Tips to Reverse Diabetes Using Social Medicine

Diabetes is on the rise, but it is also preventable by a healthy lifestyle change. Making small changes in the way people eat, adding in a little more exercise, and losing even a modest amount of weight can improve diabetes. The diabetes community found on Social-medicine.org, supports diabetics and their lifestyle. Social-medicine.org, a health-based social networking site, helps people suffering from a variety of health conditions, like diabetes, to globally connect, help and share information with others in similar situations, by focusing on bridging the gap of patient-to-patient communication, and patient-to-practitioner, with all the social networking features and functionality expected in today’s society. Social-medicine.org focuses on community support, where real people in similar situations come together, to circumvent negative feelings like disconnection and loneliness, and focus on improving self-esteem, understanding, communication, relationships, and peer support.

Diabetics have more control over their health than they think. The most important thing people can do for their health is to lose weight. The biggest risk factor for developing diabetes is being overweight. Your risk is higher if you tend to carry your weight around your abdomen. Experts say that losing just 5% to 10% of your total weight can help diabetics lower blood sugar considerably, as well as lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Changing your lifestyle doesn’t mean living in deprivation. Diabetics can continue to eat and enjoy their favorite foods, and best of all, don’t have to give up sweets or resign to carbohydrate counting. But you’ll probably need to learn some better eating habits. But what does eating right for diabetes mean? A diabetes diet is simply a healthy eating plan that is high in nutrients, low in fat, and moderate in calories.

The glycemic index (GI) shows how quickly a food turns into sugar. High GI foods tend to spike blood sugar levels. These foods include white rice, white pasta, white bread, potatoes, sweets, chips, and many processed foods. They should be limited in your diet. Low GI foods include nuts, seeds, lean meats, seafood, whole grains, beans, brown rice, whole-wheat bread, and whole-wheat pasta. Diabetics should be eating a lot of non-starchy vegetables, beans and fruits such as apples, pears, peaches, and berries. Even tropical fruits like bananas, mangoes, and papayas.

Diabetics should always monitor blood glucose, particularly when alcohol is consumed. Alcohol can interfere with medication and insulin. Beer and wine contain calories and carbs, while cocktails are loaded with sugar. Men and women should drink in moderation, with women one drink per day and men two drinks per day.

If diabetics crave something sweet, they should limit intake of bread, rice or pasta during your main meal. Eating sweets adds extra carbohydrates; it is best to cut back on other carbohydrates where possible. Make your indulgence count by eating slowly and paying attention to the flavors and textures. Think about cutting down on sweets by reducing soda and juice drinks, reducing the amount of sugar in recipes by 1/4, and instead of ice cream, blend up frozen bananas, or a small piece of dark chocolate. Diabetics should also begin to replace your daily dessert with fruit.

There are various fats to consider when having a meal. Some fats are unhealthy, while other fats have high health benefits. The two most damaging fats are saturated fats and trans fats. Saturated fats are found mainly in animal products such as red meat, whole milk dairy products, and eggs. Trans fats are fats that are less likely to spoil. The best fats are unsaturated fats, which come from plant and fish sources. Good sources include olive oil, canola oil, nuts, avocados, salmon, tuna, and flaxseeds, which fight inflammation and support brain and heart health.

When it comes to preventing, controlling, or reversing diabetes, consider exercising. Regular exercise maintains your weight and can improve your insulin sensitivity. One of the easiest moderate-intensity activities is walking for 30 minutes five or more times a week, swimming or riding a bike.

Source http://www.pr.com/press-release/399003

Tips on how to avoid overeating during your family’s holiday feast

Cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole — with Thanksgiving right around the corner, people watching their waistlines are hoping to keep them in check during the holidays.

Thomas Lemke, a registered dietitian and licensed with Intergris Bass Baptist Health Center, said stopping overeating begins in the morning.

“My basic recommendation is always start with breakfast,” he said. “I recommend you always eat breakfast on the day of a holiday. People who eat breakfast tend to be lighter overall because they don’t tend to overeat later in the day.”

Pamela Baggett, a registered dietitian and licensed dietitian with St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, added skipping breakfast can lead to loss of self-control.

“What we need to think about is not skipping breakfast because by lunch I will be so ravenous that I have no self-control,” she said.

With many people hitting the road to visit friends and family during the holiday season, several end up arriving famished, Lamke said.

“If you are traveling for a holiday, try to eat something before you show up for the festivities,” he said. “It can be something small like a salad or carrots. Having something on your stomach can lessen the desire to eat as much when the smell of the turkey cooking hits your nose.”

If people are participating in providing food for the festivities, they can bring a favorite food they safely can eat a lot of.

“I tell my diabetics, ‘take something you can have a whole bunch of, a vegetable plate or a sugar-free Jell-O. Take something you can fill up on,’” Baggett said.

Lemke suggested bringing a healthy alternative to potluck holiday meals.

“If it is a potluck, bring a fruit tray or veggie tray, so if you have the munchies throughout the day, it is something you can default to throughout the day,” he said. “You can get some tomatoes and carrot sticks, maybe dipped them in some ranch, rather than keep going back to the dessert table.”

If you are participating in a strict diet and going to someone’s home to celebrate Thanksgiving, let the host know your restrictions beforehand, Baggett said.

“If I am on a strict diet for whatever reason and I am going to someone’s house, I need to let them know,” she said. “I can’t have salty dishes, I can’t have a lot of fat ... whatever my restrictions are.”

Portion control also is an important tool to help keep food consumption in check.

“My No. 1 recommendation for portion control when eating family-style is to go through the line once., Lemke said. “Don’t keep coming back all day long. If you want to pile your plate really high, that is fine, but limit it to what you can eat in one sitting. Once you eat that, you are done until the next meal.”

While eating, Baggett said slowing down can help your body realize when it truly is full, a process that can can take up to 20 minutes.

“Slow down. Eat slower. Put your fork down between bites,” she said.

She added limiting your eating to one plate only can help reduce overeating.

“Realize Thanksgiving is one meal, not a four-day holiday,” she said. “I am going to do one plate and pick what I like the best. Maybe I can do without the bread but love dressing, so I may just eat the dressing.”

Lemke also recommended choosing only one favorite dessert for the holiday.

“People tend to want to take a little bit of grandma’s cheesecake, Aunt Ethel’s pumpkin pie and Aunt Betty’s gingerbread cookies. Pick one dessert,” he said. “If your favorite dessert is Aunt Betty’s gingerbread cookies, eat them. When you are finished with the cookies, don’t go on to something else.

“Don’t eat everything just to make grandma happy. She will be just as unhappy with her grandchild suffering with obesity and health as you not eating her pumpkin pie.”

Baggett agreed.

“We have to realize Thanksgiving, Christmas, our birthday — they come every year,” she said. “If I feel I am feeling deprived, I may say, ‘what the heck’ and try everything. If Aunt Mabel makes the best whatever and it is here today and my wife makes the others every once in a while, I will choose Aunt Mabel’s dessert. If my favorite is, say apple pie, I will have one piece and eat it slowly and enjoy it so I don’t feel deprived.”

Baggett also suggested taking only half portions of dessert.

Lemke said moderation is key during the holiday when it comes to eating.

“It is individually based,” he said. “I know can’t keep myself away from my cousin’s fudge. My options are not start or take a handful and take it as far away from the tray as I can so I don’t keep eating them all afternoon. Know your habits and your limits.”

Once the food is put away and dishes are washed up, Baggett suggests getting active.

“One of the great things I do, once the dishes are done, is I go for a walk or work on Christmas lights or do an activity with the family,” she said. “I do something rather than plop down and take a nap.”

Hosts of the big family Thanksgiving day meal often can be stuck with the leftovers and feel obligated to eat them.

Lemke suggested trying to pawn off as many leftovers as you can to your guests.

“Some can take the pie and someone else can take the green bean casserole,” he said. Or, “if you get stuck with the leftovers, freeze them. You can pick at them over a longer time and it isn’t as overwhelming.

“If you are stuck with too much food and you can’t eat it all, throw it away. You gaining five or 10 pounds over the holidays isn’t going to help anyone.”

Lemke encourages his clients to enjoy the holidays, but not to go overboard.

“Holidays are a time for fun. Go ahead and indulge yourself a little bit,” he said. “Have a little bit of the pumpkin pie, but don’t also have the gingerbread cookies on top of that. It is about moderation.”

Source  http://enidnews.com/localnews/x20123756/Tips-on-how-to-avoid-overeating-during-your-family-s-holiday-feast