The fat build-up that they refer to here is the one on chest and upper back according to HIV Study. This study led by the San Francisco VA Medical Center says that fat build-up in this area is linked to an increased risk of insulin resistance.
They say that this is the very first time this relationship has been established. The lead author and researcher, Carl Grunfield, M.D., PhD, who is the chief of the metabolism and endocrine sections at the San Francisco VA Medical Center says that the association between visceral fat and insulin resistance risk has been studied before but nobody looked at the upper trunk fat.
We know that insulin is the hormone that controls the blood glucose levels so when the cells become resistant to the insulin action, the end result is high blood glucose which has bad effects on the body. Grunfeld further observes that people with lots of fat in the upper trunk and not much in the stomach are at risk to develop insulin resistance. But if you have both, he says the risk is rather high.
What is the implication of this study? So is this what causes diabetes? Over 3/4 of type 2 diabetics are obese or were obese at one time. But what is obesity anyway? Clinically speaking, anyone who has a body mass index of 30 or over is considered obese. How do you get your body mass index? Google those three words and you will be led to a chart.
The chart will help you determine what is the best weight for you. It takes into account the height and this helps give a good estimate of someone's body fat. Try to adhere as close as possible to the body mass index that is right for you. What am I saying? We should all do that because I myself have a hard time not trying everything at the buffet. Yup, the buffet is still my Waterloo.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
The Why of the Diabetes Epidemic, Part 3
We said before that carbohydrates and fats are the main providers of energy to keep it working. The carbohydrates are broken down into smaller sugars in the intestine. These smaller sugars can now be absorbed into the circulation. This is then moved from the blood into the cell.
It is during this transport that it gets to meet Mr. Insulin. There it is broken further making it a main source of energy. The extra sugar or glucose is then stored in the liver or as glycogen in the muscle. This can also be stored in the muscles where they stay until they are needed.
How about the fats? The other main source of energy is dietary fat which produces a breakdown product called fatty acids. The same thing happens to it just like the glucose. They are either used immediately for energy or stored to use later.
Insulin is a hormone that is made in the pancreas. It is a protein that is circulated in the blood stream and while it does, it affects the functioning of the other organs. The pancreas also produces chemicals that help break down the food so that that the intestine can absorb this.
There are also bunches of cells in the pancreas called islets that contain different specialized cells. Phew! Thank goodness for the forefathers who did studies on this and now they're even using it as a new diabetes cure
or we would not even know these cells exist. Anyway, one of the cells in the islets are the beta cells that produce insulin.
The sugar level in the blood is sensed by these beta cells after a meal and as the level goes up, the beta cells make insulin that makes the transport of sugar into the cells faster, thus effectively stopping the blood sugar from going up too high.
When the sugar level falls, what do you think happens? The opposite happens. The insulin production stops and opens up the stored sugar in the cells. Think of the insulin as a traffic policeman who directs the nutrients to the storage when the sugar level is up and then directs them to come out of the storage when the sugar level is down.
Isn't that cool? This is what happens in a person without diabetes. This is a finely tuned machine but just like our cars, when something disturbs the engine, then there is trouble. I should not really call it trouble for it is just a challenge we have to meet head on.
My, my, this is getting too long. We have not halfway covered why diabetes is on the rise but we will. We will just persevere with our weekly sessions and learn as much as we can about this. What is ten minutes (it takes to read this) compared to a life-long knowledge on this which we can pass on to the next generation?
It is during this transport that it gets to meet Mr. Insulin. There it is broken further making it a main source of energy. The extra sugar or glucose is then stored in the liver or as glycogen in the muscle. This can also be stored in the muscles where they stay until they are needed.
How about the fats? The other main source of energy is dietary fat which produces a breakdown product called fatty acids. The same thing happens to it just like the glucose. They are either used immediately for energy or stored to use later.
Insulin is a hormone that is made in the pancreas. It is a protein that is circulated in the blood stream and while it does, it affects the functioning of the other organs. The pancreas also produces chemicals that help break down the food so that that the intestine can absorb this.
There are also bunches of cells in the pancreas called islets that contain different specialized cells. Phew! Thank goodness for the forefathers who did studies on this and now they're even using it as a new diabetes cure
or we would not even know these cells exist. Anyway, one of the cells in the islets are the beta cells that produce insulin.
The sugar level in the blood is sensed by these beta cells after a meal and as the level goes up, the beta cells make insulin that makes the transport of sugar into the cells faster, thus effectively stopping the blood sugar from going up too high.
When the sugar level falls, what do you think happens? The opposite happens. The insulin production stops and opens up the stored sugar in the cells. Think of the insulin as a traffic policeman who directs the nutrients to the storage when the sugar level is up and then directs them to come out of the storage when the sugar level is down.
Isn't that cool? This is what happens in a person without diabetes. This is a finely tuned machine but just like our cars, when something disturbs the engine, then there is trouble. I should not really call it trouble for it is just a challenge we have to meet head on.
My, my, this is getting too long. We have not halfway covered why diabetes is on the rise but we will. We will just persevere with our weekly sessions and learn as much as we can about this. What is ten minutes (it takes to read this) compared to a life-long knowledge on this which we can pass on to the next generation?
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Normal Blood Glucose Levels and Lifestyle Behavior, Part 2
June 7, 2008
Okay, we've covered the three lifestyle behaviors that affect the normal blood glucose levels. Let's review them before proceeding to the others. They are: reducing the consumption of sweetened drinks, managing hypoglycemia well, and matching the insulin injection with the meal schedules. Now let's go to two more.
The lifestyle behavior that is associated with normal blood sugar levels is consistency in eating meals and snacks. And this means eating at regular times a day. That is not all that is related to this behavior for making sure the amount of carbohydrates one eats daily is consistent as well is crucial.
One way of accomplishing the above is through carb counting. This entails counting the number of grams of carbohydrates that is consumed a day. Or the number of servings of carbohydrates can be counted because each serving of carbohydrates is equals to 15 grams.
It should be pointed out here that carbohydrate counting
is different from counting the number of calories and the number of fat grams one consumes. Why? Because for the calories and fat, you keep count of the total consumed for the day whereas for the former it is keeping track of the number consumed at each meal.
Why is this such a big deal? Because carbohydrates effect on the blood sugar peak from one and a half hours to two hours after a meal. That is why one has to eat the same amount of carbohydrates for each meal to ensure the blood sugar level stays stable, that is, not too high nor too low.
If one's consumption of carbohydrates varies a lot, then expect the blood sugar level to be unpredictable. In this case one has to learn how to adjust the insulin dose to match the carbohydrate intake. Have no fear, for your health care team is here. All you have to do is ask them and they will put you on the right track.
Phew! That is one mouthful just for carbohydrate consumption alone. And we still have to cover one more lifestyle behavior that will help keep the blood sugar level normal. I am running out of space but I'd hate to wait till next week to cover the last lifestyle behavior so fasten the seatbelt and don't click me away now. I will make it short and sweet, I promise!
The last lifestyle behavior is learning the effect of food intake, insulin injection and exercise to the different blood glucose levels uncovered from the self-monitoring. Write down each reading and the corresponding food and activity that led to that blood glucose level.
Once this is done a few times, a pattern will emerge and one will master the cause and effect relationship among those three activities. This will help one learn how to adjust the insulin dose to the carbohydrate consumption and the activity level engaged. Pretty soon you will be such a pro, you will be invited as resource person to help the other diabetics. Won't that be grand!
Okay, we've covered the three lifestyle behaviors that affect the normal blood glucose levels. Let's review them before proceeding to the others. They are: reducing the consumption of sweetened drinks, managing hypoglycemia well, and matching the insulin injection with the meal schedules. Now let's go to two more.
The lifestyle behavior that is associated with normal blood sugar levels is consistency in eating meals and snacks. And this means eating at regular times a day. That is not all that is related to this behavior for making sure the amount of carbohydrates one eats daily is consistent as well is crucial.
One way of accomplishing the above is through carb counting. This entails counting the number of grams of carbohydrates that is consumed a day. Or the number of servings of carbohydrates can be counted because each serving of carbohydrates is equals to 15 grams.
It should be pointed out here that carbohydrate counting
is different from counting the number of calories and the number of fat grams one consumes. Why? Because for the calories and fat, you keep count of the total consumed for the day whereas for the former it is keeping track of the number consumed at each meal.
Why is this such a big deal? Because carbohydrates effect on the blood sugar peak from one and a half hours to two hours after a meal. That is why one has to eat the same amount of carbohydrates for each meal to ensure the blood sugar level stays stable, that is, not too high nor too low.
If one's consumption of carbohydrates varies a lot, then expect the blood sugar level to be unpredictable. In this case one has to learn how to adjust the insulin dose to match the carbohydrate intake. Have no fear, for your health care team is here. All you have to do is ask them and they will put you on the right track.
Phew! That is one mouthful just for carbohydrate consumption alone. And we still have to cover one more lifestyle behavior that will help keep the blood sugar level normal. I am running out of space but I'd hate to wait till next week to cover the last lifestyle behavior so fasten the seatbelt and don't click me away now. I will make it short and sweet, I promise!
The last lifestyle behavior is learning the effect of food intake, insulin injection and exercise to the different blood glucose levels uncovered from the self-monitoring. Write down each reading and the corresponding food and activity that led to that blood glucose level.
Once this is done a few times, a pattern will emerge and one will master the cause and effect relationship among those three activities. This will help one learn how to adjust the insulin dose to the carbohydrate consumption and the activity level engaged. Pretty soon you will be such a pro, you will be invited as resource person to help the other diabetics. Won't that be grand!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Normal Blood Glucose Levels and Lifestyle Behavior - Part 1
May 31, 2008
Normal blood glucose levels, how do we achieve them? Is there really life after a diagnosis of diabetes? This questions along with others are never far from my mind. My passion, and I am determined to accomplish this, is to show people how simple it really is. Let me try, okay?
1. Lessen or stop the consumption of sweetened drinks. Try not to drink any regular soda and fruit punch unless of course one is having a hypoglycemic episode when one of the treatment options is to drink regular soda. And keep fruit juice intake to just four ounces a day because they make the blood glucose levels go up quickly. Take a lesson from our experience. Thinking orange juice is healthy, we drank it like there was no tomorrow. And then after the diabetes diagnosis we found out that the orange juice we were buying had 37 grams of sugar. Yikes!
2. Speaking of hypoglycemia, manage it properly. This condition is a reading of low blood glucose level, as low as less than 70. The signs are sweating, weakness, excessive hunger, being irritable, trembling and confusion. Sometimes one may even lose consciousness. The treatment for this is to consume a fast-acting carbohydrate that is at least 15 grams. The examples of fast-acting carbohydrates in this case are four ounces of regular soda or apple or orange juice. Five lifesavers or three glucose tablets each containing five grams of carbohydrates or one ounce of raisins will also do the trick. Each of the aforementioned treatment options will usually raise the blood glucose level by 50 in fifteen minutes or so. Check the level then and if it is still below 70, then the treatment can be repeated. If it persists and there is another health concern, one may have to see a doctor.
3. The schedule for both meal times and insulin injection has to match. The health care provider will help in determining the type of insulin to inject with the meal scheduling. For example there are fast-acting insulin that one can take half an hour before meals. But there are even faster acting ones one can take right before a meal.
This is getting too long and readers may get bored reading this so what I will do is write about other lifestyle behaviors that contribute to normal blood glucose levels next week. For clarity sake, I will put Part 1 on the title of this blog,
Normal blood glucose levels, how do we achieve them? Is there really life after a diagnosis of diabetes? This questions along with others are never far from my mind. My passion, and I am determined to accomplish this, is to show people how simple it really is. Let me try, okay?
1. Lessen or stop the consumption of sweetened drinks. Try not to drink any regular soda and fruit punch unless of course one is having a hypoglycemic episode when one of the treatment options is to drink regular soda. And keep fruit juice intake to just four ounces a day because they make the blood glucose levels go up quickly. Take a lesson from our experience. Thinking orange juice is healthy, we drank it like there was no tomorrow. And then after the diabetes diagnosis we found out that the orange juice we were buying had 37 grams of sugar. Yikes!
2. Speaking of hypoglycemia, manage it properly. This condition is a reading of low blood glucose level, as low as less than 70. The signs are sweating, weakness, excessive hunger, being irritable, trembling and confusion. Sometimes one may even lose consciousness. The treatment for this is to consume a fast-acting carbohydrate that is at least 15 grams. The examples of fast-acting carbohydrates in this case are four ounces of regular soda or apple or orange juice. Five lifesavers or three glucose tablets each containing five grams of carbohydrates or one ounce of raisins will also do the trick. Each of the aforementioned treatment options will usually raise the blood glucose level by 50 in fifteen minutes or so. Check the level then and if it is still below 70, then the treatment can be repeated. If it persists and there is another health concern, one may have to see a doctor.
3. The schedule for both meal times and insulin injection has to match. The health care provider will help in determining the type of insulin to inject with the meal scheduling. For example there are fast-acting insulin that one can take half an hour before meals. But there are even faster acting ones one can take right before a meal.
This is getting too long and readers may get bored reading this so what I will do is write about other lifestyle behaviors that contribute to normal blood glucose levels next week. For clarity sake, I will put Part 1 on the title of this blog,
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Myths on Weight Loss
May 20, 2008
Myths on weight loss? Yes, that’s right; they’re all over the place. You won’t believe all they’re saying. Now that we understand the math on weight gain, perhaps, we’re ready to check out the myths surrounding around this very issue.
Here’s one. “I can’t lose weight because my metabolism is slow.” Let’s start with defining what metabolism is. It refers to the amount of energy we burn while we are at rest. The bigger the people are, the higher their metabolic rate is. As we get older, our metabolism rate drops. This is when we limit our activities and lose the muscle mass.
Mind you, it’s true that some people have slow metabolism but this is not common. It is more like the exception rather than the rule. This may explain their weight loss as in the case of a person who has hyperthyroidism. These people spend a lot of energy.
What is surprising to some is that weight loss can lower one’s metabolism rate. This we can understand because the smaller we are, the less food we need. That is why some people who go on a diet of course have some kind of weight loss. And because their metabolism has gone down they may not reach their goal.
So what do they do? In order to reach their desired goal, they will need to eat less to reduce the calories. Some just have to increase their physical activity. This is what is recommended by most weight loss programs. Increase the level of exercise in order to reach the goal of weight loss.
Here’s another myth. I eat like a bird; why am I gaining weight? This is like saying the dog ate my homework. The only way to have weight loss is to eat less food containing less energy and we are spending less of this energy than we are putting in.
So the only way to gain weight is to eat more food with more energy and to move less thus spending less of the energy we brought into our body. It is impossible therefore to eat like a bird and gain weight at the same time. We know very well, that we underestimate the amount we eat. I know I am guilty as charged.
Myths on weight loss? Yes, that’s right; they’re all over the place. You won’t believe all they’re saying. Now that we understand the math on weight gain, perhaps, we’re ready to check out the myths surrounding around this very issue.
Here’s one. “I can’t lose weight because my metabolism is slow.” Let’s start with defining what metabolism is. It refers to the amount of energy we burn while we are at rest. The bigger the people are, the higher their metabolic rate is. As we get older, our metabolism rate drops. This is when we limit our activities and lose the muscle mass.
Mind you, it’s true that some people have slow metabolism but this is not common. It is more like the exception rather than the rule. This may explain their weight loss as in the case of a person who has hyperthyroidism. These people spend a lot of energy.
What is surprising to some is that weight loss can lower one’s metabolism rate. This we can understand because the smaller we are, the less food we need. That is why some people who go on a diet of course have some kind of weight loss. And because their metabolism has gone down they may not reach their goal.
So what do they do? In order to reach their desired goal, they will need to eat less to reduce the calories. Some just have to increase their physical activity. This is what is recommended by most weight loss programs. Increase the level of exercise in order to reach the goal of weight loss.
Here’s another myth. I eat like a bird; why am I gaining weight? This is like saying the dog ate my homework. The only way to have weight loss is to eat less food containing less energy and we are spending less of this energy than we are putting in.
So the only way to gain weight is to eat more food with more energy and to move less thus spending less of the energy we brought into our body. It is impossible therefore to eat like a bird and gain weight at the same time. We know very well, that we underestimate the amount we eat. I know I am guilty as charged.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Gain Weight, Can We Avoid It?
To gain weight is something people want to avoid as much as possible. We have all kinds of excuses, do we not? I lost my diet during the holidays is one of them. I got so busy, I didn't have time to exercise. But really the real culprit is... calories!
The thing is we need a certain amount of food in order to survive. We do not want to join the almost cult-like group whose members are dying to be thin. The trouble is, overabundance is a problem. So to address the issue of avoiding food so as not to gain weight, gives us this question: Are we eating to live? Or are we living to eat?
The fuel that runs the body comes from food. We need it in order to be able to work, think, play and in all the other things we have to do. The question is we take in more fuel than we need. The extra fuel in the car sits there until we use it but the extra fuel we have is stored in our body as fat. Bummer, why can't it just sit there until we need it?
This really is the simple math on why we gain weight. Fuel in minus fuel out is equals zero if the activities use up the same amount of fuel that was taken in from all that eating of the meal plan we did. So we have to make sure there is no imbalance between these two. It can't be any simpler than that.
This fuel brought into the body is burned from all the daily processes in the body even if we are at rest to keep the body working like the beating of the heart, maintaining body temperature and all the work that the different parts of the body have to do. We need around 2000 calories for these even if we're just watching TV all day long.
We also need 50 to 100 calories spent just to be eating. We really need these calories for everything we do, even just for walking to the fridge, opening it and getting the food out. And more calories are needed for more strenuous physical activity like jogging or swimming.
So when we have more energy coming in than the energy going out to maintain the bodily functions, what do you suppose happens? Simple, we just gain weight. So if we decide to take the car to go to the store that is just a few blocks away or take the elevator rather than use the stairs, then we are just spending around 100 fewer calories a day.
The thing is we need a certain amount of food in order to survive. We do not want to join the almost cult-like group whose members are dying to be thin. The trouble is, overabundance is a problem. So to address the issue of avoiding food so as not to gain weight, gives us this question: Are we eating to live? Or are we living to eat?
The fuel that runs the body comes from food. We need it in order to be able to work, think, play and in all the other things we have to do. The question is we take in more fuel than we need. The extra fuel in the car sits there until we use it but the extra fuel we have is stored in our body as fat. Bummer, why can't it just sit there until we need it?
This really is the simple math on why we gain weight. Fuel in minus fuel out is equals zero if the activities use up the same amount of fuel that was taken in from all that eating of the meal plan we did. So we have to make sure there is no imbalance between these two. It can't be any simpler than that.
This fuel brought into the body is burned from all the daily processes in the body even if we are at rest to keep the body working like the beating of the heart, maintaining body temperature and all the work that the different parts of the body have to do. We need around 2000 calories for these even if we're just watching TV all day long.
We also need 50 to 100 calories spent just to be eating. We really need these calories for everything we do, even just for walking to the fridge, opening it and getting the food out. And more calories are needed for more strenuous physical activity like jogging or swimming.
So when we have more energy coming in than the energy going out to maintain the bodily functions, what do you suppose happens? Simple, we just gain weight. So if we decide to take the car to go to the store that is just a few blocks away or take the elevator rather than use the stairs, then we are just spending around 100 fewer calories a day.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Diabetes Forecast: We're Vulnerable Due to Our Lifestyle - Part 7
Diabetes forecast was not difficult to comprehend. Look at how the diabetes statistics multiplied. Globally, there were 30 million diabetics in 1985. That number has exponentially risen to 177 million in 2000. And now the prediction is not any better: 370 million by 2030.
Some of the diabetes forecast we do not totally understand. There are uncertainties there, so the doubting Thomases will assert. More research is needed to fully assess the relation between diet and health. The same is true with the long term effects of childhood diets.
Being able to afford the western cuisine which used to be available only to the well-heeled is certainly a mixed blessing. Why? Because the fat in these diets are singularly blamed for the increasing obesity in the developed world. So now because the diabetes forecast is so dire, they’re scrambling to make cuisines healthier.
Can you believe the food pyramid is wrong? Apparently, they have led us down the garden path. The 1992 food pyramid told us to minimize oils and fats as if they were the devils that all were not. For now we know that some fats are healthy and are essential for health. That left the food pyramid due for a general overhaul.
The old food pyramid also told us to consume six to eleven servings daily of complex carbohydrates including potatoes. But now they’re finding out that a boiled potato raises the blood glucose level more than consuming the same amount of calories from sugar at the table.
Because potatoes are mostly starch, they easily metabolize to glucose. The quick rise in blood glucose stimulates insulin. The high levels of insulin and blood glucose can negatively affect the cardiovascular health, reducing the good cholesterol and raising the triglyceride levels.
Wow! That is quite a revelation. Now I feel guilty for eating all those potatoes that I thought were the most complete food, nutrient-wise, only second to milk. No wonder the diabetes epidemic is on the rise. So what do we do now?
Well, the new food pyramid is an improvement in the sense that it is saying that some fats are worse than others but and here is the big but: it regards both the trans and saturated fats the same way when some are two times more harmful. So what will this do to the diabetes forecast? I leave that to you to decide.
Some of the diabetes forecast we do not totally understand. There are uncertainties there, so the doubting Thomases will assert. More research is needed to fully assess the relation between diet and health. The same is true with the long term effects of childhood diets.
Being able to afford the western cuisine which used to be available only to the well-heeled is certainly a mixed blessing. Why? Because the fat in these diets are singularly blamed for the increasing obesity in the developed world. So now because the diabetes forecast is so dire, they’re scrambling to make cuisines healthier.
Can you believe the food pyramid is wrong? Apparently, they have led us down the garden path. The 1992 food pyramid told us to minimize oils and fats as if they were the devils that all were not. For now we know that some fats are healthy and are essential for health. That left the food pyramid due for a general overhaul.
The old food pyramid also told us to consume six to eleven servings daily of complex carbohydrates including potatoes. But now they’re finding out that a boiled potato raises the blood glucose level more than consuming the same amount of calories from sugar at the table.
Because potatoes are mostly starch, they easily metabolize to glucose. The quick rise in blood glucose stimulates insulin. The high levels of insulin and blood glucose can negatively affect the cardiovascular health, reducing the good cholesterol and raising the triglyceride levels.
Wow! That is quite a revelation. Now I feel guilty for eating all those potatoes that I thought were the most complete food, nutrient-wise, only second to milk. No wonder the diabetes epidemic is on the rise. So what do we do now?
Well, the new food pyramid is an improvement in the sense that it is saying that some fats are worse than others but and here is the big but: it regards both the trans and saturated fats the same way when some are two times more harmful. So what will this do to the diabetes forecast? I leave that to you to decide.
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