Weight lifting helps to prevent diabetes

post from Fitness & Health with Dr. Gabe Mirkin on 14 October 2006 09:51:00 PM. © Fitness & Health with Dr. Gabe Mirkin

One third of Americans will become diabetic because they eat too much and exercise too little. A study in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (July 2006) shows that lifting weights can help to prevent and to treat diabetes.

Extra fat prevents your body from responding normally to insulin. Before insulin can do its job of driving sugar from the bloodstream into cells, it must first attach to little hooks on cell membranes called insulin receptors. Having extra fat in cells turns these receptors inward, making it far more difficult for insulin to attach to the receptors. This prevents insulin from doing its job of lowering blood sugar levels, even though your body is making plenty of insulin. That?s why anything that makes you fat increases your risk for diabetes. Doctors can measure how cells respond to insulin with a sugar tolerance test.

In this study, adolescent boys were given a program of lifting heavy weights twice a week. After only 16 weeks, their muscles were larger and they lost fat. Sugar tolerance tests showed that the ability of their bodies to clear a load of sugar from their blood streams improved dramatically. This means that a regular weight lifting program decreases insulin resistance and thus reduces risk for becoming diabetic.

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Onion,Garlic and other Herbs to Lower Blood Sugar

post from Elqalatawy-Articles on 14 October 2006 05:57:00 PM. © Elqalatawy-Articles

Since antiquity, diabetes has been treated with plant medicines. Recent scientific investigation has confirmed the efficacy of many of these preparations, some of which are remarkably effective. Only those herbs that appear most effective, are relatively non-toxic and have substantial documentation of efficacy are covered here.

Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia):
Bitter melon, also known as balsam pear, is a tropical vegetable widely cultivated in Asia, Africa and South America, and has been used extensively in folk medicine as a remedy for diabetes. The blood sugar lowering action of the fresh juice or extract of the unripe fruit has been clearly established in both experimental lab and clinical studies.

Bitter melon is composed of several compounds with confirmed anti-diabetic properties. Charantin, extracted by alcohol, is a hypoglycaemic agent composed of mixed steroids that is more potent than the drug tolbutamide which is often used in the treatment of diabetes. Momordica also contains an insulin-like polypeptide, polypeptide-P, which lowers blood sugar levels when injected subcutaneously into type 1 diabetic patients. The oral administration of 50-60 ml of the juice has shown good results in clinical trials.

Excessively high doses of bitter melon juice can cause abdominal pain and diarrhea. Small children or anyone with hypoglycemiashould not take bitter melon, since this herb could theoretically trigger or worsen low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia. Furthermore, diabetics taking hypoglycemic drugs (such as chlorpropamide,glyburide, or phenformin) or insulin should use bitter melon withcaution, as it may potentiate the effectiveness of the drugs, leading to severe hypoglycemia.

Onion and Garlic:
( Allium cepa and Allium sativum) Onion and garlic have significant blood sugar lowering action. The principal active ingredients are believed to be allyl propyl disulphide (APDS) and diallyl disulphide oxide (allicin), although other constitutents such as flavonoids may play a role as well.
Experimental and clinical evidence suggests that APDS lowers glucose levels by competing with insulin for insulin-inactivating sites in the liver. This results in an increase of free insulin.APDS administered in doses of 125 mg/ kg to fasting humans was found to cause a marked fall in blood glucose levels and an increase in serum insulin. Allicin doses of 100 mg/kg produced a similar effect.

Onion extract was found to reduce blood sugar levels during oral and intravenous glucose tolerance. The effect improved as the dosage was increased; however, beneficial effects were observed even for low levels that used in the diet (eg., 25 to 200 grams). The effects were similar in both raw and boiled onion extracts. Onions affect the hepatic metabolism of glucose and/or increases the release of insulin, and/or prevent insulin's destruction.

The additional benefit of the use of garlic and onions are their beneficial cardiovascular effects. They are found to lower lipid levels, inhibit platelet aggregation and are antihypertensive.
So, liberal use of onion and garlic are recommended for diabetic patients.

Blueberry leaves (Vaccinium myrtillus):
A decoction of the leaves of the blueberry has a long history of folk use in the treatment of diabetes. The compound myrtillin (an anthocyanoside) is apparently the most active ingredient. Upon injection it is somewhat weaker than insulin, but is less toxic, even at 50 times the 1 g per day therapeutic dose. A single dose can produce beneficial effects lasting several weeks.
Blueberry anthocyanosides also increase capillary integrity, inhibit free-radical damage and improve the tone of the vascular system. In Europe, it is used as an anti-haemorrhagic agent in the treatment of eye diseases including diabetic retinopathy.

Asian Ginseng:
Asian ginseng is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat diabetes. It has been shown to enhance the release of insulin from the pancreas and to increase the number of insulin receptors. It also has a direct blood sugar-lowering effect. A recent study found that 200 mg of ginseng extract per day improved blood sugar control as well as energy levels in Type 2 diabetes (NIDDM).

BilberryBilberry:
It may lower the risk of some diabetic complications, such as diabetic cataracts and retinopathy.

SteviaStevia:
has been used traditionally to treat diabetes. Early reports suggested that stevia might have beneficial effects on glucose tolerance (and therefore potentially help with diabetes), although not all reports have confirmed this. Even if stevia did not have direct antidiabetic effects, its use as a sweetener could reduce intake of sugars in such patients.

Ginkgo Biloba:
Ginkgo biloba extract may prove useful for prevention and treatment of early-stage diabetic neuropathy.

Cinnamon :
It triples insulin's efficiency.

Barberry :
One of the mildest and best liver tonics known.
Dosage: tincture, 10-30 drops; standard decoction or 3-9 g.

Nigella Sativa Oil( NSO):
NSO significantly lowered blood glucose concentrations in diabetic rats after 2, 4 and 6 weeks. The blood lowering effect of NSO was, however, not paralled by a stimulation of insulin release in the presence of NSO,or its active ingredients, nigellone or thymoquinone. The data indicate that the hypoglycemic effect of NSO may be mediated by extrapancreatic actions rather than by stimulated insulin release.

Almost all can be easily obtained, or they are already in your kitchen.

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Walnuts win over olive oil as heart healthiest

post from The Cardio Blog on 14 October 2006 03:52:00 PM. © The Cardio Blog

A small study from Spain reports that a serving of walnuts after a high-fat meal may help reduce damage to blood vessels more than celebrated olive oil. Highly-acclaimed for its healthy fat content, olive oil helps reduce blood vessel inflammation and oxidation which occurs after consumption of a fatty meal -- comparable to the effects of walnuts.

Described as a protective fat, similar to omega-3 fatty acids, alpha-linolenic acid is found in walnuts -- which takes them one step further up the heart health ladder. This substance helps blood vessels maintain greater flexibility, which olive oil does not. Walnuts are the winner!

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Bar workers breathe easier after Scottish smoking
ban

post from The Cardio Blog on 14 October 2006 02:47:00 PM. © The Cardio Blog

Filed under: Prevention, Research, Smoking

The news on recent indoor smoking bans around the world has reported vast health improvements -- showing great promise in eliminating one of the highest preventable causes of heart disease.

Only 2 months after the public indoor smoking ban in Scotland, a health survey of local pub workers showed great improvement in their respiratory system functions. Prior to the ban, nearly 80 percent of bartenders, cocktail waitresses and other help experienced respiratory problems. At one month after the ban, pub workers reported 26 percent less symptoms -- at two months, a steady decrease in respiratory problems was reported at 32 percent fewer symptomatic reactions second-hand smoke.

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Diabetics Warned About Fake Test Strips

post from Obesity Discussion on 14 October 2006 01:10:01 PM. © Obesity Discussion

Diabetics Warned About Fake Test Strips

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Oct 14, 7:26 AM (ET)

WASHINGTON (AP) - The government warned diabetics Friday to watch for counterfeit versions of test strips commonly used to monitor blood sugar levels. The test strips,...

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Medication Combined With Behavior Changes May
Help Obese Adolescents Lose Weight

post from Obesity Discussion on 14 October 2006 01:01:14 PM. © Obesity Discussion

Medication Combined With Behavior Changes May Help Obese Adolescents Lose Weight
Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness News
Article Date: 18 Jul 2006 - 0:00am (PDT)
| email this article | printer friendly | view or write opinions |

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Historic Minority Health Summit Launches Healthy
Lifestyles, Healthy Communities

post from Obesity Discussion on 14 October 2006 12:59:23 PM. © Obesity Discussion

Historic Minority Health Summit Launches Healthy Lifestyles, Healthy Communities Initiative
Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness News
Article Date: 17 Jul 2006 - 15:00pm (PDT)

Four key congressional leaders, along with top health care and bu...

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Interrupted sleep wearing and dangerous

Interrupted sleep wearing and dangerous
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Font: * * * * Peggy Curran, CanWest News Service
Published: Saturday, October 14, 2006
MONTREAL --There's a little sucking noi...

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UPDATE 1-Glaxo targets US pharmacists over diet
drug fear

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L: Quote, Profile, Research) has asked U.S. pharmacists to warn patients about the unpleasant side effects that may occur with a potential over-the-counter diet drug.

U.S. regulators are considering Glaxo's appl...

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Key facts about the obesity epidemic facing the
United States:

key facts about the obesity epidemic facing the United States:

ADULTS

The United States has the highest prevalence of obesity among developed nations, at about one-third of the adult population, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and P...

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