Diabetes, Yoga and Halle Berry

 

 

 

 

Diabetes, Yoga and Halle Berry
May 29, 2009

By Subodh Gupta

Diabetes mellitus, often referred to as Diabetes, is a long-term health condition, develops due to the disordered metabolism and results into abnormally high blood sugar levels (hyperglycaemia). Diabetes can cause heart disease, stroke, amputations, kidney failure, blindness etc and it can remain undetected for years.

There are two types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 diabetes develops due to a diminished production of insulin. Type 2 diabetes develops due to resistance to insulin effects and is mostly associated with obesity. However the good news is that Type 2 diabetes which is associated with obesity and makes up around 90% of all diabetes can be controlled.

When Halle Berry was diagnosed with diabetes she went through dramatic diet change. She started to eat fresh vegetables, fresh fish, pasta and cut out red meat. Halle also tries to lead a stress-free lifestyle and became a regular yoga practitioner. She practices yoga daily which helps her to release stress and brings the feeling of tranquility.

By taking up yoga the quality of life can remarkably improve. Daily practice of yoga can help to reduce the stress hormones, bring feeling of relaxation and at the same time can also help in case of diabetes, especially type 2. Research has shown that regular yoga practice can result in significant changes in most of the parameters of the metabolic syndrome including; waist circumference reduction, lowering in systolic blood pressure, reduction in fasting blood glucose level and HDL ‘good’ cholesterol increased.

The major reasons for the lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, cancer etc in the western world is the unhealthy food such as the non-vegetarian fast food and sedentary life style. Britain’s diabetes population has reached almost 2.5 million. Diabetes UK chief executive Douglas Smallwood said the figures were ‘truly alarming’. Human beings are designed to stay healthy and not to die by lifestyle disease such as cancer, heart attack and diabetes.

Diabetes is certainly one of the biggest health challenges facing the world today. Surprisingly the whole medical system is focussed on curing the diseases rather than in the prevention. Though we need the medicines for cure in case the diseases go out of control but if we focus our attention on prevention at the first place then we can certainly stay healthy during our life time with least dependence on medicine.

Maintaining a healthy body is not a rocket science. Our body is made up of food and if we eat healthy vegetarian food and do exercise regularly to keep our stress level under control, we can certainly stay healthy forever. Halle Berry announced in October 2007 that she was no longer insulin dependent.

Healthy lifestyle which includes vegetarian diet and regular yoga practice can go a long way in preventing and controlling the lifestyle diseases such as diabetes. Issued in public interest by Subodh Gupta a holistic health consultant and also the author of the book “7 food habits for weight loss forever”. Subodh Gupta is a celebrity yoga trainer based in London and conducts Yoga, Nutrition, Stress Management and Weight loss sessions.

For Detail Information Subodh Gupta, Yoga Books, Diabetes, Yoga and Halle Berry

Source: Subodh Gupta

Five Major Causes of the Premature Ending of Your Life

Obesity, Diabetes, Heart Disease, High Cholesterol, And High Blood Pressure: Can They Really be Prevented, Managed or Reversed?
May 9, 2009

By George Tohme

They are the biggest killers in America: Diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease. The most common causes of these deadly conditions are: Physical inactivity, fattening snacks and beverages, obesity, stress, and smoking. The shocking news is that these diseases are so easily preventable.

A frequent cause of blame is the unhealthy food choices people make regularly. It’s okay to splurge once in a while, but it is the habits you follow daily that will determine your overall health. Constantly consuming chips, bacon, cakes, sugary drinks, candy, sausage, and cigarettes will get you nothing but poor health, deadly diseases, and a ticket straight to heaven prematurely.

According to the CDC over 63% (that’s over 180 million) of the US population is overweight or obese and is physically inactive, resulting in tens of millions who have chronic deadly, but preventable, conditions such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and pre-diabetes. Recently the CDC reported that more than 70% (over 1.7 million) of all causes of death in America are caused by only three preventable factors: obesity, sedentary lifestyles, and smoking.

The very fact that these factors are easily preventable is heartbreaking. One of the major contributors to poor health is the excessive consumption of cholesterol. The body produces over 85% of the cholesterol we need and the sugar stores in our liver and muscles remain saturated due to physical inactivity. Because we are largely a couch-potato society and the food we consume every day is loaded with animal-based fats, the extra fat gets dumped into our arteries, belly areas, and under the skin all over our bodies.

Another major contributor to deadly diseases, poor health, and premature aging and death is physical inactivity. Most of us sit throughout an entire workday then go home and sit in front of the TV for another 5 to 6 hours while consuming large fatty meals, snacks, and sugary or alcoholic beverages that are rich in saturated fats, salt, and sugar, all of which contribute to increased belly fat. Shockingly, belly fat is the most dangerous kind because it causes inflammation in the arteries contributing to plaque build up in the arteries and insulin resistance leading to heart attacks and diabetes.

Yet another common issue is that people are unaware of how unhealthy the foods they consume are. When people don’t read nutrition labels they tend to consume very dense food and sugary beverages that are nutrient deficient. These foods are readily available in fast food restaurants and vending machines and contain loads of sugar, fat, and unwanted calories.

Sugary soft drinks (which alone contribute to over 33% of all US obesity), sugary lemonade, sweetened iced tea, smoothies, lattes, and frappucinos, which contain loads of sugar and fat that further contribute to the accumulation of belly fat, make you more of a magnet to all sorts of deadly, but preventable, diseases.

One of the worst mistakes people make as well is skipping meals which makes the body more efficient at storing and gaining fat weight. Fortunately there are important steps to help you make balanced food and activity choices and help you start a lifestyle makeover process which will be your shield against deadly diseases as you age gracefully:

• If you have any chronic disease(s) take your medications as prescribed.

• Eat 3 main balanced meals, reduce your portion sizes, and raise your fiber intake.

• Consume 2 fruit and nuts snacks between meals.

• Switch all sugary drinks to water or diet soft drinks. Sweeten all other hot or cold beverages with artificial sweeteners or sugar-free flavoring powders. Limit all non-water beverages to a couple a day.

• Increase your daily walking activity to over 10,000 steps a day by making more frequent trips at home, the office, while shopping, and anywhere else.

The good news is that diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic diseases can be prevented, managed, and reversed with your own choices, actions and a lifestyle makeover. Now is the time to start putting these tips to good use and begin feeling better and living healthier right away!

Pharmacist, George F. Tohme, wrote Lifestyle Makeover for Diabetics and Pre-Diabetics. Formerly obese, he became a personal trainer and is a certified expert on healthy living. His e-book series addresses all of the topics in this article. Visit http://www.LifestyleMakeoverEbook.com to take a quiz NOW.

Source: George F. Tohme

Diabetes, Latin Food and Your Health

 

 

 

Eating healthier with Latin faves
By Rachael Moeller Gorman

The Arizona Daily Star

May 9, 2009

On a recent hazy Saturday afternoon in Mexico City, the pungent scent of ripe mango hung thick in the city’s Polanco neighborhood.

Sellers had just sliced their fruit open – orange flesh still dripping with juice and humidity – to lure customers to their stalls. And the customers, typically family members walking hand in hand, haggled and ate. They inspected mounds of papayas, pineapples, guanabana, watermelon, pomegranate and plums at the surrounding tables. Their children chewed peeled oranges on a stick and ran around the tables of red, ripe tomatoes piled on bunches of draped cilantro, huge red beets, an almost infinite variety of peppers, prickly pear pads, avocados and tomatillos.

Not your typical American produce section.

When Mexicans leave their rural homes and move to the cities of the United States, they often leave foods like these behind. They begin eating the American way: a smaller variety of foods; less fresh fruit, rice, and beans; more calories, refined grains, saturated fats, and sugar. Foods they used to eat fresh, they now eat highly processed.

This Americanized diet affects Mexicans the same way it has been affecting the rest of the United States – only worse. According to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost three out of four adult Mexican-Americans are overweight. The center also reports that one in four Mexican-Americans over the age of 45 has Type 2 diabetes.

In Mexico City at the end of April, a world-renowned group of scientists, nutritionists and chefs from the United States, Mexico and other Latin American countries came together to figure out how to fix this health crisis.

The issue is a big one in the States. According to the most recent census in 2000, Hispanics now make up 13 percent of the U.S. population.

“The 21st Latin American country is the United States,” said chef and culinary historian Maricel Presilla at the conference. “A new Latin America is being created here.”

The health statistics are scary. According to the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, obesity rates in U.S. Hispanics doubled between 1991 and 2001. Higher weight means a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, some cancers and other problems. The CDC has found that the risk of diabetes for Mexican-Americans is twice that of similarly-aged non-Hispanic whites. Diabetes potentially leads to amputation, blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and death.

People still in Mexico are also suffering.

“Twenty to 30 years ago, we had lots of traditional foods that were very healthy,” said Dr. Hector Bourges, director of nutrition at the National Institute of Medical Science and Nutrition in Mexico City. “However, with urbanization we adopted a model we shouldn’t have adopted – the Northern countries’ model.”

Traditional foods were seen as old-fashioned, people began having less time to prepare foods, and fewer people ate at home.

Obesity and its related illnesses are hardly just a problem for the Hispanic community.

“If we continue at this rate, by 2040 everyone in the U.S. will be overweight,” said John Foreyt, professor in the department of medicine at Houston’s Baylor College of Medicine.

But scientists say hope exists: Bringing traditional, healthy and tasty Mexican foods back to the family dinner table – and introducing them in American households – is a huge step in the right direction.

At the conference, Oldways Preservation Trust, a food-issues think tank in Boston and the conference organizer, worked with nutrition experts to revamp its Latin American Diet Pyramid, a food pyramid full of healthy Latin American foods.

The pyramid recommends eating fruits, vegetables and whole grains/tubers/beans/nuts at every meal. In the Mexican diet, this means corn, beans, squash, rice and chiles, among many others.

Poultry, fish, plant oils (like olive, corn, peanut or canola) and dairy foods are recommended daily. Red meat, sweets – typically honey – and eggs are for weekly consumption only.

“Traditionally, sweets were not a thing of everyday,” said Hannia Campos, associate professor of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

Many foods are connections to the past, originating during the time before Europeans came to Latin America. Foods are also a connection to flavor. Native American, Spanish and African influences all have their finger in Latin American cuisine, and the fusion is delicious.

“Mexico, in particular, has made food brilliant,” said Dr. Adolfo Chavez, chief of the Salvador Zubiran Medical Sciences and Nutrition Institute in Mexico City.

Daily physical activity forms the base of the pyramid, and alcohol should be consumed in moderation. The pyramid is quite similar to the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid, the gold standard of diets, which has been proven in study after study to reduce heart disease, certain cancers and Type 2 diabetes.

But as we all know, changing how we eat is difficult. Keeping the following themes in mind may help:

● Variety is key. Bring multiple colors, textures and flavors to your diet. Add tropical fruits; they are full of fiber, vitamins and antioxidants, and taste. Choose fresh local produce, if possible.

● Use just a little bit of meat for flavor in stews and other dishes. A small amount can go a long way, and too much is unhealthy (red meat and processed meat have been associated with heart disease). Instead, add beans, which studies have shown lower cholesterol and have lots of vitamins like folate for pregnant women. They also contain fiber, which can prevent heart disease and certain cancers, like colon.

● Make dining an event, not something you do in your car or on the run. Set the table, make it appealing and fun, and eat slowly. “Eating in the company of other people is essential for good nutrition and health,” said Bourges.

● Have a big dinner or party once a week; bring family and friends together. The rest of the week eat simple, flavorful dishes that take less time to prepare.

● Choose smaller plates to trick yourself into eating less.

● Food is emotional, passionate, creative – take advantage.

SIDEBAR
Starting small:
Small changes add up to big health benefits. Losing just 5 percent of your body weight – that’s 10 pounds if you’re 200 pounds – can significantly reduce your risk of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other weight-related illnesses. Here are a few little changes to try at home:

Replace candy bars with a square of at least 70 percent dark chocolate, one of Latin America’s best gifts to the world. When the cocoa content is this high, your body benefits from the same heart-protecting compounds that red wine contains. These squares do have some fat, but not as much as regular candy bars. Eat only one or two squares of a bar a day. The flavor is so strong that’s probably all you’ll want.

Add other traditional Latin American grains to your diet, such as quinoa and amaranth. Also continue to use more familiar ones like corn and brown rice. These grains are great sources of complex carbohydrates, and they give you long-lasting energy. They are also full of nutrients like magnesium and B vitamins.

Eat cooked beans, instead of refried beans. They have far less saturated fat, yet still provide the nutrients, protein and fiber.

Replace potato chips, cheese puffs and the like with a handful of peanuts or almonds. Nuts are an excellent source of healthy unsaturated fat, they make you feel full, they have no cholesterol, and they are full of protein and fiber. The salt on the nut is less than what is found in chips, but go for low-salt varieties anyway to reduce the risk of high blood pressure. Eat a handful for a snack in the afternoon or between breakfast and lunch.

Choose corn tortillas over flour tortillas. Studies show that whole grains, like corn or whole-wheat flour, help protect against heart disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer. And they make you feel full for longer. At the very least, try whole-wheat tortillas, instead of flour. Refined flour has lost most of its beneficial nutrients and also triggers spikes in blood sugars, which is bad for diabetes.

Source: Rachael Moeller Gorman and the Arizona Daily Star

Dr. Sebi-The Healer Part 3 of 4

Source: WestPhillyGurl on Youtube

Prevent Type 2 Diabetes, Naturally

By Darrell Miller

Eighty Seven Percent Of All Type 2 Diabetes Can Be Prevented Naturally

It is a fact that almost 90% of Type 2 diabetes can be prevented by attention to diet and the use of specific supplements. However, before having a look at these possibilities, we shall first have a look at what type 2 diabetes is so that the means of prevention can be better understood.

Diabetes is a condition, not a disease. It cannot be passed from one person to another, and there is evidence that it is hereditary since it tends to run in families. In the past it tended to develop later in life, although the modern lifestyle appears to have made it more common now in children and young adults.

Diabetes occurs when the level of glucose in your blood becomes higher than it should be. The reason for this is twofold: either the body produces no or insufficient insulin or it cannot use the insulin that is produced. Sugars and other carbohydrates are metabolized to glucose that is the body’s source of energy. The parts of your body that do this are the mitochondria that are contained within your body cells, and the hormone insulin is essential in allowing this to happen.

When the concentration of glucose in your blood reaches a certain level, the pancreas secretes insulin into your blood. The insulin is synthesized in special cells called the islets of Langerhans, after the person who discovered them. Also produced is glucagon which is also secreted into your bloodstream, and the glucagons and the insulin work together to ensure that your blood glucose levels remain stable (when everything is working correctly).

Glucagon is secreted when your glucose levels are low, and its presence in the bloodstream stimulates the conversion of the emergency energy store in the liver (glycogen) to glucose in order to maintain this stability. Insulin, on the other hand, is released after you have consumed a meal, and your glucose levels are high

What insulin does is to stimulate the cells of your body to convert glucose to energy and either use it immediately, or store it as glycogen for use later. By means of these two substances, the level of glucose in your blood is maintained at safe levels – normally. If something happens to the supply of insulin, then the blood sugar level will continue to rise until the bloodstreams contains too much glucose, a condition known as hyperglycemia.

The symptoms are excessive thirst, a frequent desire to urinate, fungal infections or thrush around the genital area (due to yeasts and sugar fermentation), and various others such as mood swings, cramps, dizziness and a feeling of tiredness and weakness. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body produces no insulin, and the only possible treatment is continual insulin injections. Type 2 diabetes is defined in two ways. Either your body does not make enough insulin for your needs, or the cells in your body cannot use the insulin produced properly.

It is Type 2 diabetes we are concerned with here, and that we shall be exclusively discussing. With Type 2 diabetes, insulin shots can be provided, but there are other factors that can also help to resolve the problem. Before discussion treatment or prevention, you should be aware of the complications that Type 2 diabetes can lead to.

Hyperglycemia is not common with this type of diabetes, but it can develop. If it does then it can be a life-threatening condition needing a rapid injection of insulin into the bloodstream Symptoms prior to the critical stage are drowsiness and dehydration, although as stated, this is more commonly associated with Type 1 diabetes where regular insulin injections is the normal treatment.

Longer term complications of Type 2 include kidney damage, hardening of the arteries, eye problems, impotence and problems with your circulation. Nerve damage can also occur, and it is important that you avoid these by changing your diet and lifestyle. These problems occur if you have had high blood glucose levels over a long period of time, and you therefore have time to take the steps necessary to avoid them if you start now. The same steps will also help you to avoid the condition from occurring.

So what are these steps you should take? The first is to look carefully at your diet. A healthy balanced diet is essential if you are to beat your condition naturally and avoid the potential longer term side effects. Diabetes is associated with the overweight and obese. That is not to say that only these people become diabetic, but the majority are.

Most people with Type 2 diabetes are overweight, and although around 65% of Americans are overweight or obese, a considerably higher proportion of those with Type 2 diabetes are overweight. The first and obvious action to take to avoid this type of diabetes would therefore be to lose weight, and adopt a healthy diet that is free from junk food, trans fats and alcohol, all of which contribute to obesity.

The next is to look to your blood pressure and keep it normal, and also to keep your low density lipoproteins (LDL) low. These affect the propensity for your blood cholesterol to deposit in your arteries, especially if they are oxidized by free radicals. A good antioxidant content is therefore recommended in your diet.

Although blood pressure and high LDL levels do not directly contribute to diabetes, they are risk factors that could increase the risk to your health if you are diabetic. You should eat a diet that is high in whole grains and fiber, and eat lean meats and fish rather than fatty foods. Stick to complex carbohydrates that metabolize to glucose slowly and steadily, rather than starchy foods that produce a sudden sugar rush that will give you problems and could promote Type 2 diabetes in those that are prone to it.

Specific supplements that you could take include chromium picolinate that can not only be used to treat existing diabetes patients but also to reduce your chances of developing Type 2 diabetes. Studies involving the use of chromium picolinate on patients with this type of diabetes have been very positive, resulting in reduced blood sugar, lipid and insulin levels. The optimum dosage is around 500 micrograms twice daily.

Such treatment has been shown to both prevent and reverse Type 2 diabetes. Magnesium is another specific supplement that studies have suggested can lower the risk of developing this type of diabetes. Magnesium rich foods have also been found to be effective, and the fact that a magnesium deficiency can lead to diabetes supports the findings that its use can help to prevent it. Green leafy vegetables such as spinach, and beans nuts and seeds are generally rich in magnesium. Vitamin D can also help protect against the development of diabetes.

Although the research is relatively new, it has been established that the cells that produce insulin are affected by a lack of vitamin D in the blood, and low levels of vitamin D can also led to insulin resistance. If you spend more time out in the sun, you should have less chance of contracting Type 2 diabetes, although you could also take a supplement.

Although Type 2 diabetes is not as serious as Type 1, no form of diabetes is desirable to have, and ultimately both types can be extremely serious. You should do what you can to avoid diabetes, and Type 2 is easier to avoid then Type 1. Diet, weight and supplementation as described above will all help to avoid contracting this condition, so follow the advice, especially if you are overweight and have a sweet tooth.

More information on Natural blood sugar supplements is available at VitaNet ®, LLC Health Food Store. http://vitanetonline.com/

Source: Darrell Miller

Yes, Type 2 Diabetes is Preventable