Archive for March 2016

Benefits of Whole Grains

While many people think whole grain bread has many health benefits researchers have found information that this bread is actually harmful. Whole grains may increase a person’s risk for developing type 2 diabetes, and put a person at an increased risk for heart disease and a stroke.

These grains are not able to keep a person feeling full for too long.

While many packages say that they contain whole grains they may also contain refined flour and added sugar. They are not the best choice for good health.

Do not allow yourself to be fooled by the food manufactures. Before making a purchase be sure to read the list on ingredients’ on the package. If they contain the following ingredients it is in your best interest not to purchase it:

Enriched wheat flour
Wheat
Durhum wheat
Semolina
Oat flour
Rice

Below are some health ingredients to look for:

Whole or rolled oats
Stone ground whole wheat
Bulgar
Whole grain brown rice
Whole grain corn
Quinoa

These products are more likely to contain whole grains.

To be 100% positive that the product contains while grain check for the 100% whole grain stamp. This means the product was made with whole grains.

Pre Diabetes Symptoms

Pre Diabetes Symptoms – The early signs of type 2 diabetes are essential to your health. Most people have diabetes and do not realize it until it is too late. Currently, 1 in 3 people have diabetes and do not know it.

If you are experiencing pre diabetes symptoms, your condition can be helped with supplements for diabetes. Supplements for diabetes decrease your chances of developing heart disease. Before you take a supplement, you should look for the signs.

Early Signs of Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes can occur over time. That is why some people dismiss the signs. Here are the most common signs of diabetes.

Excessive Thirst

Do you wake up at night with a dry throat and craving something to drink? Occasionally doing so is nothing to worry about. However, if you are constantly thirsty and only drinking large amounts of liquids will help, you may be experiencing an early sign of diabetes. You may even become thirsty right after drinking something.

Frequent Urination

This is probably the most common sign of type 2 diabetes. You have an increase in urination. You are drinking more so this may explain some of the need to urinate. However, high-blood sugar can cause urination to increase. The average person only urinates 4 to 7 times a day. If you have to wake up in the middle of the night to pee or going constantly within short time frames, you may have diabetes.

Slow Healing Cuts and Wounds

A person with high-blood sugar is slow to heal. If you cut your hand today, the wound may be there longer than normal.

Itchy or Dry Skin

Hormone disruption can cause itchy or irritated skin. When you have high-blood sugar, your hormones are out of wack. Your skin may also darken around your armpits or neck.

Unexpected or unintentional weight gain

Weight gain can be an early sign of diabetes. The weight has to be gained rapidly and unintentionally.

Tingling

Another early sign of diabetes is a tingling in your hands or feet. The tingling can be a burning or numbing sensation. It occurs mainly in the morning.

Blurred Vision

Your vision may become blurry or distorted. This symptom can be corrected by taking supplements for diabetes.

Unusual fatigue and feeling weak

You may feel a little drowsy after doing nothing all day. You may feel weak at any given moment. You may be too tired to participate in everyday activities such as going to work, driving or eating.

Extreme Hunger

You have just eaten a substantial meal, and you are still hungry. Early signs of diabetes include having an insatiable appetite. Your brain is telling you that you have to eat, but you just ate. It can lead to overeating. This may also explain the rapid weight gain.

Type 2 Diabetes can be manageable. Knowing the pre diabetes symptoms and taking a supplement for diabetes are the best way to manage the condition. If left untreated, diabetes can cause severe heart disease that can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Early symptoms can be temporary once treatment starts.

Why Do I Overeat?

Ever wondered why do we overeat? With obesity becoming a major problem, it is time to take notice of why we tend to become fat. If you are wondering as to why do I overeat, it all boils down to some basic principles on how our body mechanism works.

Why do we overeat?

As you know, our body requires food to be able to carry out the different body processes that help us to live normally. However, why is it that we can keep on eating more than we need?

A simple answer to that would be the fact that our body has the ability to store the extra food as fat, which it can then utilize in times of needs, when food is scarce. And we do not always have a situation where we aren’t able to eat for days, when the body can actually use up the excess fat and burn calories. So, in the end, we end up being fat, and this is a reason of why do people overeat.

How does packaged food contribute to the cause?

The more important problem is that often, food that we take initiates hunger within us. Packaged foods for instance, are made such that we yearn for them without ever being satiated. The methods employed are the following.

Creaveability

This is called hankering like with chips. It is impossible to stop after just one. The reason is that the chip has salt on the outside and this, when tasted by the tongue, sends out pleasure signals to the brain which signals back to continue eating. The excess fat present, as well as potato starch which gets converted to sugar, also increases the pleasure factor. Sometimes the brain gets tired of one flavor, and so it signals that it is satiated. This normally would make the user stop eating chips but due to the variety of flavors offered, this never happens.

Low-Calorie Density

Foods that melt in the mouth like cotton candy, do not allow the stomach to give out signals that the calorie content has been reached. As the stomach does not realize how much has been consumed.

Contrasting Foods

The brain loves the novelty of different textures like crunchy shells filled with cream and, therefore, it sends out signals to continue eating.

What should you do?

Now that we are more aware, we can fight junk food better. We can do it by not buying such food. It’s a great idea to only buy whole foods that can be digested better with a worry.

Also, to create contrasts, one can try options like carrots and hummus or yogurt with berries. Ensure that you’re eating only because you’ve physical hunger and not because you’re bored – eating because you’re bored will definitely lead to you fattening up.

Physical hunger signs like a growling stomach or when we feel light headed are signs that you’re really hungry.

What Causes Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 2 Diabetes is the most common type of Diabetes that is characterized by an individual’s body not properly using insulin as it should; as a result of this, the body is unable to compensate by producing enough insulin to replace the amount being used by the body. Type 2 Diabetes develops in individuals of all ages, but is often found in middle-aged and older individuals who are either overweight or obese.

What Causes Type 2 Diabetes?

Genetic Predisposition

When in person is born, they are passed on genes, or combinations of genes, from their biological mother or father. These genes can either increase or decrease ones likelihood of developing this type of Diabetes. It has been found, through research, that certain ethnicities are more likely to develop Diabetes; these ethnicities include African Americans, Hispanics, Alaska Natives, and more. It has also been discovered that there is a higher rate of Type 2 Diabetes in families and identical twins.

Studies have also determined gene variants increase the likelihood of developing this disease. Although the research is not fully complete and many gene variants are still unknown, scientists do know that genes have the ability of affecting insulin production in ones body. They also know that these genes do not affect insulin resistance.

One of the gene variants scientists have discovered that increase one’s likelihood of getting Type 2 Diabetes is the variant of the TCF7L gene. For those who have these gene variants, there is an 80% higher chance of developing the disease than those who do not carry the genes. Even though their risk is so high, there are things these people can do in order to delay the disease such as dieting, working out, and losing weight.

Another role that genes play in developing Diabetes is making one more likely or susceptible of becoming obese or overweight. There is a “Thrifty Gene” theory that states certain genes in one’s body increase metabolism which results in the body extracting energy from the food one eats and using it as energy in the future. Although this may be a good situation if you’re scarce or deprived of food, it is not an ideal situation for those who intake many high-calorie foods because it can lead to obesity, and in the end, Diabetes.

Obesity & Inactivity

As stated above, obesity and being physically unfit is one of the main causes of Type 2 Diabetes. When someone continuously puts a lot of calories in their body, through the foods they eat, but does not do enough physical activity to burn those calories, a insulin resistance is created. Since insulin resistance is present in those with Type Two Diabetes; a person is more likely to develop it. Central obesity, which is defined as obesity associated with excess abdominal fat, puts one at risk of developing insulin resistance, diabetes, and heart and blood vessel disease. This negative affects to the body are caused the hormones that the excess fat on the stomach produce.

Studies have shown that those who are at risk due to this factor can decrease the risk by changing their lifestyle when it comes to food choices and physical activity routines. It has been proven that, by losing weight, regularly exercising, and eating a low-fat and low-calorie diet, can lower one’s risk significantly.

Insulin Resistance/Metabolic Syndrome

As stated above, those who are overweight or lacking physical activity can develop an insulin resistance, which increases the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes. This is known as metabolic syndrome and is defined as a group of conditions that include high blood glucose levels, excess abdominal fat, high blood pressure, and abnormal levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood.

When your muscles, liver, and fat stop responding to insulin effectively, the pancreas is pressured to produce extra insulin to compensate for the amount used. This can lead to Diabetes because if the beta cells in the body are not working properly, glucose in the blood stream rises. In order to reverse this syndrome, individuals can make some life changes such as getting more physical activity, eating healthy, and losing weight. These actions improve how the body responds to the levels of insulin.

Abnormal Glucose Production by the Liver

In some cases, individuals who have Diabetes have livers that produce an unhealthy amount of glucose. The way this works is through a hormones called glucagon that are released by the pancreas; this hormone stimulates the liver and produces the glucose that eventually finds its way into our blood steam.

Glucagon is typically released into the body with glucose and insulin levels are low, but after one eats, their levels are low which results in glucagon levels dropping and the liver storing additional glucose for when it is required.

Those who have Diabetes’ bodies are unable to lower their level of glucagon after a meal, which means their levels are higher than they should be; the liver then produces glucose that is not needed and the level of glucose in the blood is too high. As we know, increased glucose levels in the blood can contribute to Diabetes.

The Roles of Insulin and Glucagon in Normal Blood Glucose Regulation

One who is healthy is able to maintain their glucose levels by a variety of means. Insulin and glucagon work together to regulate these levels of glucose in the blood; insulin that is made by beta cells lowers glucose levels, and glucagon does the opposite.

The role that insulin and glucagon in normal glucose regulation may be confusing to some, but here is the breakdown of how it all works. Insulin helps our bodies absorb glucose from our blood, which results in lower levels of glucose; it also stimulate our livers and muscle tissue that store excess glucose.

Insulin lowers our blood glucose levels by reducing the amount that our livers produce; when we have low level of glucose, our pancreas releases glucagon and signals our liver and muscle tissues to break it down and turn it to glucose. This results in an increased level of glucose.

Cell Signaling and Regulation

The cells in our bodies connect with each other through molecular signaling pathways. One of the relative ways cells signal each other in terms of diabetes is our insulin receptors capturing insulin molecules that are in our blood stream. When this communication is done, insulin and its receptor enable the cells in our bodies to absorb glucose and use or store it for energy. The issue will this signaling system is that some of the signals that are communicated, through the insulin signal cells, lead to inflammation and insulin resistance.

Beta Cell Dysfunction

Another factor that causes Diabetes is beta cell dysfunction; this dysfunction results in abnormal amounts of insulin in the body. Scientists have been working to find the causes of this dysfunction, but in most cases, it has not been found. What they have found, though, is a gene, that regulates insulin in beta cells. This can lead to diabetes in the young, but it is rare. Although rare, it gives insight as to how beta cell dysfunction may be caused.

Risk Factors Associated with Developing Type 2 Diabetes

There are a variety of risk factors associated with developing Type 2 Diabetes. Some of these risk factors include:

45 or older
Overweight
Family members who are diagnosed with the disease
Certain ethnicities such as the one stated in the article above
High blood pressure
Physically inactive and unfit

These are just a few of the risk factors associated with Type 2 Diabetes. Others include giving birth to a child who weighs above 9 pounds, certain levels of cholesterol or triglyceride, polycystic ovary syndrome, and pre diabetes.