There is no doubt that diabetes is a serious health condition. According to the American Diabetes Association, 8.3 percent of the American population, or 25.8 million people, have the disease. Treating diabetes is costing the country nearly $200 billion annually.

Uncontrolled diabetes can ravage your health. The list of complications linked to diabetes is long and includes conditions such as:

·         Vision problems

·         Heart disease

·         Nerve damage

·          Kidney disease

·         Dental disease

Lifestyle Counseling

There’s good news though. A diagnosis of diabetes doesn’t mean all is hopeless. By making conscientious changes to your diet and lifestyle, you can fight back. A recent study conducted at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA, demonstrated that patients with Type 2 diabetes who received regular lifestyle-change counseling reached treatment goals in less than one month. Those who received only intermittent counseling took more than a year to reach their goals.

The authors of the study advised primary care physicians to heed the lessons learned from the study and incorporate regular lifestyle counseling into every diabetes patient’s treatment program. If time is a concern, other qualified professionals such as dieticians and nurse practitioners can do the counseling.

The Diabetes Diet

The other piece of controlling blood sugar levels is the patient’s diet. In medical circles, the diabetic diet is referred to as medical nutrition therapy, or MNT. The basis of the diet is not restriction, but rather to provide the patient with nutritious choices and a framework of regular mealtimes and moderate portions.

The diabetes diet focuses primarily on foods low in calories and fat, while emphasizing healthy choices like whole grains, fruits and vegetables. The best news? The diet is ideal for everyone. Whether trying to stabilize blood sugar, lower cholesterol, or prevent heart disease, anyone interested in healthy living will benefit from adopting the diabetic diet. Diabetic family members need not eat separately prepared food; entire families can enjoy the health benefits of the diabetes diet.

Diet Benefits

The goal of the diet is to stabilize blood sugar. When you eat excess fat and calories, your body responds by raising your glucose level. Over time, high glucose levels lead to the complications of diabetes. By making better food choices, you can keep your blood glucose levels in check and prevent the highs and lows indicative of uncontrolled diabetes.

The diet has an additional benefit if you are one of many diabetics who struggle with excess body weight. Following the low fat, low-calorie diet will help you lose weight. In addition to the slew of health benefits linked to weight loss, your blood sugar will stabilize.

Diet Choices

Complex Carbohydrates While simple carbohydrates, such as sugar and white flour, cause blood sugar to spike; complex carbohydrates take longer to digest, preventing sudden spikes. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes all contain complex carbohydrates.

Fiber Eating foods rich in dietary fiber helps control blood sugar levels. Additionally, eating plenty of fiber will help prevent heart disease. Fiber-rich foods include fruits, vegetables, nuts, wheat bran, whole-wheat products and legumes.

Omega-3s Many fishes contain omega-3 fatty acids. This healthy oil lowers triglycerides and promotes heart health. Avoid fried fish, however, since grease used for frying completely negates the health benefits of omega-3s. Fish high in omega-3s include tuna, cod, halibut and salmon.

Healthy Fats Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats help lower cholesterol levels and should be included in your diet. Remember that these fats are high in calories, so be careful to eat them in moderation. Olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, avocados, almonds, walnuts and pecans are all examples of healthy fats.

Foods to Avoid

Saturated Fats Butter, bacon, hot dogs and beef all have high levels of saturated fat, which raises your cholesterol levels and should be mostly avoided. While you can still eat these in moderation, limit your total intake to about 7 percent of daily calories.

Trans Fats These fats have been artificially manipulated to make them more shelf-stable. They have no nutritive value whatsoever and can be quite harmful to the human body. You can tell if a food contains trans fats, as the label will indicate “partially hydrogenated” oils. Avoid these completely.

Cholesterol Limit yourself to a maximum of 200 milligrams of cholesterol daily. All foods derived from animals, including milk and cheese, contain cholesterol. Check

Anyone trying to lose weight knows that soda is a major contributor to obesity. Recent studies have shown that the truth is even scarier than what you may have heard. Soda has more problems than just the empty calories: Soft drinks, even diet sodas, can contribute to some serious health concerns. Before you take a sip from a can or bottle of soda, consider the following facts:

1.       Soft drinks dissolve tooth enamel. Several studies worldwide have shown this to be true.

2.       It is linked to kidney stones. Not only can soda lead to dehydration, the phosphates in carbonated beverages can damage kidney health. One study of 1,000 males showed a positive correlation between the phosphate content of their beverages and the number of kidney stones they passed. The study focused on a population of consistent soda drinkers, so the results may vary even more between a group that doesn’t drink soda at all and those that drink it occasionally, regardless of the phosphate content.

3.       It is linked to weakened bones. A link has been found between soda consumption and bone disease such as osteoporosis. The exact cause is unknown; one theory is that people are choosing to drink soda instead of calcium-enriched beverages like milk or fortified juice, leading to a calcium deficiency in the diet. Of course, other dietary sources of calcium could make up this gap, such as dark leafy greens, but many Americans obtain their calcium from dairy and fortified products alone. With these beverages removed from the table, Americans are at high risk for becoming calcium-deficient. Even worse, the high quantity of phosphorus in soda can actually leach some of the calcium from your bones.

4.       Soft drinks can become addictive. Not only is the sugar in soft-drinks habit forming, but the chemicals in soft drinks can actually trigger a chemical addiction in the brain similar to that experienced by smokers or cocaine users. Soda, even diet, has caffeine and sodium; both of these have an addictive effect on the body. Some studies show that artificial sweeteners are also chemically addictive.

5.       Artificial sweeteners in soft drinks confuse our bodies. When you eat or drink something sweet, your body associates that taste with calorie consumption. Sweet tastes trigger a complex array of hormonal and chemical reactions left with no sugar to act on. If you don’t provide your body with the calories it expects, your system can become disoriented and try to eat more sugars to compensate. This means that diet drinks could  actually make you hungry. A study done with rodents shows that test subjects who drank saccharine-sweetened beverages showed a consistent weight-gain compared to those being fed sucrose.

6.       The long-term effects of artificial sweeteners have yet to be determined. Several studies have been conducted to test a possible correlation between artificial sweeteners and cancer or other diseases, with varying results depending on the sweetener. Very few studies have focused on the long-term effects for weight gain. As the popularity of artificial sweeteners continues to rise, more studies will be needed to probe at the link between these two factors. Even without these concerns, there is enough evidence to suggest soda is best avoided.

If you do nothing else to promote your body’s health and well-being, quitting your soda habit will definitely help you to live a healthier lifestyle. Instead of replacing your regular soda with diet, opt for healthy and refreshing water. Your body will thank you for it.

SOURCES:

http://parentsforhealth.org/soft-drinks-hard-facts

http://pharmacytechniciancertification.net/10-seriously-disturbing-facts-about-soda/

http://blog.fooducate.com/2010/01/03/three-reasons-to-rethink-that-diet-coke-youre-about-to-drink/

When you think of Valentine’s Day, three things probably come immediately to mind: your sweetheart, red hearts and chocolate. While decadent sweets certainly are traditional, celebrating the holiday doesn’t have to destroy your diet. Here are five suggestions for easy, healthy, romantic Valentine’s Day activities.

1. Give a Healthy Gift

Low-calorie fruit, such as strawberries and grapes, is delicious. Give fruit a sensuous touch by feeding it to your sweetie, or pair it with a glass of wine. What’s the best thing about eating fresh fruit on Valentine’s Day? You can eat a lot more of it since it isn’t chocolate.

2. Engage in a Meaningful Activity

Just because everyone else seems to be booking dinner reservations doesn’t mean you should eat out on Valentine’s Day. In fact, some of the best and most romantic date nights center on activities that are more meaningful to you as a couple. Consider an ice skating date, a theme park adventure or a late-night stroll along the beach.

3. Cook a Fabulous Meal at Home

Thoughtfully preparing a meal at home shows your significant other how much you care. And home-cooked meals are usually healthier than restaurant fare. Even if you aren’t a gourmet chef, you can perfect a simple yet elegant recipe. Hundreds of recipes exist online for romantic fare. You could also learn to make your Valentine’s favorite food. Who says macaroni and cheese isn’t romantic?

4. Give Back to Your Community

Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love; what better way is there to show love for your partner than to share it with your community? Volunteering for charity can be fun and rewarding, and it’s a wonderful change of routine. You can serve at a local soup kitchen or homeless shelter, or you can volunteer with your sweetheart at the local animal shelter. The charity of your choice will appreciate your help.

5. Celebrate Romance

Although TV commercials suggest otherwise, Valentine’s Day is not about bombarding your loved ones with chocolate candy and expensive champagne. This year, show your Valentine how much you love him or her by writing a poem, crafting a homemade gift or volunteering to do extra chores around the house.

Of course, sweets do have their place at Valentine’s Day celebrations, so if you can’t imagine the holiday without something sweet, try one of these low-fat, fruit-based recipes:

Sorbet Sensation: Simple and delicious, this light dessert combines sorbet, pudding, whipped topping and strawberries. At only 153 calories per serving, you can nibble on it all day.

Raspberry Yogurt Pie: Diabetic-friendly and low in calories, this yogurt pie is easy enough for even the least kitchen-savvy person to make. Just assemble the ingredients and chill.

Lemon Raspberry Smoothies: Looking for something sweet, light and healthy as an alternative to all that wine? These smoothies taste like frozen raspberry lemonade and can be dressed up for a romantic breakfast in bed or served after dinner as a light dessert.

Whether you choose to spend Valentine’s Day at home, at a restaurant, or feeding hungry children, the important thing is to focus on what the day means to you and those you love. Rather than giving in to the temptation to eat processed foods and spend money on commercialized merchandise, you can make the holiday truly special by personalizing it. Homemade food, heartfelt sentiments, and meaningful activities are better than a box of chocolates any day.

Health experts have long advocated the benefits of sleep. Sleep helps a body recuperate from stress, fight off disease, and repair damaged muscles. Recent studies detailed by Reuters show that sleep deprivation is directly linked to weight gain. On average, subjects who didn’t receive a full night’s sleep ate 300 more calories than those who were well rested. Why does sleep play a role in weight gain, and what does that mean for dieters?

The Study

Researchers at the New York Obesity Research Center at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital gathered subjects of both genders in their 30s and 40s. During the study, the subjects lived and slept at the research center for two five-day periods. During the first period, subjects had nine hours of sleep. During the second period, however, they had only four hours of sleep. During each period, the subjects ate a controlled diet four days out of five and ate freely on the fifth day. Consistently, the sleep-deprived participants ate more than they had when they were fully rested.

The findings of the study agree with results from other research worldwide that suggests the direct correlation between sleep and hunger. While people who sleep less eat more, they burn the same number of calories (or fewer since sleeping burns calories) as their snoozing counterparts. Considering that few Americans get the recommended eight hours of sleep a night, sleep deprivation may well be a factor in the U.S. obesity problem.

Why Sleep Influences Hunger

There are several reasons why sleep-deprived people may be tempted to eat more:

·         Tired people may not have the energy or willpower to make smart food choices.

·         Insomniacs may eat out of boredom or habit.

·         Wakefulness creates more opportunity to feel hungry.

·         Food can provide a temporary energy boost to sluggish, sleep-deprived people.

·         People who chronically lack sleep may also not have time to prepare home-cooked meals.

Hunger Hormones

Perhaps the most interesting cause of the sleep- hunger correlation is hormones. USA Today reported a few years ago about another study that supports the findings of this recent one. Researchers at the Research Laboratory on Sleep, Chronobiology and Neuroendocrinology at the University of Chicago School of Medicine have discovered a link between sleep-deprivation and hunger hormones.

Two hormones control hunger: ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin makes people feel hungry; leptin makes people feel full, and thus, stop eating. If either hormone is out of balance, overeating can occur.

The sleep researchers studied a group of 12 men who slept four hours and 10 hours on separate nights. Their blood was drawn regularly, and they were asked questions about their hunger. The men who slept fewer hours had elevated ghrelin levels and lower leptin levels; in other words, the hormone making them feel hungry rose, while the hormone controlling fullness fell. Subjects with the most dramatic ghrelin elevations and leptin plummets also reported the strongest hunger cravings.

This hormonal link makes sense of why students, first-time parents, shift workers, and other chronically sleep-deprived demographics are so often at risk of weight gain.

Sleep Does a Body Good

Humans are unique among animals in that we routinely get too little sleep. Other creatures sleep when they’re tired and eat when they’re hungry; they also expend a tremendous amount of energy obtaining food. Technology has enabled humans to expend less energy obtaining food, but our advanced society comes at a high cost. We must work constantly to earn the money to afford the technology that makes our lives easier. However, does such constant work really make our lives easier in the long run?

For people trying to lose weight, getting enough sleep is crucial to their success. Sleep is a valuable commodity. People who routinely get enough sleep have higher energy levels and are therefore more motivated to exercise. Sleep also fights pain and fatigue from sore muscles.

Sleep is only one part of a healthy lifestyle, but it’s an easy first step. By getting enough sleep, exercising regularly and controlling calorie intake, people can lose excess weight and live healthier, longer lives.