Hospital gear helps weight-loss patients
Hospital gear helps weight-loss patients
Jean Kielhold, right, supervises as fellow dietician Susan Sendejas tests a calorimeter. In 10 minutes, Jean Kielhold can calculate and determine a person’s energy consumption and body mass index, based on a breathing test.
Diabetic Diet: You Should Plan Your Meal
One of the main targets for a diabetic diet is to help you lower weight and maintain it. In addition, the diet is a vital component in your diabetes control program and keeps blood sugar levels under control by striking a balance among the carbohydrates, fats, and protein you eat.
The diabetic diet essentially concerns controlling your carbohydrate intake so as to manage your glucose levels. The recommended diabetic diet for carbohydrate content is about 60%, and fat content 30-35%. Eating regularly and a consistent amount of calories each day is another important point of diabetic diet.
The main part of the diabetic diet is meal planning. A diabetic diet must be a well proportioned meal plan customized to your individual needs, tastes, activity level and life style. Its goal is to afford all the calories and nutrients the diabetic needs while maintaining blood sugars as close to normal as possible.
However, the benefits and support to your body from the diabetic diet will depend on what type of diabetes you are trying to treat. Each type has its own challenges and level of restriction on the diet. So, a diabetic diet will vary some from person to person.
If you have type 2 diabetes, your dietary limitations may not be fairly as high, the diabetic diet is really just a simple heart healthy diet. You will likely be advised to avoid excessive fat and to maintain a high fiber diet among other things, but it will be a rather easy diet to stay with.
But, if you have type 1 diabetes, you will likely have more restrictions, more individualized diabetic diet. Your diabetic diet will likely be custom designed by your physician or a nutritionist.
When you are living with diabetes, one of the best ways to fight this disease is with a diabetic diet plan. You should consult your dietician or doctor regularly to plan a diet personalized particularly for you. Make sure to ask them some questions, let them know your habits, and check in with your doctor to let him or her know your progress along with any problems you may be experiencing.
Be sure to be detailed because the more information you give to your doctor, the better they will be at helping you. It’s a great idea too if you meet with an herbalist or alternative care doctor. They will be able to notify you with herbal supplements and alternative treatments that may help assuage your diabetes.
Diabetes Drug Rosiglitazone Not Associated With Increased Risk Of Death, Stroke Or Heart Attacks In BARI 2D Study
Diabetes Drug Rosiglitazone Not Associated With Increased Risk Of Death, Stroke Or Heart Attacks In BARI 2D Study
Rosiglitazone, a commonly used diabetes drug, poses no significant increased risk of death, stroke or heart attack, though it does increase the risk of fractures, according to a new analysis of thousands of patients with established cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. The findings are being presented at the American Diabetes Association’s 70th Scientific Sessions®, and are part of the …
Relay for Life draws dozens to Dexter
Relay for Life draws dozens to Dexter
For Debbie Bachman, the Relay for Life of Dexter on Saturday was an opportunity to celebrate her victory over breast cancer and help others do the same.
Podiatrist in Wayne, PA
The podiatry professionals at Main Line Podiatry are pleased to welcome you to our practice. We want all our patients to be informed decision makers and fully understand any health issues you face. That’s why we’ve developed a web site loaded with valuable information about podiatry and podiatric problems and treatments. We encourage you to visit this site whenever you have concern about your feet. Our web site also provides you with background about our, staff, office hours, insurance policies, appointment procedures, maps, directions to our office in Wayne and other useful information. We know how hectic life can be and are committed to making our practice convenient and accessible. And we want you to feel confident that when you choose Main Line Podiatry, you’re working with doctors and other professionals who are qualified, experienced and caring. Please take a few moments to look through this site to get a better feel for Main Line Podiatry’s capabilities and services. We also invite you to email or call our Wayne office at any time to request an appointment or ask any questions. Visit our website: www.drpaulcryan.com
Discount Diabetic Supplies from Diabetes Care Club
Discount Diabetic Supplies: Diabetes Care Club Call 1-800-840-7711 or visit www.DiabetesCareClub.com to have one a new Pain-Free meter sent directly to you. Call 1-800-840-7711 for your Free Information about Discount Diabetic Supplies or visit http Learn more about Discount Diabetic Supplies….
TN Candidates on the Issues: Health Care
TN Candidates on the Issues: Health Care
One study says the health-care reform law could add as many as 500,000 people and $1.5 billion to TennCare’s budget within five years. How would you prepare for this in your first term as governor? McWherter: I believe it is imperative for the next governor to work closely with our federal delegation to ensure Tennesseans are not saddled with the burden of unfunded federal mandates. Many …
Vegetables Declare War on Diabetes
Climbing to the top of Argentina’s Aconcagua – the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere – is no ordinary feat. It can take even the most experienced climbers three weeks to reach the 22,835-foot snow-capped summit.
David Panofsky, 35 of Madison, Wis.; Doug Bursnall, 31, of Wales; and
Katherine Bradt-Wells, 30, of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, climbed
to the summit of Aconcagua last year. And they have a lot more in common than mountain climbing. They all have Type I, or insulin-dependant diabetes, and they are all vegetarians. In fact, everyone on the 26-member Team International Diabetes Expedition Aconcagua 2000 (IDEA 2000) has Type I diabetes.
For people with this disease, the pancreas does not release sufficient amounts of insulin, a protein hormone necessary for the body to regulate the metabolism of sugar and certain carbohydrates. Diabetics may require insulin injections and blood testing — as often as eight times a day. Untreated, the disease can cause blindness, nerve damage, cardiovascular disease and kidney failure.
Panofsky, Burnsall and Bradt-Wells are also members of the Diabetes
Exercise and Sports Association (DESA), an international organization made up of amateur and professional athletes whose mission is to help people with diabetes achieve their athletic goals. The team’s success at Aconcagua served as a statement against the stereotypes that tend to define diabetics: that their activities must be restricted because they can become quickly incapacitated. And for Panofsky, Burnsall and Bradt-Wells, the trek to the summit was also a way of dismantling one of the myths about nutrition, meat and muscle power. A vegetarian diet, says Brandt-Wells, “Is much easier to digest to get important nutrients and vitamins – especially at high altitudes like 20,000 feet, where the altitude interferes with digestion.” Food poisoning is also avoided, points out Brandt-Wells, because vegetarian fare is much less likely to spoil than meat.
Most diabetics suffer from Type II diabetes, a non-insulin-dependent disorder that tends to develop in overweight adults and is often preventable. Type II diabetes can be caused by poor diet, excessive weight and a sedentary lifestyle. It is more easily treated than Type I diabetes, according to Stephen Clement, M.D., director of the Georgetown University Diabetes Center in Washington, D.C., mostly through oral medication or insulin injections, diet and exercise.
To reduce weight and increase insulin sensitivity — making insulin work better and thus reducing dosages — ‘‘eat less, exercise more,’’ said Marion Franz, a registered dietician and former director of Nutrition and Professional Education at the International Diabetes Center in Minneapolis, Minn. Reducing food intake, being selective about what they eat and exercising help keep diabetics in fit condition.
Speaking at the DESA annual conference held this month in Washington, D.C., Franz emphasized the benefit of eating smaller portions of lean meat — or replacing meat altogether with peas, beans, lentils, soy protein, whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
Last year, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a health-advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., and Georgetown
University Medical Center Department of Endocrinology published the
results of a study on the effectiveness of a vegetarian diet for
diabetics. In conjunction with the Diabetes Action and Education
Foundation in Arlington, Va., the Physicians Committee compared
‘‘fasting’’ glucose levels — the blood-sugar levels that result in the
absence of food for 12 hours — and weight loss of Type II diabetics,
using two types of diets for a period of three months. The pilot study had
13 participants; a follow-up study begins this year at The George
Washington University Medical Center with 60 participants.
‘‘We compared two different diets,’’ said Mark Sklar, M.D., an associate professor at Georgetown University Hospital’s Department of Endocrinology, ‘‘one, a high-fiber, low-fat, vegetarian diet that contains no animal products; and the other, a more common American Diabetes Association (ADA) diet, which contains meat and dairy products.’’
‘‘The vegan meals were made from unrefined vegetables, grains, beans,
and fruits, with no refined ingredients, such as vegetable oil, white flour, or white pasta,’’ said Neal Barnard, M.D., president of the Physicians Committee. ‘‘These meals averaged just 10 percent fat (as a percentage of calories), 80 percent complex carbohydrate and 10 percent protein. They also offered 60-70 grams of fiber per day and had no cholesterol at all.’’
The comparison (ADA) diet contained more plant-based ingredients than
the average American diet but still relied on the conventional chicken and
fish recipes. This diet was 30 percent fat and 50 percent carbohydrate. It
provided about 30 grams of fiber and 200 milligrams of cholesterol per day.
REDUCED INSULIN DOSAGES AND BETTER CONTROL
The fasting blood sugars in the vegetarian group decreased 28 percent,
whereas the ADA group’s blood sugars dropped only 12 percent. The
vegetarians needed less medication to control their blood sugars, whereas
the ADA group needed just as much medicine as before.
While the ADA dieters lost an impressive 8 pounds on average, the vegetarians lost nearly 16 pounds. Cholesterol levels also dropped more in the vegetarian group, compared to the ADA group.
Study vegetarian dieters said they were pleased with the weight loss
and the reduction or elimination of insulin injections or oral medication.
‘‘Being able to take control of my diabetes has been a wonderful thing,’’
said Scott Johnston, 34, a business consultant from Arlington, Va. ‘‘Had I
known that this diet would have such a powerful effect, I would have
adopted it years ago.’’
‘‘In the beginning, it’s not an easy diet,’’ said Sheldon Berman, 62,
of Washington, D.C. ‘‘But I managed to lose 17 pounds. I’m no longer on
medication for diabetes, and I am no longer on medication for blood
pressure. … The overall mental outlook on how I feel about myself as a
diabetic is much more hopeful now, as I am self-sufficient with a diet
that makes sense for me.’’
Worldwide, more than 125 million people have either insulin-dependent
or non-insulin dependent diabetes, according to Stuart Sundem, a senior
community health specialist at the International Diabetes Center in
Minneapolis, Minn. And that number is expected to skyrocket to more than
300 million by 2025, as Asian countries adopt Westernized lifestyle patterns of high consumption and sedentary activity, he said.
Francine Kaufman, M.D., president-elect of the American Diabetes
Association and chairman of Children’s Hospital Endocrinology Division in
Los Angeles, cites ‘‘fast food laden with fat and lower levels of activity’’ as the culprits for approximately 25 million cases of undiagnosed diabetes worldwide.
This month, the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases released the results of their own Diabetes Prevention Program study, showing that Type II diabetes can be prevented.
The study maintains that two different approaches — diet and exercise
therapy, and the administration of a diabetes medication, metformin –
were both effective. Just 30 minutes of daily exercise coupled with a
low-fat diet increases insulin sensitivity and reduces weight, possibly
eliminating the need for insulin injections altogether, according to the
report.
Christopher D. Saudek, M.D., president of the American Diabetes
Association and a principal investigator says ‘‘the Diabetes Prevention
Program conclusively proves that Type II diabetes is not inevitable for
people at high risk of developing it.’’
The DPP is the first study to demonstrate that prevention strategies
can work across the broad spectrum of racial and ethnic diversity. Both
lifestyle and medication interventions worked with those of Caucasian,
African, Latino, Native American, Asian and Pacific Islander origin.
Judith Ambrosini, another DESA member, has lived with diabetes for more
than 40 years. Currently a food columnist and caterer in Boston, Massachusetts, she became a vegetarian 20 years ago while living in Italy. ‘‘I
would go into town to the butcher shop,’’ she said, ‘‘but by the time I
got there, all that was left were brains, intestines and hearts.’’
She opted for the traditional Italian fare of pasta and vegetables when
she realized that she had better ‘‘make friends with this thing
(diabetes) — it will be with me for the rest of my life.’’
Mothers worldwide tell their children to eat their vegetables. This advice
may very well hold the answer to combating diabetes.
WEB-LINKS
Bruce Andrew Peters: http://www.GreatWriteUp.com
DESA: www.Diabetes-Exercise.org
IDEA 2000: www.IDEA2000.org
Physician Committee for Responsible Medicine: www.PCRM.org
International Diabetes Center: www.idcdiabetes.org
Letters June 24, 2010
Letters June 24, 2010
Not the Garden of Eden To the Editor: Again, Mr. Darcey has emerged in The Sag Harbor Express with his sadistic attitude. As I said before Mr. Darcey, you live in a free country, with freedom of speech which you sure do take advantage of. This country is protected by courageous men and women who protect your rights. Patriotism, [...]
Consumer, Health and Family
Consumer, Health and Family
Welcome to this week’s edition of Health Alert. The Health Alert is transmitted on Monday of each week (unless there is a public holiday on Monday). Health Alert is a summary of the critical judgments, legislation, press releases and news items which have come to our attention each week.