Diabetes, what not to eat.

Diabetes used to be a very rare disease.  Unfortunately, nowadays, it is all too common.  Type 2 diabetes is a lifestyle acquired disease - this means that unlike type 1 diabetes, type 2 is the direct result of your lifestyle (eating habits, exercise habits, etc..).  So, I am sure you will understand that if you have given yourself type 2 diabetes through your day to day choices, then you can change those choices and habits and improve your health.

Type 2 diabetes can lead to a whole host of serious diseases such as heart disease, blindness and even limb amputation due to the lack of circulation that causes gangrene.

For me, the scariest thing is that everyday more and more children are being diagnosed with diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is reversible, and in the very least controlable, it is up to you.

So, if you have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, if you are pre-diabetic or if there is a history of type 2 diabetes in your family, then you might want to start looking after yourself.

Here is what you SHOULDN'T eat:

A big problem for people with type 2 diabetes is carb intake.  Carbs severely affect the blood glucose level causing it to spike but the insulin response to the spike doesn't work.  So, if you have high glucose blood levels for sustained periods of time your body's nerves and blood vessels can be damaged which is the beginning of heart disease, kidney disease and other health conditions.  Keeping to a low carb diet is the best way to avoid any more serious health problems.

So, the first things you need to avoid are refined "white" carbs; white bread, pasta, and white rice.  Refined products have had all nutritional benefits removed during the refining process, leaving them with next to no nutritional value, but they will quickly spike your blood sugar levels.  This also goes for gluten-free products that were found to have the biggest effect on blood sugar levels, the rice-based products were the worst.

Another study found that the effect wasn't limited to raised blood sugar levels but also found that brain function was impaired in people with type 2 diabetes.

Fiber is an extremely important part of our diet.  It is the fiber in high sugar foods such as fruit that stop them being dangerous.  The fiber content means that the sugars are released slowly over a longer period of time.  Refined products like bread, pasta, etc, have very little fiber and so the sugars are released quickly.

Eat wholegrain foods whenever you need to have carbs, the less processed the better and high-fiber breads have been shown to reduce blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes, and they also showed reduced levels of cholesterol and blood pressure.

Sugary drinks are another no, as I am sure you can imagine.  They are very high carb as each can of

330ml soda contains 38g of sugar - and what is more it is mainly fructose  that you might remember from last week's post.  Fructose is extremely hard for the body to process and can lead to metabolic changes that facilitate belly fat, high cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

But don't get excited about diet versions, they are just as bad for diabetes as regular soda.  A recent study posted in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition which followed 66,118 women over a period of 14 years and kept track of the drinks they consumed.  By the end of the study, both sugar sweetened drinks and diet drinks were linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.

It's a much better idea to stick to water, sparkling water or unsweetened drinks.

Breakfast cereals are also right up there in the high carb section.  If you read the ingredients on a packet of commercial cereal  the second ingredient is usually sugar with the first being some kind of refined cereal, usually wheat.  These are highly processed and lacking in nutrients.  And don't be fooled by the supposedly healthy ones either, they also have high amounts of sugar - you'd be surprised as to how much.

Yogurts are generally deemed healthy, and if they are natural yogurts with no added fruit, sugar or flavoring then they generally are.

However, the minute you get into added fruit and flavoring then you are talking about large amounts of added sugar.  Just one 245g serving of fruit-flavored yogurt can contain a huge 47g of sugar - that's almost 81% of its total calories from sugar!

Stick to plain greek yogurt or kefir - your gut bacteria will love you for it too!

Avoid Starbucks and other such places like the plague.  Our brains do not process liquid or solid calories in the same way.  You don't consider a coffee to be food which means you will probably eat more later, putting your weight at risk.  If you are overweight, then this will only give you an even bigger problem.

Although coffee does have certain health benefits, adding milk and flavored syrups just means adding even more sugar - again.  Even the diet versions have enough carbs in them to raise blood sugar levels.  Just one caramel frappuccino from Starbucks (454ml) has 67g of carbs and the diet version as 30g of carbs...  Need I say more?

Stick to plain old black coffee or expresso and if you must, add some heavy cream.

Honey and spice and all things nice...  Some people believe that natural sweeteners such as honey, agave nectar and maple syrup are healthier versions of white sugar.  But in fact they are even worse.  The carb count for white sugar is 12.6g per tablespoon, so you might be surprised to find out that one tablespoon of honey has a carb count to 17g, Agave nectar comes in at 16g per tablespoon and Maple syrup has a carb count of 13g.  So as you can imagine these aren't going to do any good to your blood sugar levels.

While on the subject of "healthier" options, you should stay away from dried fruit too.  Fresh fruit is a good source to vitamins and minerals and when it is dried, the loss of water content means that these nutrients can be found in higher concentrations.  However, the down side is that its sugar content also becomes concentrated.

An example of this is grapes vs raisin...  One cup of grapes contains 27g of carbs of which 1g is fiber.  Now, one cup of raisins contains 115g of carbs, of which 5g are fiber.  So, if you do have diabetes then stick to low sugar fruits such as berries, small apples, etc., are good for you as their fiber content helps with a slower rate of absorption of the sugars.

Don't even think about juice.  Fruit juice is deemed healthy, but in fact all it is is fruit flavored sugar water.  When you make juice you remove all the fiber from the fruit, and if you remember it is the fiber that makes fruit healthy.  So eat the whole orange - fiber and all!

Potatoes in any form are high in carbs, but especially when fried.  Frying any foods has been shown to produce high amounts of AGEs and aldehydes, toxic compounds that promote inflammation and increase your risk of disease.  A better option is sweet potatoes but keep them to a limited amount.

So, remember which foods to stay away from and you will be helping yourself to stay healthy or get healthier - it's in your hands!

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com

Fructose, friend or foe?

Fructose, otherwise known as the sugar found in fruit, it's in honey and is sweeter than sucrose.  It is used in many foodstuffs and in medicine, mainly in a solution form as an intravenous "nutrient".

Lots of people believe that fructose is "healthier" because... well... it's from fruit and fruit is healthy, right?

Well yes, fruit is healthy when you eat the WHOLE fruit with all that healthy fiber, then the fructose does not have a negative effect on your body.

But, take the fructose out of the fruit and it turns into something different and far more dangerous - think High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).

But first, let's take a look at the differences between the 3 main sugars in our lives:

GLUCOSE:

Glucose is the most important monosaccharide and the body's preferred sugar.  Glucose is also called blood sugar as it circulates in the blood and relies on the enzymes glucokinase and hexokinase to initiate metabolism.  The body processes most carbohydrates into glucose for immediate use or to be stored in the muscles or liver as glycogen for later use.

When elevated blood levels of glucose are detected, insulin is secreted facilitating the entry of glucose into cells.

FRUCTOSE:

As stated above, fructose is found naturally in fruits and vegetables, but it is also added to many foodstuffs including soda and fruit-flavored drinks.  However, it has a different metabolic pathway from other sugars, and is NOT the preferred energy source for brain and muscles.

Fructose is only metabolized in the liver and needs fructokinase to initiate metabolism.  Fructose is also more lipogenic - fat producing, compared to glucose.  It also does not induce the secretion of insulin or stimulate the production of leptin - a key hormone for regulating energy intake and expenditure.  This suggests that fructose behaves more like fat in the body than like other carbohydrates.

SUCROSE:

Also known as table sugar, fruits and vegetables also naturally contain sucrose.  When sucrose is
consumed the enzymes beta-fructosidase separates the sucrose into glucose and fructose.  Once separated, they each follow their particular metabolic pathways.  However, although they are ingested at the same time, the body prefers to use the glucose as its main energy source, and if it doesn't need the energy provided by the fructose, then it will convert it into fat stimulated by the insulin secreted in response to the glucose.

Glucose is essential for life.  Our bodies produce it and every living cell contains it.

Fructose, on the other hand, is NOT essential for life, the body doesn't produce it and throughout history, has only ever consumed it in its natural fruit form - until, that is, they started adding it to food...

So, how can fructose harm you?

Well, having a diet high in fructose can cause problems to your health such as; increased levels of uric acid which in turn leads to gout and high blood pressure.  It can also cause fatty liver which can lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.  Insulin resistance which can lead to type 2 diabetes is another issue and fructose does not affect satiety in the same way that glucose does, leading to eating more than is necessary.  Scientists at the university of Barcelona have found that fructose contributes to raising the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

They carried out studies on rats using two types of simple sugars.  The group of rats given fructose water put on more weight than those given glucose water.  Their results were published in the American Journal of Physiology Heart and Circulatory Physiology, stating that the fructose rats suffered more damaging effects on their metabolism and vascular system, fatty liver and an increased risk of obesity.

This means you need to read the labels on the food you buy... in fact, if it has a label, don't buy it!

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com

Natural Remedies for Common Ailments

It is all to easy to reach for an Ibuprofen, paracetamol, etc., when we have a headache or a cold.  However, Taiwanese scientists  have found that taking Ibuprofen while trying to cope with a respiratory tract infection tripled the possibility of suffering a heart attack.

The reason for this is that your heart is already under stress from fighting the infection and the combination of the infection and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug such as Ibuprofen seems to be deadly.  However, paracetamol doesn't seem to be much better, and recent review suggests that paracetamol in just as dangerous.  The one thing that is clear is that more research is needed.

However, there are natural remedies for common complaints that actually work surprisingly well.

Indigestion:

That feeling of being uncomfortable usually in the upper abdomen after a meal.  Not to be confused with heart burn, also known as acid reflux which is a burning sensation caused by the stomach contents splashing back up into the oesophagus.  The burning sensation is due to the stomach acid coming into contact with the sensitive lining of the oesophagus.

Quite often indigestion can be caused by eating fatty foods such as pastries.  Artichoke extract can
help ease that bloated feeling.  The artichoke stimulates bile production in the liver which helps in the digestion of fat.  You can take it before a meal that you know is going to be copious or after.

Milk Thistle is a traditional herbal medicine for treating overindulgence, upset stomach and indigestion.  As with artichoke, milk thistle also works in the liver stimulating bile production.  It also provides antioxidant protection from the effects of alcohol.

Another option is silicogel, a natural oral gel that forms a protective barrier over the lining of the stomach and intestines.  Silicogel also helps soothe gases and reduces excess acidity.

Bronchitis, Sinusitis, and the Common Cold:

Prevention is key with these.  Eat a healthy, balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.  If necessary, you can take a vitamin C supplement and get your vitamin D levels checked.

Pelargonium

However, if you do get a cold then Pelargonium (derived from the roots of a South African geranium) is extremely effective.  Pelargonium has antiviral and antibacterial properties, it boosts immune cell activity and neutralizes infections, it also stops bacteria from sticking to cell walls.  Pelargonium helps clear mucus quickly which helps in the treatment of sinusitis, laryngitis, sore throat and simple bronchitis.

Take it as soon as you notice the first symptoms, and continue for 3 days after symptoms have disappeared.


Feeling Down?

Lots of people are prone to feeling down in the winter months.  Cold, wet weather doesn't help much, but there are things you can do.  My favorite, and one I recommend wholeheartedly is 5HTP.

5HTP stimulates the production of brain chemicals such as melatonin, serotonin, and endorphins, all

St. John's Wart

involved in mood regulation.  5HTP provides  the building blocks necessary for boosting serotonin production, this means it tends to be more effective and quicker acting than conventional antidepressants.

St. John's Wart or the sunshine herb, is also good for lifting moods.  Similar to traditional antidepressants, St. John's Wart affects the levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin in the brain.



ONE WORD OF WARNING:  YOU CAN NOT TAKE EITHER OF THESE IF YOU ARE TAKING AN ANTIDEPRESSANT

Insomnia:

There is a reason for sleep deprivation being used as a form of torture.  Anyone who has ever suffered from insomnia knows just how harrowing it can be and how far reaching the consequences.  Sleep is necessary for both physical and mental health.

Valerian

5HTP can also help with sleep as it helps in the production of melatonin.  But if you find that 5HTP doesn't help, then you can try melatonin supplements.  Melatonin regulates the night and day cycles.  Which makes it really good for business people that travel a lot and have to cope with jet lag.  Darkness causes the brain to produce melatonin, signaling the body to prepare for sleep.  If you decide to try melatonin supplements, you must take it at bedtime and your bedroom must be completely dark.  My advice is to start with a low dosage, 2-3mg before bedtime - one known side effect of higher dosis is being in a really bad mood!

Valerian is another option, it contains a number of unique substances that help reduce stress and anxiety.  Valerian increases the levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) which is a chemical that calms the brain.  Valerian has been used to help with insomnia, anxiety and nerves.

So, before popping pills try some natural remedies!

Note:  Everything here is talked about in supplement form, I have not put images of supplements so as not to give visibility to commercial brands.

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com

Probiotics from the supermarket, are they worth it?

Gut microbiome is in vogue at the moment.  It turns out the state of our gut bacteria is a lot more important than we knew.  We now know our gut microbiome is linked to weight gain, mental health and even ADHD in children.  It is also thought that most autoimmune diseases start in the gut, so it is actually a good idea to start looking after all those good bacteria.

A recent study published in the European Society of Cardiology has even linked certain gut bacteria that break down the nutrients in eggs, dairy and red meat to cardiovascular disease.  So what else can harm your gut bacteria?

Well, there are several things that can knock your gut bacteria out of sync and you really need to think about helping them back to health or spoiling them to keep them healthy.  Dangers to gut bacteria are:

• Antibiotics
• Everyday products such as; mouthwash, aspirin, antacids, painkillers and laxatives
• Chlorinated drinking water
• Pesticides and herbicides
• Antidepressants and sleeping pills
• Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
• Altered fats in food products
• Increased consumption of carbohydrates
• Anti-cholesterol drugs

To name a few causes.

There are however, a whole load of products you can buy at the supermarket that claim to replenish or nurture your gut bacteria, most can be found in the cold section by the yogurts, and we all know that plain yogurt is meant to be good for you if you have an upset stomach, so it's a pretty sensible place to put them.

But are they really worth it?

The Team at the BBC "Trust Me, I'm a Doctor", have done a little experiment to see if mass produced, shop-bought probiotics really work.

In order to do this they assembled 3 groups of volunteers (10 in each group) from Inverness and NHS Highland, Scotland, with no previous existing health problems. 

Over a period of 4 weeks, Group 1 was given a daily probiotic drink found in any supermarket.  These probiotic drinks contain a particular strain of bacteria that can survive the acid conditions of the stomach.  It is usually lactobacillus and/or Bifidobacterium.

Group 2 were given Kefir, a fermented milk drink from the Northern Caucasus mountains near the Black Sea between eastern Europe and western Asia.  Kefir is a fermented drink usually made from goat or cow milk and kefir grains.  Kefir is known to contain a variety of bacteria and yeasts, as do other fermented foods such as soy sauce, kimchi and sauerkraut.

Group 3 was given a diet rich in prebiotic fiber - prebiotics are essentially oligosaccharides or carbohydrate fibers that feed our gut bacteria and help create a friendly environment for them to flourish in.

This group's diet contained the equivalent of 7g of inulin, a specific prebiotic fiber, every day, in the form of leeks, chicory, Jerusalem artichokes, garlic and onion.

Before starting the study, all the volunteers had their statistics taken down, weight, height, body composition, etc..

After four weeks, all the volunteers were re-measured and had their stools and urine tested too.  The findings were as follows:

Group 1 and their probiotic drinks from the supermarket, did not show any significant changes in their gut microbiome.  A small change did occur in one family of bacteria, lachnospiraceae, identified as being beneficial to weight control, but the change was not significant.

Group 3 on the inulin diet did see a significant change in bacterium, faecalibacterium, which is known to help with maintaining general good gut health.

These bacteria produce butyrate, a metabolite that feeds the cells of the colon.  It is also known that they are helpful in inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's.

Group 3 didn't see any changes in physical statistics, no one lost weight, for example.

Group 2 and their kefir drink was the group to show the most change.  In comparison to one bacteria in Group 1, the Kefir drinkers showed changes in several bacterial groups known to be helpful for gut health, especially lactobacillales.

This bacterial group is especially helpful to lactose intolerant people and other suffering from traveller's diarrhea.  So always good to have on hand.

So, there you have it.  Go for the Kefir and the veggies.  Probiotic drinks certainly won't do you any harm but you'll get more from the others.

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com