Swaps for Staying Healthy in 2018

From diabetesforecast.org

To cut calories in your favorite comfort foods, “veggify” them. For instance, rather than 2 cups of mac ’n’ cheese, combine 1 cup mac ’n’ cheese with 1 cup steamed spinach or kale. Use cooked cauliflower in place of some or all of the potatoes in mashed potatoes. And sauté finely chopped cremini mushrooms and use in place of ground beef for chili. —Jackie Newgent, RDN, CDN

Single Serving
Divvy up your mac ’n’ cheese (above) into ramekins for instant portion control.

To keep my continuous glucose monitor (CGM) sensor secure, I use a GrifGrips adhesive pad, but I’ll add Nexcare transparent first aid tape over any peeling parts of the grip three to four days after I put the grip on. That’s usually enough to get me through seven days, when I’ll need to change my sensor. —Mimikins

If your goal is to lose or maintain weight, practice consciousness regarding your food choices. Wear some kind of ring, bracelet, or band to remind you of your commitment to your health.I like rubber bands. When my thoughts get negative, I use the rubber band to literally snap me out of it! (But avoid snapping it if you have neuropathy in your hands.) —Kirsten Ward, MS, RCEP, CDE
Check your feet daily for cuts, sores, and irritated areas. If you can’t bend down, use a mirror. Place it near your shoes as a reminder to check every day before you leave home! —Susan Weiner, CDE, MS, RDN, CDN

When I’m taking a trip, no matter long or short, I have a great way to carry my insulin and needles: They fit perfectly into an eyeglass case—the hard-shell kind. I can walk through a room with them in hand and no one’s the wiser. —Laurileet

To keep heels from getting dry and cracked, use a saturated fat on your feet. Pure vegetable oils like cocoa butter or coconut oil tend to penetrate the skin better than store-brand lotions. —Colette Nelson, CDE, MS, RD

http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2018/01-jan-feb/swaps-for-staying-healthy-in.html

Type 2 Diabetes - Do You Feel Having Diabetes Is Your Fault?

By Beverleigh H Piepers

Guilt is not only uncomfortable but also crippling. If you have strong feelings of guilt, it is going to hurt you one way or another: over the long-term, it can degrade your mental health as it lingers. In some ways, mental health can be considered more precious than even your physical well-being. If you have guilt stemming from a health problem, you need to let it go.
Let us talk about how to do this with any guilt you may have surrounding your Type 2 diabetes...

1. Are you recently diagnosed? Those who have been newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes may have extreme feelings of guilt. If this is your case, then you do not need to be reminded of how mentally uncomfortable it is. The regret at times can be overwhelming. If you have guilt at this time, however, know there is hope. The simple fact you recognize diabetes is a severe disease is a positive. Many adults are indifferent to their illness until a lot of complications have occurred. It is better to have guilt now and attempt to do something about it than try to solve a more complicated problem later.

2. What is the source of your guilt? Before you can let go of your guilt, you must examine it to its core. What is driving your feelings of remorse? Regret is an easy one for many people, but it could go deeper than this. Think back on your past - consider both your actions and what you neglected. Type 2 diabetes is a product of lifestyle, so if it has surfaced, it is rarely due to coincidence.
Be transparent with yourself if the source of your guilt is because of neglect or past mistakes.

3. Create a plan to let go. Letting go is not easy because it is not just about making a decision. It also involves action.
There is only one efficient way of getting rid of diabetes guilt and that is by treating or managing the disease. Even if the condition cannot be reversed by definition, it can be controlled. Its symptoms can be suppressed, and any complications kept at bay. This is the only way intense guilt can be overcome.

For you to succeed at this task requires you do everything you can to live healthily and control your blood sugar levels and body weight. Once you get to a stage where your blood sugar and weight are back to a healthy range and your health status is no longer critical, any guilt you might have once felt will be gone.
In its place, you will have a much healthier mindset, not to mention a healthy and robust body.

Although managing your disease can be very challenging, Type 2 diabetes is not a condition you must just live with. You can make simple changes to your daily routine and lower both your weight and your blood sugar levels. Hang in there, the longer you do it, the easier it gets.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Type-2-Diabetes---Do-You-Feel-Having-Diabetes-Is-Your-Fault?&id=9851938

Are you living with diabetes, but don’t know it?

From blueridgenow.com

When was the last time you were screened for prediabetes or type 2 diabetes? You can increase your chances of living longer and healthier if you know your diabetes status.
Many people living with diabetes are unaware they have the disease because they have few, if any, symptoms. Knowing if you have prediabetes or diabetes is crucial in preventing long-term complications like heart disease, nerve damage, kidney damage and blindness.
A diabetes screening is simple: Your nurse or doctor will prick your finger and get a blood sample. That’s it.
And there is good news: Unlike many other diseases, you have a lot of control in your health outcomes with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes.
If you have prediabetes, you can help prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes. If you already have type 2 diabetes, you may be able to manage it without medication and can reduce your risk of the complications I mentioned above. In some cases, diabetes complications — such as neuropathy or kidney damage — can be reversed if the damage has not been severe or present for a long period of time.

It’s all about healthy lifestyle changes. These lifestyle changes include reducing your body weight if you are overweight or obese, getting physical activity for 150 minutes a week (for example, a 30-minute walk Monday through Friday) and making healthy eating choices. Your doctor can give you tips on making these changes successful.

Some people with diabetes need medication to control their blood sugar, no matter how healthy their lifestyle. Talk to your doctor about the best way to manage your diabetes.
The bottom line: Knowing your diabetes status can improve your quality and length of life, so you can spend time with loved ones and do the activities you enjoy.

http://www.blueridgenow.com/news/20171227/are-you-living-with-diabetes-but-dont-know-it

How to Prevent Pre-Diabetes From Getting Worse

By Paul D Kennedy

Diabetes is a very serious chronic disease suffered by millions of people worldwide.
If you are diabetic and fail to control your blood glucose levels you are likely to end up with one or more serious medical conditions, such as heart disease, kidney failure and damaged nerves among many others.

Pre-diabetes is a condition in which your blood glucose levels are higher than they should be but not so high that you are diagnosed as diabetic. Research suggests that up to 70% of persons with pre-diabetes go on to develop full type 2 diabetes.
But this means that 30% manage to halt the development of diabetes before it becomes a chronic disease. So, if you have been diagnosed as pre-diabetic, developing full-blown diabetes is not inevitable.
You can't change your past behaviour, your age or your genes but you can change your lifestyle... how you disport yourself and what you eat and drink.

How your digestive system works
The foods you eat are mostly a combination of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in various proportions. A piece of meat, for example, contains mostly protein and fats. Vegetables such as potatoes contain lots of carbohydrates.
When you digest a bit of food, it is broken down into it main components... carbs, proteins and fats. These components are then broken down further in your digestive system and released into to your blood-stream which delivers them around your body.
Your energy comes from glucose. Glucose is just a simple sugar. But it is your body's primary source of energy.
Most glucose comes from digesting the sugar and starch in carbohydrates which you get from food such as rice, pasta, grains, breads, potatoes, fruits and some vegetables. The glucose produced by digestion in your stomach is absorbed into your bloodstream which delivers it to your body's cells.
Glucose is the fuel for your cells... it powers your movements, thoughts and just about everything else you do.
In order to power your cells, glucose has to get into them. It can only do this with the help of insulin.
Insulin is a hormone (a type of chemical). It is produced by your pancreas. The pancreas releases insulin into your bloodstream where it travels around your body and meets up with glucose on the same trip. The purpose of insulin is to enable glucose to enter your cells.

To do this, insulin attaches itself to a receptor in the surface of the cell. This causes the cell membrane to allow glucose to enter the cell. The cell can then use the glucose as its fuel.
This glucose-insulin system has to work properly if you are to be healthy.
If the insulin does not do its job of 'opening the cell door' for glucose, the glucose will not be able to get into the cell... and the cell will run out of fuel.
Diabetes is a condition in which the glucose-insulin system does not function correctly.
There are two major types of diabetes: (a) type 1 and (b) type 2. More than 90% of diabetics have type 2 diabetes.
In type 1 diabetes the pancreas does not produce any insulin or, at best, very little. Type 1 cannot be cured. The only way these diabetics can survive is by taking regular shots of insulin.
In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas does produce insulin which is released into the bloodstream. But when the insulin arrives at a cell it has trouble attaching itself to a receptor. So it cannot induce the cell membrane to open and allow glucose to enter the cell.
Insulin resistance is the condition in which insulin is unable to attach itself to cell receptors.
Imagine a key trying to slide into a lock in a door. If the lock is jammed... say, with a bit of chewing gum... the key cannot get in. There is nothing wrong with the key and nothing wrong with the lock. But before the key can get in, the lock has to be cleaned out.
One of the main reasons for insulin resistance is having cell 'doors' that are jammed with fat. The only way to 'unjam' them is to eliminate all fat as far as possible from your diet for four to six weeks (at least) until the cell receptors are free of fat.
So what do you have to do to prevent type 2 diabetes developing from pre-diabetes to the full-blown chronic condition... with its elevated risks of heart attacks, strokes, blindness, kidney transplants, leg amputations, and other dreadful conditions?
Change your lifestyle using:

• Exercise, and
• Diet

Here are 12 things you can do:

[1] Avoid sedentary behaviour
A sedentary lifestyle is one in which you sit most of the day and undertake little physical activity. The link between sedentary behaviour and the risk of diabetes is well proven.
An analysis of the results of 47 studies found that people who spent most of the day engaged in sedentary behaviour (eg, office workers) have a 91% risk of developing diabetes.
If you work in an office, there are several ways you can change your sedentary habits:

• Stand up from your desk and walk around for a few minutes every hour.
• Stand instead of sitting when talking on the phone.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Park far away from the supermarket so you have to walk a good distance to get inside.
• Go for long walks in the evening (easy if you have a dog).

The best way to reverse sedentary tendencies is to commit to specific actions you can do every day.

[2] Get plenty of exercise
Research indicates that physical exercise increases the insulin sensitivity of cells... when you exercise, less insulin is required to enable your blood glucose to enter your cells.

Many types of physical activity reduce blood glucose levels in pre-diabetic adults who are obese or overweight... including aerobic exercise, strength training and high-intensity interval training.
One study of pre-diabetics indicated that high-intensity exercise increased insulin sensitivity by 85%... while moderately intense exercise increased it my more than 50%. But this effect only happened on the days that they actually worked out.
Another study found that to improve insulin response in pre-diabetics, they needed to burn at least 2,000 calories a week through exercise... but that is not too hard to do if you set your mind to it.
The trick is to find a physical activity you enjoy and can undertake regularly, and then stick to it for the long-term.
[3] Quit smoking
Besides cancers of the lung, breast, prostate, colon, oesophagus and digestive tract, as well as emphysema and heart disease, research indicates that there are strong links between smoking (and exposure to second-hand smoke) and type 2 diabetes.
Smoking increases the risk of diabetes by 44% in average smokers and 61% in heavy smokers (more than 20 cigarettes a day), compared to non-smokers according to a meta-analysis of several studies that together covered more than one million smokers.
But quitting reduces this risk over time, not immediately.
A study of middle-aged male smokers indicates that five years after quitting their risk of developing diabetes was reduced by 13% and after 20 years it was the same as people who had never smoked.
[4] Lose weight
The majority of people who develop type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese. In addition, people with pre-diabetes tend to have visceral fat ... ie they carry their excess weight around their middle and abdominal organs such as the liver.
Studies have shown that excess visceral fat promotes insulin resistance, increasing the risk of diabetes significantly. This risk can be reduced by losing weight, especially around the middle.
One study of more than 1,000 people found that for every kilogram (2.2 lbs) they lost, their risk of diabetes was reduced by 16%. This study also found that the maximum reduction of risk was 96%, ie a loss of 6 kilogram (13.2 lbs).
There are many healthy ways for losing weight... exercise... dieting.
You have many dietary options to choose from: Mediterranean, paleo, low-carb, vegetarian. The best, perhaps, is the Beating-Diabetes diet.
[5] Reduce the fat in your diet
As you already know, the main cause of type 2 diabetes is fat gumming up the receptors in your muscle cells, so the insulin cannot open the cell membranes to allow glucose to enter. The "cure" is to unblock the receptors.
As you are pre-diabetic it is likely that fat is already beginning to gum up the receptors. You can unblock the receptors by minimising the fat you ingest in your diet.
To minimise the fat you eat:

• make sure that less than 10% of the energy in any food you eat comes from fat (read the labels), and
• reduce your consumption of meat, eggs and dairy products as much as possible, and focus on foods based on plants (fruit and vegetables).

It's that simple.

[6] Reduce the refined carbs you eat
Refined carbohydrates are refined sugar and grain products that have been milled. The process removes dietary fibre, vitamins, and minerals from the grains.
Examples of refined carbs include white sugar, granulated sugar, high fructose corn syrup and so on, as well as white flour, white rice, white pasta etc. These are digested more rapidly than unrefined carbohydrates.
Many studies have shown a link between the frequent consumption of sugar or other refined carbs and the risk of diabetes.
For example, an analysis that looked at a total of 37 studies found that persons with the highest intakes of refined carbs are 40% more likely to develop diabetes than those with the lowest intakes.
This is because simple sugars and refined carbs are digested very quickly and are absorbed rapidly in the bloodstream. This results in a spike in the level of glucose in your blood.
But, as you are pre-diabetic, your body's cells are resistant to the action of insulin. As a result the glucose spike stimulates your pancreas to produce more insulin.
Over time this leads to higher and higher blood glucose and insulin levels in your blood until you develop full-blown diabetes.
To avoid this you need to stop putting sugar in you tea and coffee, and stop drinking sodas and other sugary drinks.
You also need to start eating natural foods such as whole grains, legumes, fruits, and uncooked vegetables, all of which are top sources for unrefined carbohydrates.
[7] Eat a high fibre diet
Dietary fibre is the indigestible portion of plant foods. There are two types of fibre and eating plenty of both types is crucial for preventing pre-diabetes turning into the full-blown variety.
Soluble fibre is fibre that dissolves in water to form a viscous gel-like material that slows the rate at which food is absorbed, reducing the likelihood of sudden spikes in blood glucose.
Insoluble fibre cannot dissolve in water but does absorb water which makes your stool more bulky, easing its passage. It too is linked to reductions in blood glucose but how it works is not clear.
The main sources of soluble fibre are... legumes (beans, peas, etc)... grains (oats, rye and barley)... vegetables such as broccoli, carrot and artichokes... root vegetables such as sweet potatoes and onions... and the insides of some fruits such as prunes, plums, berries, bananas, apples and pears.
Insoluble fibre is mostly found in... whole grains... wheat and corn bran... nuts and seeds... potato skins... flax seeds... fruit such as avocados and bananas... some skins such as on tomatoes... and vegetables such as green beans, cauliflower, courgettes (zucchini) and celery.
Some plants contain significant amounts of both soluble and insoluble fibre. Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit and you will get enough fibre to prevent your pre-diabetes developing into diabetes.
[8] Minimise your intake of processed foods
Processed foods, such as bacon, sausage, paté, salami, breakfast cereals, cheese, tinned vegetables, bread, savoury snacks (crisps, sausage rolls, pies and pasties), cakes and biscuits, microwave meals and so on, are full of oils, added fats, added sugar, refined grains and all sorts of additives.
Processed foods are linked to all sorts of health problems, including diabetes. One study found that poor-quality diets that are high in processed foods increase the risk of diabetes by 30%.
So to prevent your diabetes developing into chronic diabetes, you need to cut back on processed foods. Eat vegetables, fruits, nuts and other plant foods instead.
[9] Restrict portion sizes
Once food hits your stomach, it all starts to be digested at once.
Thus, unsurprisingly, eating too much at one sitting has been shown to cause higher blood sugar and insulin levels in people who are pre-diabetic.
A two-year study of pre-diabetic men found that those who reduced the amount of food they ate in one meal had a 46% lower risk of developing diabetes compared to those who continued to eat large amounts.
Another study of people with re-diabetes concluded that those who practiced portion control lowered their blood glucose and insulin levels significantly after 12 weeks.
So, to prevent the onset of diabetes, you need to practice portion control.
[10] Drink lots of water, coffee and tea
Water... lots of it... should be your primary beverage.
Sticking with water most of the time means you will be avoiding beverages that are high in sugar, preservatives and other questionable ingredients.
A large observational study of 2,800 people found that those who consumed more than two servings of sugar-sweetened beverages a day had a 99% increased risk of developing LADA and a 20% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
LADA, latent autoimmune diabetes of adults, is a form of type 1 diabetes that occurs in people over 18 years of age.
Some studies have found that increased water consumption (as oppose to upping the quantity of sodas or fruit juices you consume) leads to better blood glucose control and insulin response.
One 24-week study, for example, showed that overweight adults who replaced diet sodas with water as part of a weight-loss programme experienced a decrease in insulin resistance and lower levels of blood glucose and insulin after fasting.
So drink plenty of water, at least 2 to 4 litres, a day to stop diabetes developing.
Make sure you avoid the sugar-filled sodas and energy drinks. Instead, when you need a pick up or energy booster, go for coffee or tea.
Coffee and tea contain polyphenols, antioxidants that may protect against diabetes. Green tea also contains epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a unique antioxidant that has been shown to reduce the release of blood sugar from the liver and to increase insulin sensitivity.
Several studies have shown that drinking coffee on a daily basis reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by anywhere from 8 to 54%. The greatest reduction in risk is seen in those who drink the most.
An analysis of several studies, that included tea as well as coffee, found similar results. This review also showed that the risk of developing diabetes was reduced the most in women (of all sizes) and overweight men.
So it's plenty of water, tea and coffee for pre-diabetics who wish to avoid developing diabetes.
[11] Take a daily nutritional supplement
The term nutritional supplement covers micro-nutrients such as vitamins, dietary minerals and fatty acids.
Vitamins are vital for health. All vitamins fall into one of two main groups... water-soluble or fat-soluble.
Water-soluble ... are all the B vitamins plus vitamin C. These vitamins are not stored in your body and you get rid of excess quantities in your urine. Thus they cannot build up to toxic levels in your body.
Fat-soluble ... are vitamins A, D, E and K. To absorb these vitamins, you need a little fat in your diet. Any excess amounts are stored in your body fat so they could, theoretically, build up to toxic levels. But this is extremely rare.
Minerals are divided into two groups... major minerals and trace minerals.
Major minerals are the minerals you need in amounts of 100 milligrams (mg) or more each day. These minerals are calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulphur, potassium, sodium, and chloride.
Trace minerals are needed in amounts of less than 100mg each day. Trace minerals include iron, iodine, zinc, fluoride, selenium, copper, chromium, manganese, and molybdenum.
Minerals are used in a variety of processes. For example, your body uses calcium to make bones and teeth, and iron to make the haemoglobin in your red blood cells.
Although the functions of all vitamins and dietary minerals are not yet fully understood by scientists, and even though the results of clinical tests often contradict each other, a daily dietary supplement should help prevent your pre-diabetes developing into diabetes.
Here's what you need to take on a daily basis:

• Multivitamin • to make sure all your nutritional needs are covered
• Vitamin B12 (4mcg) in a separate tablet • for the health of your nervous system as your pre-diabetes is likely to be affecting your nerves already
• Calcium (400mg) plus vitamin D (2.5mcg) together in a separate tablet • to ensure the health of your bones
• High-strength cod-liver oil capsule with vitamins D and E, in a separate capsule • to make sure you ingest adequate amounts of the essential fatty acids omega 3 and omega 6

There is an emphasis on vitamin D because this vitamin is important for good control over your blood glucose.

A variety of studies show that persons who have too little vitamin D in their bloodstream are at a greater risk of all type of diabetes. One study found that persons with the highest levels of vitamin D in their blood were 43% less likely to develop diabetes compared to persons with the lowest levels.
Most health organisations recommend maintaining a vitamin D blood level of at least 75nmol/l (30ng/ml).
Controlled studies have shown that when people who are deficient in vitamin D take supplements, their blood glucose levels normalise and their risk of developing diabetes is reduced significantly.
[12] Add natural herbs to your diet
The internet is full of claims, mostly spurious, that certain herbs can prevent your pre-diabetes from developing into the full-blown version of the disease. Here are a few of the more credible claims:
Cinnamon ... is a highly-aromatic spice with a very distinctive flavour. It is used in traditional medicine to treat a variety of medical conditions, apparently with some success.
Reports on the internet suggest that cinnamon can cut fasting glucose levels by up to 30%, so I began sprinkling one large teaspoon on my porridge (oatmeal) in the morning. Within a few days, my average glucose levels on awaking had dropped by nearly 0.5mmol/l (9mg/l) or about 8%, quite a bit short of 30%... a significant reduction nonetheless.
So it seems to me that this spice, in the form of ground powder you can buy from your local supermarket, can help you improve your blood glucose levels and thus help prevent your pre-diabetes developing into diabetes.
Bitter melon... aka bitter gourd or karela (in India), is a unique vegetable-fruit that can be used as a food or medicine. It is often recommended for the control of diabetes.
A number of clinical studies have shown that bitter melon is effective in improving blood glucose levels, increasing the secretion of insulin and decreasing insulin resistance.
In January 2011, for example, the results of a four-week clinical trial were published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, which showed that a 2,000 mg daily dose of bitter melon significantly reduced blood glucose levels among patients with type 2 diabetes. However the hypoglycemic effect was less than that of a 1,000 mg per day dose of metformin, a popular diabetes medication.
Although it may be of some help in preventing your pre-diabetes getting worse, bitter melon needs to be treated with care as it has been associated with miscarriages and induced abortions in animals... it should be avoided if you are pregnant or want to get pregnant.
Curcumin ... is a component of turmeric, one of the main ingredients in curries. It has strong anti-inflammatory properties and has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries.
Research shows that curcumin can help reduce inflammatory markers in persons with pre-diabetes.
In a controlled 9-month study of 240 pre-diabetic adults, none of those who took 750mg of curcumin per day developed diabetes, but over 16% of the control group did. The study also noted that insulin sensitivity amongst those who took curcumin increased, as did the functioning of their insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.
Thus the benefits of curcumin in decreasing insulin resistance and reducing the risk that pre-diabetics will develop full blown diabetes appear to be well proven.
Berberine ... is an alkaloid extracted from various plants used in traditional Chinese medicine. It is proven to have anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic effects. It works by reducing the production of glucose in the liver and increasing insulin sensitivity.
An amalgamation of 14 studies of human and animal research has shown that 1,500mg of berberine, taken in three doses of 500mg each, is equally effective as taking 1,500mg of metformin or 4mg glibenclamide, two popular pharmaceuticals for treating type 2 diabetes. Berberine is one of the few supplements shown to be as effective as conventional diabetes drugs.
Berberine, however, can interact with other medications and caution needs to be exercised... ask your doctor before you try to use it to prevent your pre-diabetes getting worse.
Caveat (1): Spurious claims that certain supplements can cure or prevent diseases abound on the internet. However there are a few reliable sites that contain research-tested information. These are mainly connected to reputable universities, medical schools and teaching hospitals.
Caveat (2): Some herbs and supplements may interact with your diabetes medication (including insulin) and cause excessively low blood glucose. So check with your doctor before using them.
Conclusion
Pre-diabetes can develop into full-blown diabetes very quickly if you do nothing about it. And the medical consequences of diabetes are very serious indeed.
So take your pre-diabetes seriously and deal with it as outlined above... this will enable you to live a pleasant and fruitful life.

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Prevent-Pre-Diabetes-From-Getting-Worse&id=9836200

Recipe: Low Carb Cranberry Orange Shortbread

From asweetlife.org

For me, shortbread is the ultimate Christmas cookie. And this delicious low carb Cranberry Orange cookie is easy and perfect for sharing. You can freeze the dough ahead of time so it’s ready whenever you need it.
Unsweetened dried cranberries are tough to find but some places do carry the freeze dried kind, which work well for this. Trader Joe’s and Amazon are good places to get them.
But if you really can’t find them and don’t want to make your own, sub in 1/2 cup of finely chopped fresh cranberries. Whether they are fresh or dried, chopping the cranberries is important to being able to slice the shortbread more easily!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• Sweetener equivalent to 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 3/4 cup almond flour
• 2 tbsp coconut flour
• 2 tsp grated orange zest
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp orange extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup sugar-free dried cranberries, finely chopped

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sweetener together until lightened and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the almond flour, coconut flour, orange zest, vanilla extract, orange extract, and salt until well combined. Stir in the chopped cranberries.
2. Divide the dough between two sheets of waxed paper and roll the two section into logs about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap tightly in the waxed paper and freeze at least one hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 325°F and line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners. Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into 1/4 inch slices. Place on the prepared baking sheets.
4. Bake 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a flat bottomed glass to press down slightly to flatten. Bake another 10 to 13 minutes, until golden brown.

Yield: Makes about 40 cookies (2 per serving)

Cholesterol: 12mg

Food energy: 102 kcal

Total fat: 9.28g

Calories from fat: 83

Carbohydrate: 2.87g

Protein per serving: 2.26g

Total dietary fibre: 1.44g

https://asweetlife.org/low-carb-cranberry-orange-shortbread/?utm_source=ASweetLife.org+List&utm_campaign=188994cf9d-ASweetLife+Weekly+Update++-+Nov.+14%2C+2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5125b14cf8-188994cf9d-413392997

9 Foods You Should Never Eat If You Have Diabetes

From prevention.com

For those who don’t have diabetes, nibbling a cookie here or some French fries there isn’t a big deal. Those unhealthy treats may run counter to your diet or weight-loss goals, but eating them isn’t the end of the world. For diabetics, on the other hand, one too many slip-ups could carry potentially life-threatening consequences.
“It’s hard to say exactly what’s okay and what’s not because every patient with diabetes is a little different, and every patient’s tolerance for carbohydrates is different,” says Matthew Freeby, MD, director of the Gonda Diabetes Centre at UCLA Health. “But if a patient eats enough carbohydrates that the pancreas is unable to produce insulin to drive blood sugar down, that’s what we worry about.”
As Freeby’s comment suggests, carbohydrates—a macronutrient group that includes sugar—pose the greatest threat to diabetics. Foods heavy in protein and fat, on the other hand, “tend to be the ones we have patients gravitate toward,” he explains.
What exactly is Freeby worried about? Too-high or too-low blood sugar levels—known as hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia, respectively—can lead to symptoms like nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, a rapid heartbeat, dizziness, or confusion. In extreme cases, high or low blood sugar could lead to unconsciousness and death.
If you’re diabetic and you experience any of the above symptoms (or a handful of others), it’s time to get your doctor on the phone—or head to the ER.
Which foods are most likely to get diabetics into trouble? Keep reading.

1 Soda

While there’s a small mountain of evidence linking diet soda to larger waistlines and other health concerns, regular soda is a much greater threat to those with diabetes. “When patients ask about what they should avoid, one of the top things I recommend are sugar-sweetened beverages,” says Angela Ginn-Meadow, a registered dietician and certified diabetes educator with the University of Maryland’s Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology.
A single 12-ounce can of Coca Cola contains 39 grams of sugar. To put that in perspective, the American Heart Association recommends that healthy adult males keep their TOTAL daily sugar intake to 36 grams. For women, the recommendation is 25 grams. Also, because a liquid can be consumed much more quickly than most foods, pounding a large glass of soda is one of the easiest ways to overload your system and send your blood sugar levels soaring. Sports drinks and bottled teas are also major sources of sugar.

2 Fruit juice

“As much as we think of fruit juice as healthy, they are primarily sugar,” Ginn-Meadow says. And for diabetics—and the rest of us, actually—there doesn’t seem to be a big difference between consuming sugar in the form of soda or in the form of fruit juice. Both are unhealthy. If that surprises you, consider that 12 ounces of two popular store-bought orange juices—Tropicana and Florida's Natural—contain 33 grams of sugar. Fresh squeezed, unpasteurized OJ isn’t any less sugar-rich, according to USDA nutrient estimates.

3 Donuts and bagels

“Many of my patients with diabetes think about sugar as being the worst thing that’s impacting their blood sugar, but it’s really about carbohydrates,” Freeby says. “I tell them to look at nutrition labels for the total carbohydrate content, not just the sugar content.” Donuts and bagels made with refined and processed grains are major sources of blood-sugar-spiking carbs, he says.

For example: One plain “old fashioned” donut from Dunkin Donuts contains 28g of carbohydrates—the same amount found in 8.5 ounces of Coca Cola. One Dunkin Donut maple vanilla crème donut? You don’t want to know. (Except you do, right? It packs 43g of carbs.) Maybe most surprising, one plain Einstein Bros. bagel contains 56g carbs.

4 French fries

Freeby says that “starchy” vegetables like potatoes and corn are major sources of carbohydrates, and so need to be eaten sparingly or avoided. Turn potatoes into French fries, and the health risks are often compounded. Medium-sized fries from McDonald’s contain 44g carbs. A medium fry at Wendy’s? You’re dropping 56g of carbs into your system.

5 Store-bought pie

Pies. Cakes. Cookies. All of these popular dessert foods tend to be loaded with sugar and made with refined grains—making them big hunks of carbohydrate, Freeby says. Even worse: If you’re buying store-bought treats, many contain trans fats, which further increase your risk for unhealthy outcomes, Ginn-Meadow says. “People with diabetes are at increased risk for heart disease, and trans fat raises total cholesterol and lowers healthy HDL cholesterol,” she explains. “So you want to limit your intake of trans fats.”

6 Speciality coffee drinks

While there’s not much wrong with a cup of joe, many of the sweetened drinks popular at nationwide coffee chains are absolutely loaded with sugar, Ginn-Meadow says. That Starbucks “peppermint mocha” drink you love this time of year? It contains a whopping 63g carbs and 54g sugar. A skim milk “caramel swirl” latte at Dunkin Donuts contains 55g carbs, all of them from sugar.

7 Candy

Sure, this is an obvious one. But unless you’re sticking to sugar-free gum, almost all candy is chock full of sugar. “The more sugar you consume in a concentrated amount, the more your blood sugar is affected,” Ginn-Meadow says. And few things you could put in your mouth contain more concentrated doses of sugar than candy.

8 Bread

Again, carbohydrates are a diabetic's nemesis. And refined, heavily processed breads are a significant source of carbs. “If you’re going out to eat, the bread basket should go right back to the kitchen,” Ginn-Meadow says.
Freebie agrees. But he says whole-grain breads—because they take more time to digest—are safer options. Look for whole grain or “sprouted” breads. You’ll want to check the bread’s label to make sure a whole grain is the first thing named on the ingredients list.

9 Dried fruit

As much as he feels that whole fruit is a healthy and important addition to a person’s diet, Freebie says diabetics need to be careful. “Fruit has a lot of great vitamins and nutrients, but they also contain a lot of carbohydrates that make blood sugar rise,” he explains. If you’re going to pick one type to eat, he says berries tend to raise blood sugar less than fruits like grapes or melon.

Dried fruit, on the other hand, is really risky, Ginn-Meadow says. “Dried fruit contains very concentrated amounts of carbs and sugar, so you really have to watch out for your portion sizes,” she says. A small handful of raisins can contain as much sugar and carbs as a whole bowl of grapes.

https://www.prevention.com/food/foods-to-avoid-with-diabetes

Loneliness Has a Surprising Link to Type 2 Diabetes

From reachmd.com


A recent study discovered an intriguing relationship between social isolation and the development of type 2 diabetes, suggesting that having a smaller network of friends could possibly make us prone to the illness.
As with any such research, the precise nature of this link isn't clear. But it's as good a reason as any to reach out and make sure those isolated and alone this Christmas know they have friends to share the holiday with.
While type 1 diabetes is a lifelong auto-immune disease that typically develops in childhood, type 2 diabetes refers to the body's increasing resistance to insulin, which can develop at any age and slowly progress.
While we know of various genetic and lifestyle factors that can raise the risk of its onset, the exact mechanisms are still unknown.
Past investigations have explored the links between social structures and type 2 diabetes, looking for clues in factors such as stress and emotional support that could help us improve lifestyle decisions.
While it seems fairly clear that there's some kind of link, and intervention can be of benefit, there are still questions over which social elements play a crucial role in the relationship.
Researchers at Maastricht University Medical Centre in the Netherlands made use of an existing study's database of individuals with type 2 diabetes to determine exactly what features of isolation might be linked with the condition.
They analysed 2,861 subjects aged between 40 and 75, about a third of which were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes either previously or as part of the study.
Characteristics of their social groups were collected through a questionnaire, giving researchers a range of details on their friend network's size, the frequency of contact, and how far away they lived.
They discovered that having a smaller network was highly associated with a new or previous diagnosis of type 2 diabetes among both men and women.

It was also found that the proximity of friends, family, and acquaintances made a difference for women – having nearby people to hang out with meant they were less likely to have a diagnosis.
For men, living alone seemed to make a big difference - those who had housemates were also less likely to have type 2 diabetes.
"Our findings support the idea that resolving social isolation may help prevent the development of type 2 diabetes," says Stephanie Brinkhues from Maastricht University, the study's lead author.
What does it all mean? Diabetes isn't the only long-term disorder connected to social isolation, and it's unlikely that such health conditions are themselves responsible for the isolation.
The underlying reasons behind the link aren't known. But the authors believe the implications are still clear.
"High-risk groups for type 2 diabetes should broaden their network and should be encouraged to make new friends, as well as become members of a club, such as a volunteer organization, sports club, or discussion group," advises Maastricht University diabetes researcher, Miranda Schram.
"In addition, social network size and participation in social activities may eventually be used as indicators of diabetes risk."
Healthcare is a two-way street - we can do more to help those in need as well. So this Christmas, maybe reach out to a lonely neighbour.
It's not only a nice gesture, it could help save their health.
This research was published in BMC Public Health.

https://reachmd.com/news/loneliness-has-a-surprising-link-to-type-2-diabetes/1612029/

Could socialization help us to steer clear of diabetes?

From medicalnewstoday.com

A new study from Maastricht University has revealed that socially isolated people are more at risk of type 2 diabetes. So, could an active social life help us to avoid some of the risk factors for this condition?
Recently, researchers have focused on how our social ties can influence our bodily, as well as mental, health.
Over the past few months, Medical News Today have reported that maintaining close friendships can help to keep mental decline at bay, and that quality of life is improved by exercising as part of a group.
A new study from Maastricht University Medical Centre in the Netherlands has now revealed that being socially active correlates with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.
"High-risk groups for type 2 diabetes should broaden their network and should be encouraged to make new friends, as well as become members of a club, such as a volunteer organization, sports club, or discussion group," urges study co-author Dr. Miranda Schram.
She adds that "men living alone seem to be at a higher risk for the development of type 2 diabetes, [so] they should become recognized as a high-risk group in healthcare. In addition, social network size and participation in social activities may eventually be used as indicators of diabetes risk."
The study's findings were published yesterday in the journal BMC Public Health.
The researchers analyzed medical data from 2,861 adults aged between 40 and 75 years, all of whom were participants in The Maastricht Study, which is a large observational cohort study looking at the genetic and environmental risk factors involved in the development of type 2 diabetes.
Of these, 1,623 did not have diabetes, 430 had prediabetes (meaning that their blood sugar levels were abnormal but not yet high enough to be classed as diabetes), 111 had very been recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and 697 participants had a pre-existing diabetes diagnosis.

Social isolation associated with diabetes

The researchers found an intriguing correlation between the participants' social lives and how likely they were to be diagnosed with diabetes, which led them to ponder the potential relationship between socialization and the risk of developing this metabolic disease.
Brinkhues and team found that the participants who did not join in with club activities or associate with any social groups were 60 percent more likely to have prediabetes.
Women who did not participate in social activities were 112 percent more likely to have type 2 diabetes, while socially isolated men had a 42 percent higher chance of having the disease.
The team also found significant links between the loss of friends and social acquaintances and the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes. More specifically, the loss of each social contact was associated with 12 percent higher odds of newly diagnosed diabetes.
Moreover, taking an average network size of 10 people, the researchers noted that each 10 percent "drop in network members living within walking distance" of each other was linked to a 21 percent higher risk of newly diagnosed diabetes, and a 9 percent higher chance of previously diagnosed diabetes in female participants.
"Every additional 10 percent of the network that was a household member," the study authors write, was also associated with higher odds of newly diagnosed or existing type 2 diabetes in women, as well as men.
Finally, men who lived alone had a 59 percent higher chance of prediabetes, an 84 percent higher chance of newly diagnosed diabetes, and a 94 percent higher chance of an existing diagnosis of the condition.
No such association was noted in the case of women who lived alone.
However, they note that the causality may lie in either direction. It may be that people experiencing the early symptoms of an impaired glucose metabolism — including fatigue and a general sense of unwellness — may feel less motivated to go out, participate in social activities, and keep in touch with their friends and acquaintances.
"The study is cross-sectional in nature, and therefore, the possibility of reverse causality cannot be excluded," the authors caution.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320403.php

Type 2 Diabetes and Depression

From diabetes.org

The challenges of type 2 diabetes can be frustrating. But if feeling overwhelmed turns into depression, getting help is a must

By Marijke Vroomen-Durning, RN

Medically Reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

Chronic illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes, may cause more than physical problems. Dealing with a disease like type 2 diabetes means constantly being aware of what you eat, what you do, and how you live. And adjusting to life with diabetes does take effort. Yet even after you’ve adjusted, there may be times when the stress of a daily illness just gets you down.
Most people feel blue from time to time. But depression isn’t just feeling sad or blue. Depression is a serious disorder that interferes with your life. If depression symptoms become severe, they may make it difficult to function well and manage daily activities like going to school or work, meeting family obligations, and monitoring your blood glucose.

Depression and Diabetes: Who Is Affected

According to statistics, depression affects people with diabetes more often than people without it — up to 15 percent compared with 6.7 percent in the general population. When depression occurs along with a chronic illness like type 2 diabetes, the symptoms tend to hit harder and be more severe. Compounding the problem further, the symptoms of the chronic illness can become worse if depression leads you to miss medication doses, overeat, or skip exercise. This could set off a downward cycle. For people with diabetes, this may mean poorer blood glucose control, which, in turn, means more long-term health complications.
Researchers aren’t entirely clear on the relationship between diabetes and depression — is depression caused by diabetes, or do people who are already prone to developing depression experience it more severely if they also have type 2 diabetes? Whatever the connection, both illnesses need to be treated.
The good news is that both depression and type 2 diabetes can improve when treated simultaneously. A recent study published in the Annals of Family Medicine found that of 180 patients who received primary care for both conditions, nearly 36 percent showed improvements in blood sugar, and 31 percent experienced fewer depression symptoms.

Depression and Diabetes: Know the Symptoms

How do you know if you’re depressed? If even just a few of these symptoms describe how you are feeling, talk to your doctor or diabetes nurse:

• Feeling hopeless, helpless, worthless, empty, sad
• Being irritable or restless
• Unable or unwilling to work on hobbies or outside interests that you used to enjoy
• Unable to perform sexually
• Insomnia, fatigue, or excessive sleepiness
• Inability to concentrate or make decisions
• Loss of appetite or overeating
• Physical symptoms like pain, cramps, and headaches
• Thoughts of or attempts at suicide

Depression and Diabetes: Getting Help

There is help available for depression. Sometimes, the only treatment needed is psychotherapy, also called talk therapy. Ask your diabetes doctor for a referral to a therapist who works with people who have type 2 diabetes or other chronic illnesses and can give you positive suggestions to keep from being overwhelmed by the challenges of caring for yourself.
Medication may be helpful if counselling alone isn’t effective enough. A psychiatrist is the only mental health practitioner who can prescribe drugs and treat you with therapy as well. Make sure that the doctor prescribing the medication knows that you have type 2 diabetes and has a list of all medications you’re already taking. Avoid self-treatment with over-the-counter, “natural” products or supplements for depression unless you’ve checked with your diabetes team first.
Sometimes, all that’s needed is a bit of help and understanding. If your physical problems are triggering the depression, you need to get your blood sugar under control and take charge of your life to minimize the effects of diabetes on your depression. And when needed, medical assistance may be helpful in getting you back on track, enjoying life, and doing the things you love.

https://community.diabetes.org/discuss/viewtopic/3/13387?post_id=141394

Doctor’s Tip: It’s important to diagnose and reverse pre-diabetes

From postindependent.com

There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 is an autoimmune disease that usually strikes at a young age and is not associated with obesity. Type 2 is more common and is usually related to "central obesity" (extra weight around the mid-section). Today's discussion is about type 2 diabetes.

None of us wants to get diabetes, because it leads to the following complications:

• cardiovascular disease (heart attacks and strokes), the most common cause of death in the U.S.

• kidney damage, which can result in kidney failure.

• eye damage, which can result in blindness.

• nerve damage, which can result in chronic numbness and pain in the legs and feet.

Sadly, due to American obesity epidemic, type 2 diabetes is becoming more prevalent in adults and is even occurring in overweight children. And as we export the S.A.D. (standard American diet), type 2 diabetes is becoming a worldwide epidemic.

Type 2 diabetes is preceded by pre-diabetes, which unfortunately often goes undiagnosed for years. Measure your waist at the point of largest circumference, which is usually at your belly button (note that this is not your belt size). If you are a man and your waist circumference is 40 inches or greater, or if you are a woman and the measurement is 35 inches or greater (the cut-off is lower if you are Asian or East Indian), you almost certainly have insulin resistance/pre-diabetes. Even if your waist circumference is less than the cut-off numbers, you probably have pre-diabetes if you look at your naked profile in the mirror and see even a small "belly."

If you have even mild central obesity, then you have what's called visceral fat, which is fat around your internal organs (and often in your organs as well as your muscles and other tissues). Humans are not meant to have visceral fat, which causes insulin resistance (IR), meaning that your tissues can't use insulin like they should. Your pancreas tries to compensate by pumping out more insulin, and eventually it wears out and diabetes is diagnosed.

The problem with pre-diabetes is that it causes the same complications that diabetes does. If caught early, pre-diabetes can be reversed through lifestyle modification and/or medications. Pre-diabetes is often not caught early because providers rely on the fasting blood sugar or A1C (a test that measures the blood sugar trend over the previous 3 months). A person can have pre-diabetes for years before the fasting blood sugar becomes alarming, and the A1C is a poor test for diagnosing diabetes or pre-diabetes (its value is monitoring people who have diabetes).

In their book "Beat the Heart Attack Gene," Bale and Doneen point out that IR is the driver of 70 percent of heart attacks. If IR is a possibility, you should have a 2 hour glucose tolerance test, which involves fasting for 12 hours, drinking a 75 gram sugar load in the lab, and having a blood sugar drawn 1 and 2 hours afterwards. If the 1 hour value is greater than 124 or the 2 hour greater than 119, IR is present and needs to be treated aggressively and hopefully reversed. Another marker for IR is high triglycerides (150 or greater), especially if associated with low HDL ( "good cholesterol," which should be greater than 40 in males and post-menopausal females; greater than 50 in pre-menopausal females).

Request a two-hour glucose tolerance test if you have any of the following conditions: central obesity (even mild); family history of diabetes or heart disease; heart disease yourself, especially history of a heart attack or stroke; even mild elevation of fasting glucose (normal is in the 70s or 80s or the very low 90s); high triglycerides and/or low HDL; hypertension; sleep apnea; or fatty liver disease (often manifested by mild-to-moderate elevation of liver tests on a chemistry panel).

The S.A.D. — which is high in animal products, oils, refined food and sugar — promotes obesity, pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes. The best way to prevent and reverse these conditions is regular exercise and a plant-based, whole food (unprocessed) diet without sugar or added oil. If you're not willing to make these changes, medications are available, but can have side effects and are much less effective.

https://www.postindependent.com/news/local/be-sure-to-diagnosis-reverse-pre-diabetes/

Russian scientists developed new approaches to treating diabetes

From eurekalert.org

A team of scientists from the Ural Federal University and Ural Department of the Russian Academy of Sciences) modelled type 1 diabetes in an experiment to study recovery processes in the pancreas

A team of scientists from the Ural Federal University (UrFU) and the Institute of Immunology and Physiology (IIP, Ural Department of the Russian Academy of Sciences) modelled type 1 diabetes in an experiment to study recovery processes in the pancreas. The results of the study will help develop new approaches to treating diabetes. The article by the researchers was published in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy magazine.
"We decided to create new approaches to prevention and treatment of diabetes by using synthesized anti-diabetic chemical compounds. It was important for us to understand the mode of their action on cell, tissue, organ, and body levels," -- said Irina Danilova, the author of the research, the manager of a grant from the Russian Science Foundation, doctor of biology, head of the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics of UrFU, and head of the morphology and biochemistry lab at the Ural Department of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Type 1 diabetes is a serious chronic disease caused by termination of insulin production in the pancreas which leads to increased levels of blood sugar and gradual damage of different organs and tissues. For example, high levels of glucose in blood activate oxidative stress -- damage of protein, lipid, and DNA molecules by free radicals. Another notable tissue damage mechanism associated with diabetes is nonenzymatic glycosilation (glycation) of proteins. In the course of this process glucose interacts with amino groups of proteins without the participation of enzymes. In healthy people this reaction is slow, but if the level of blood sugar is high glycation speeds up and causes irreversible damage to tissues.
Patients with type 1 diabetes need daily injections of insulin. Scientists are interested in finding a chemical compound that would activate regeneration processes in cells damaged by free radicals. To do so, they decided to study the potential of the compounds that are able to eliminate both metabolic (oxidative stress and protein glycation) and immunological (inflammatory response) disorders associated with diabetes.
First of all, they selected heterocyclic compounds of 1,3,4-thiadiazine synthesized in UrFU in the Department of Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry under the guidance of Oleg Chupakhin (Russian Academy of Sciences, full member). These substances have anti-oxidizing and anti-glycation properties. Then the researchers tested the compounds on lab rats with diabetes.
"We tried to eliminate the disorders associated with diabetes using derivative substances of 1,3,4-thiadiazine. As a result, the levels of glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin in the blood of the rats decreased, and the level of insulin went up. The compounds that block the aforementioned pathogenetic mechanism may potentially be turned into medicinal drugs for the treatment of this socially significant disease," -- concluded Irina Danilova.

https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-12/ufu-rsd121117.php

Regular take-aways linked to kids’ heart disease and diabetes risk factors

From bmj.com

Kids who regularly eat take-away meals may be boosting their risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, suggests research published online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
And they are also more likely to be consuming too many calories and fewer vitamins and minerals than kids who eat home cooked food, the findings indicate.
In the UK, the consumption of ‘take-aways’ rose by more than a quarter between 1996 and 2006 alone, a pattern of behaviour that has been made even easier with the advent of online apps and dedicated meal delivery services, say the researchers.
The available evidence indicates that among adults, a high take-away count is associated with poorer quality diet, more body fat, and a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. And the researchers wanted to find out if a similar diet in kids might be storing up similar problems.
They therefore quizzed 1948 ethnically diverse 9-10 year olds from 85 primary schools in London, Birmingham, and Leicester about their usual diets, including the source of their meals, and how often they ate take-aways.
The schools were part of the Child Heart And health Study in England (CHASE), which looked at the potential prompts for heart disease and diabetes risk factors in pre-teens from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds.
Photos of common foods were used to aid the children’s recall and estimate portion size. Energy density and nutrient levels of the foods eaten were calculated from their responses.
The children’s height, weight, waist circumference, skinfold thickness, and body fat composition (bioelectrical impedance) were all measured. Their blood pressure was taken, as well as a blood sample to discover levels of circulating blood fats (total and low:high density cholesterol).
Their parents also filled in questionnaires on their employment status and job roles. Around a quarter of them were in managerial/professional posts, with a similar proportion in clerical/admin roles (intermediate occupations). Some 29 per cent did routine/manual jobs, while 16 per cent were either unemployed or home makers.
One in four children (499; 26%) said they never or rarely ate take-away meals; nearly half (894; 46%) said they ate a take-away less than once a week; and 555 (28%) said they ate this type of meal at least once a week.
Boys were more frequent consumers of take-aways than girls as were children from less affluent backgrounds.
There were no differences in blood pressure or insulin resistance between those who regularly ate take-aways and those who didn’t.
But skinfold thickness, body fat composition, and blood fats all tended to be higher in regular consumers of take-aways. The differences in blood fats were similar across all ethnic groups.
The foods eaten were more energy dense while protein and starch intakes were lower among regular consumers of take-aways, and intakes of vitamin C, iron, calcium and folate were also lower.
If this dietary pattern were to be sustained, it could store up subsequent health problems, warn the researchers.
A separate analysis, comparing the nutrient intake of the previous evening’s meal in relation to its source, showed that take-aways were more energy dense, and contained more fat and saturated fat than meals prepared at home.
This is an observational study so no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect, and further research would be needed to explore causal links, caution the researchers.
But they point out: “The higher total cholesterol and LDL [low density or ‘bad’] cholesterol concentrations observed in the frequent take away meal group, if sustained, are sufficiently large to increase long term [coronary heart disease] risk by around 10%.”
And they go on to say: “These results suggest that further increases in take away meal consumption (and marketing directed at encouraging such increases) are likely to have adverse public health consequences and should be actively discouraged.
“The government should be considering health protection initiatives to reverse the current trends in take away meal consumption, in the context of broader efforts to improve childhood diet and nutrition in home and school settings.”

http://www.bmj.com/company/newsroom/regular-take-aways-linked-to-kids-heart-disease-and-diabetes-risk-factors/

Breakfast Can Help Protect You Against Diabetes

From floridahospital.com

You’ve heard it before: breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Aside from fuelling your body for the day ahead, breakfast can curb cravings and help you maintain a healthy weight. Now, we’re learning that breakfast has even more up its sleeve.
Scientists recently discovered that eating breakfast every morning can actually help fight type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. And even though breakfast adds to your total caloric intake for the day, its metabolic benefits outweigh any potential negatives.
Here’s how it works: eating breakfast causes fat cells to use up more sugar rather than storing it, helping to regulate insulin.
In the study, a small group of people – 29 lean and 20 obese – were given the option of fasting until midday or eating a daily breakfast of their choosing. The breakfast group consumed at least 350 calories within two hours of waking up, and 700 total calories by 11 a.m. In both groups, a range of metabolic functions were measured before and after the study, and fat cells were biopsied to get a closer-than-ever look at the precise effect that eating breakfast (or not) had on their bodies.
Researchers found that in participants with normal weights, eating breakfast increased the amount of sugar the cells used up and positively changed the activity of genes involved in insulin resistance and fat metabolism.
These findings help bolster previous research that showed breakfast contributes to better glucose control in fat cells. Taken together, these studies make a serious case for breakfast.
For the participants that were considered clinically obese, the findings were a bit more complicated. The more body fat a participant had, the less their fat cells responded to insulin. Meanwhile, fasting also appeared to increase the activity of genes involved in inflammation.
The bottom line: more research may be needed to fully understand how a morning meal affects different body weights, as well as the metabolic impacts of different foods. But for most of us, the study is even more reason to bring on the breakfast.

Yummy & Healthy Breakfast Recipes to Try

Has all this science convinced you to make breakfast a morning must? Here are two fast, easy recipes that are as healthy as they are delicious.

Microwave Black Forest Oatmeal

If you love sweets but not all the calories, this one’s for you. Wake up with this light, energy-packed take on Black Forest Cake to jumpstart your day.
Serves: 1
Ingredients:
¼ cup steel-cut (five-minute) oatmeal
½ tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
8–10 dried cherries
⅔ cup liquid of choice (water, milk, almond milk)
Directions:

1. Add dry ingredients to Mason-type jar; shake to mix.
2. Add liquid, cover. You can make several and refrigerate until ready to cook.
3. Microwave 60 seconds, stir and continue to microwave another 30–60 seconds.
4. Microwaves vary, so you may need to experiment a little to get the timing right.

Simple Spinach & Feta Omelette

This savoury Mediterranean treat ticks all the boxes of a healthy, balanced breakfast, with protein, veggies and dairy to start the day right.
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
4–5 eggs, beaten (if you’re watching your cholesterol, substitute egg whites)
½ cup spinach, chopped
2 tbsp. feta cheese, crumbled
Cooking spray or oil
Optional: Chopped tomatoes, diced onion, sliced mushrooms – the more veggies, the better!
Directions:

1. Heat skillet over medium–low heat.
2. Lightly beat eggs with a dash of milk or water. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
3. Spray skillet with cooking spray and pour in the eggs, making sure they fully cover the bottom. Cook 1–2 minutes.
4. Place spinach, feta and any other veggies in centre of the eggs. Cook 2–3 more minutes, until edges begin to curl.
5. Using a spatula, fold omelette in half and continue cooking until cheese is melted.

https://www.floridahospital.com/blog/breakfast-can-help-protect-you-against-diabetes

14 tips for preventing type 2 diabetes in children

From scnow.com

Thirty years ago, type 2 diabetes was rare in children. Now, unfortunately, it is commonplace.

This is partially due to lifestyle choices where convenience has become the norm. Fast food is available on every corner, we don’t walk far for anything, and active outdoor playtime has given way to cellphones and tablets, video-game systems and TV screen time.

These unhealthy choices have led to endemic sedentary routines and a rise in weight gain, obesity and type 2 diabetes. Many parents are aware of these issues but might find it difficult to figure out lasting solutions.

With the holidays in full swing and many families sharing time off together, it is the perfect opportunity to work on a family plan for a healthier new year.

Try some of these tips to improve your family’s health:

>> 1. Set the schedule: Establish schedules for meals, snacks, exercise time and sleep. Inadequate sleep contributes to higher than normal blood sugars. Check out sleepforkids.org to see how much sleep your child needs.

>> 2. Plan the meals: Know what a balanced meal looks like and what size portions you should be enjoying. Go to myplate.gov for healthy meal ideas like increasing fruits and veggies in your family’s diet and one meatless meal per week.

>> 3. Include the kids: Make time for a weekly family meal-planning meeting that involves the kids. Discuss choosing meals and snacks, grocery shopping and meal preparation.

>> 4. Share the moment: Enjoy a meal together at least once a day. TVs, tablets and phones are not invited!

>> 5. Healthy options: Limit junk food and sugary drinks to occasional treats. Provide healthy snack alternatives like fruit, unsalted nuts and air-popped popcorn. Keep the candy, cookies and salty snacks out of the house altogether.

>> 6. Hydrate: Drink plenty of water. Rather than buying cases of plastic bottles every week, purchase a filtering pitcher, filters and a quality water bottle for each family member. This is a money saver!

>> 7. Fast food fix: Instead of depending on fast food for busy-day meals, plan ahead. Use the crock pot or pull something out of the freezer that you prepared ahead of time. If available in your area, take advantage of your grocery store’s curb side pick-up service and skip the fast food drive-thru.

>> 8. Reward substitutions: No more food rewards! Switch that candy bar treat for something else. Substitution ideas:

>> Gift cards for music downloads.

>> Sleepover party for friends.

>> Stickers.

>> Verbal praise.

>> Getting to choose new hairstyle.

>> 9. Monitoring screen time: Limit time spent on TV, computers, tablets and phones to two hours per day.

>> 10. Keep moving: Assign active chores like raking the yard, vacuuming and sweeping.

>> 11. Setting socials: On pretty days, play family games outdoors. Involve your neighbours! Invite friends and neighbours to walk, bike or play outdoor games. During bad weather, have family dance parties.

>> 12. Family fitness: Join a gym as a family. Set individual fitness goals and have friendly competitions to encourage each other.

>> 13. Have fun: Laugh a lot together! Research shows a relationship between negative moods in children and higher levels of blood sugar.

>> 14. Take a class: Learn about nutrition and healthy cooking by visiting a registered dietitian or taking a healthy cooking class such as the Department of Health and Environmental Control’s SNAP into Health or Cooking Matters.

In the beginning, some of these healthy lifestyle practices can feel like a lot of work, but after a few weeks, they will become healthy family habits and will reduce the risk of your children developing type 2 diabetes.

You will also make many happy family memories.

http://www.scnow.com/living/health/article_f92f9c70-dd30-11e7-b1e8-670eb19d348c.html

The effect of fresh fruit on type 2 diabetes

From diabetes.ca

When it comes to menu planning, fruits and vegetables are often lumped together. But no one knows for certain the long-term impact of eating fruit—which tends to contain more sugar than most vegetables—for people who have or are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
A new Chinese study offers some answers. Three times over the course of seven years, researchers interviewed half a million participants about their eating habits and other lifestyle behaviours, and also tested their blood sugar levels. The researchers found that people who said they ate fresh fruit daily were 12 per cent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes during the seven-year period than those who said they never or rarely ate fresh fruit.
Among people who already had diabetes at the start of the study, those who ate fresh fruit more than three days a week had a 17 per cent lower risk of dying from any cause, and 13 to 28 per cent lower risk of developing diabetes-related complications that affected small blood vessels (such as kidney, eye, and nerve diseases) and large blood vessels (such as heart disease and stroke) than those who ate fruit less than once a week.

The findings of this study, which were published in the April 2017 issue of PLOS Medicine, suggest that eating more fresh fruit is potentially beneficial for preventing and managing type 2 diabetes. However, the researchers cautioned that the effects of eating fruit can be difficult to distinguish from the effects of the participants’ other lifestyle behaviours and dietary habits.

http://www.diabetes.ca/publications-newsletters/diabetes-dialogue/autumn-2017/news/the-effect-of-fresh-fruit-on-type-2-diabetes

Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes: Do You Know the Difference?

From henryfordlivewell.com

How well do you know the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes? While the conditions may be similar, the causes and treatments for each are very different.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease often diagnosed in children, teens and young adults, although it can be diagnosed at any age. Type 2 diabetes, however, is more commonly diagnosed in those who are 45 years of age and older. In recent years, Type 2 diagnoses among younger people  have become more common than in the past.
“Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which your body is still making insulin, but your body is insulin resistant. Insulin is necessary for blood sugars to enter cells, so being insulin resistant means your body doesn’t handle blood sugars very well,” said Arti Bhan MD, an endocrinologist who specializes in diabetes care. “On the other hand, Type 1 diabetes is a condition in which your pancreas either does not make insulin at all, or doesn’t make enough insulin. This lack of insulin causes your blood sugars to elevate.”
To test your knowledge of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, see if you can answer these true and false questions correctly.

True or False? Insulin injections are only used to treat Type 1 Diabetes.
FALSE. “Someone with Type 1 diabetes will always require insulin injections, because their body produces little or no insulin, but someone with Type 2 diabetes may require insulin injections as part of their treatment plan as well,” said Eileen Labadie, Henry Ford Health System diabetes education specialist. “Type 2 diabetes is more commonly treated with healthy lifestyle modifications and medication, such as Metformin.”
True or False? Type 1 Diabetes is far less common than Type 2 diabetes.
TRUE. The estimates show that more than 29 million people have some form of diabetes, but Type 1 affects only around five percent of all people with diabetes in the United States.
In addition to the number of people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, there may be many more people with the condition who don't know they have it. The symptoms are often subtle and develop over several years, so the condition can go unnoticed for a long time.
“To avoid developing Type 2 diabetes, people should avoid processed foods and aim for 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week,” Dr. Bhan added.
She also recommends that those at risk for developing the disease should also know their “diabetes ABCs” – A stands for A1C level (results of a blood sugar or glucose test), B stands for blood pressure and C stands for cholesterol. You should also be mindful of the three S’s, which include smoking cessation, stress reduction and sleeping an adequate amount.
True or False? Someone with Type 1 Diabetes can consume as many sugar-free treats as they want, because sugar is what Type 1 diabetic patients need to avoid.
FALSE. “Sugar free does not always mean carbohydrate free,” said Labadie. “Sugar-free pies, candy and cakes may have other ingredients that contain a lot of calories and carbohydrates. While sugar is a form of carbohydrate, the first thing a patient with Type 1 diabetes should look at on a food label is total carbohydrates.”

http://www.henryfordlivewell.com/type-1-type-2-diabetes-difference/

Radical diet can reverse type 2 diabetes, new study shows

From theguardian.com

Low-calorie diet caused remission in 90% of trial patients who lost 15kg or more, even those who had been diabetic for six years, say researchers

A radical low-calorie diet can reverse type 2 diabetes, even six years into the disease, a new study has found.
The number of cases of type 2 diabetes is soaring, related to the obesity epidemic. Fat accumulated in the abdomen prevents the proper function of the pancreas. It can lead to serious and life-threatening complications, including blindness and foot amputations, heart and kidney disease.
A new study from Newcastle and Glasgow Universities shows that the disease can be reversed by losing weight, so that sufferers no longer have to take medication and are free of the symptoms and risks. Nine out of 10 people in the trial who lost 15kg (two-and-a-half stone) or more put their type 2 diabetes into remission.

Prof Roy Taylor from Newcastle University, lead researcher in the trial funded by Diabetes UK, said: “These findings are very exciting. They could revolutionise the way type 2 diabetes is treated. This builds on the work into the underlying cause of the condition, so that we can target management effectively.
“Substantial weight loss results in reduced fat inside the liver and pancreas, allowing these organs to return to normal function. What we’re seeing … is that losing weight isn’t just linked to better management of type 2 diabetes: significant weight loss could actually result in lasting remission.”
Worldwide, the number of people with type 2 diabetes has quadrupled over 35 years, rising from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. This is expected to climb to 642 million by 2040. Type 2 diabetes affects almost 1 in 10 adults in the UK and costs the NHS about £14bn a year.
Type 2 diabetes is usually treated with medication and in some cases, bariatric surgery to restrict stomach capacity, which has also been shown to reverse the disease.
“Rather than addressing the root cause, management guidelines for type 2 diabetes focus on reducing blood sugar levels through drug treatments. Diet and lifestyle are touched upon, but diabetes remission by cutting calories is rarely discussed,” said Taylor.
“A major difference from other studies is that we advised a period of dietary weight loss with no increase in physical activity, but during the long-term follow up increased daily activity is important. Bariatric surgery can achieve remission of diabetes in about three-quarters of people, but it is more expensive and risky, and is only available to a small number of patients.”
The trial results, published in the Lancet and presented at the International Diabetes Federation Congress in Abu Dhabi, show that after one year, participants had lost an average of 10kg, and nearly half had reverted to a non-diabetic state.
There were 298 adults on the trial aged 20–65, who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within the last six years, from 49 primary care practices in Scotland and Tyneside. Half of the practices put their patients on the very low calorie diet, while the rest were a control group, in which patients received usual care. Only 4% of the control group managed to achieve remission.
The diet was a formula of 825–853 calories per day for 3 to 5 months, followed by the stepped reintroduction of food over two to eight weeks. The participants were all given support throughout, including cognitive behaviour therapy and were encouraged to exercise.
“Our findings suggest that even if you have had type 2 diabetes for six years, putting the disease into remission is feasible”, says Prof Michael Lean from the University of Glasgow who co-led the study. “In contrast to other approaches, we focus on the need for long-term maintenance of weight loss through diet and exercise and encourage flexibility to optimise individual results.”
Isobel Murray, 65 from North Ayrshire, was one of those who took part. Over two years she lost three and a half stone (22kg) and no longer needs medication. “It has transformed my life,” she said. “I had type 2 diabetes for two to three years before the study. I was on various medications which were constantly increasing and I was becoming more and more ill every day.
“When the doctors told me that my pancreas was working again, it felt fantastic, absolutely amazing. I don’t think of myself as a diabetic anymore.”
Taylor said that the trail shows that the very large weight losses that bariatric surgery can bring about are not necessary to reverse the disease. “The weight loss goals provided by this programme are achievable for many people. The big challenge is long-term avoidance of weight re-gain,” he said.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/05/radical-diet-can-reverse-type-2-diabetes-new-study-shows