wheat," "whole rye," "whole-oats" or "graham flour," as the first ingredient on the label. Whole grains have been shown to help control and sometimes prevent diabetes, so go for the WHOLE grain.

 

The Glycemic Index

At the Glycemic Index website, you can find out which carbohydrates will provide lasting energy because they break down slowly in the body and which ones will spike your blood sugar because they break down quickly.  There's been a lot a work done on this recently by doctors and nutritionists.  The consensus seems to be that the lower the index rating of a food, the better it is for you.  The  highly refined carbohydrates that a diabetic needs to avoid all rank high on the index, and there are also indications that the low index foods can help maintain serotonin levels in the brain, preventing some of the emotional side effects of many weight-loss programs. 

 

 

The Diabetes/Obesity connection

Type 2 diabetes is caused by either decreased insulin production by the pancreas or a decreased sensitivity to insulin in the cells, or a combination of the two. Over 10 million people in the U.S. have type 2 diabetes and an estimated one third of them don't even know they have it. Why? Because they may not have symptoms, or may have only mild symptoms for years. Often, the diagnosis is made only after a serious complication develops. Some common symptoms are: - frequent urination - increased thirst - increased appetite - unusual fatigue - irritability - frequent infections - blurred vision - cuts / bruises that are slow to heal - tingling / numbness in the hands or feet - recurring skin, gum, or bladder infections.  A new epidemic of type 2 diabetes is affecting America's children. In 1990, type 2 diabetes was relatively rare in children. By 1999, type 2 diabetes affected children in up to 45% of diagnosed cases. Why? Children are more overweight than ever. Experts predict the type 2 diabetes epidemic in children and adults will continue to escalate over the coming years. Why? Because the rate of obesity will continue to escalate. Diabetes can cause: - damage to the eyes that can lead to impaired vision and sometimes blindness - problems with blood circulation to the feet which can cause many complications and in extreme cases, amputation. - skin ulcerations and fungal infections - greatly increased risk of heart attack and stroke - kidney disease - nerve damage.

Diabetes Prevention

If you have been diagnosed with prediabetes (which is having higher than normal blood sugar levels, but not yet in the range of diabetes) you are at increased risk for developing type II diabetes. To help prevent this, try incorporating the following lifestyle changes: