Archive for the ‘Blood Type Diet’ Category

Top 5 Diabetes Diet Tips for Creating Healthy Meal Plan

Diet plays a key role in controlling your blood sugar. A healthy-eating plan tailored to your needs will do that and more. Majority of people affected with diabetes are overweight or obese. In fact, your risk of getting diabetes increases the more weight you put on.

So controlling your diet can be the key to reducing the risk of diabetes as well as improving your symptoms if you are already affected by this disease people often refer to as “the silent killer.”

Everybody knows that maintaining a good diet is a healthy choice for every person. But for diabetes patients, this statement means something more significant than the recent fad over healthy living.

For diabetes patients, having a healthy diet means eating in a way that reduces the risk for complications that are commonly associated with their conditions, including heart disease and stroke. For them, a healthy diet could mean the difference between die-abetes and live-abetes.

Eating healthy involves eating a wide variety of foods that encompasses the whole diet spectrum of vegetables, whole grains, fruits, non-fat dairy products, beans, lean meats, poultry, and fish.

No, you do not have to eat all of that, but a little bit of this and that enough to balance the three basic food groups (Go, Grow, and Glow) is what you should aim for.

Tip #1: Preparing a Meal Plan

When you go on a diabetes diet, the first things you need to do is to prepare a meal plan. This will serve as your guide to how much and what kinds of food you can choose to eat at meals, and even at snack times if you wish to include that.

Now, be sure that your meal plan fits in with your schedule and eating habits. That way you will not be likely to ruin your diet simply because your work schedule conflicts with your meal schedule.

Keep in mind your end-goal: To keep your blood glucose in levels that are easy enough to maintain.

In addition to that somewhat myopic diet goal for diabetes, you also want to follow a meal plan that will help you improve your blood pressure and cholesterol levels as well as keep your weight on track.

All these – blood pressure, cholesterol and weight – are factors that contribute to the worsening of your diabetes symptoms, so controlling them could very well mean controlling your diabetes.

When preparing a meal plan, be sure to balance uptake and down take – that is, food and exercise, respectively. Additionally, your doctor may have prescribed you with insulin or oral medications to help you manage your condition.

Take those medications into account as well when you plan your meal plan, making sure that the food is balanced with the drugs. The whole thing sounds like it’s a lot of work but with a few suggestions from your physician and/or dietician you can start building a meal plan that is best for you and your condition.

Tip #2: Use the Diabetes Food Pyramid

The Diabetes Food Pyramid, released by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is composed of six food groups (arranged according to how much you should eat from the least to the most and based on carbohydrate and protein content):

? Fats, sweets, and alcohol
? Milk
? Meat, meat substitutes, and other proteins
? Fruits
? Vegetables
? Grains, beans, and starchy vegetables

Fats, sweets, and alcohol are the one food group that diabetes patients should avoid.

The problem with diabetes involves a certain malfunction in the way our bodies make use of glucose in the blood. It is either there is too much glucose in our blood because we ate too much food rich in sugar so that the hormone responsible for regulating glucose – insulin – is unable to cope. Or, our cells are defective so that even though we have enough insulin to handle the job, our cells do not respond.

In order to control the levels of glucose in the blood stream, controlling diabetes diet is important. The intake of fats, sweets, and alcohol and other generally “unhealthy” foods should be minimized and only for special treats.

As for the rest of the food groups, here are the serving sizes recommended by the American Diabetes Association:

? Meat and Meat Substitutes: 4-6 oz. per day and divided between meals. This is equivalent to

Type 2 Diabetes – a Natural Cure Through Simple Diet Changes

Type 2 Diabetes affects millions of people worldwide and is increasing and this is due to people becoming unhealthier than ever due to modern living – yet millions of people can cure themselves with simple diet changes. Let?s look at type 2 diabetes and in more detail the causes and natural ways to cure it.

What is it?

Type 2 diabetes is caused by the body becoming resistant to the hormone insulin ? this causes a rise in glucose levels in the blood. People at risk tend to people who are overweight or generally lead unhealthy lifestyles.

The condition leads to serious health problems that include:

Heat attacks, kidney damage, blood vessel damage and blindness Drugs can cure the problem but if they fail to work then the patient needs to inject the hormone directly to the body.

Cure and prevention

There is increasing evidence that the type 2 diabetes can be reversed and prevented, by following a balanced low glycaemic diet and following a healthy lifestyle.

A diet that has shown to be effective is the Mediterranean diet which is generally seen as one of the healthiest in the world.

Why is it so effective?

It is based on food naturally from the earth (i.e. not processed) and includes an abundance of fresh, fruit, vegetables and whole grains.

It also contains a lot of healthy fats derived from fish and olive oil.

One of the above diet in terms of type 2 diabetes, is that it has a low glycaemic load.

The above means that carbohydrates don?t raise blood sugar levels in the way that processed foods do.

The diet therefore will correct obesity and keeps blood sugar levels in check, by helping to lose weight naturally, making insulin more effectively.

There is an ongoing debate over the effectiveness of the above diet, due to the fact that it contains more fat than many other diets.

Is fat the real enemy?

Fat is not the enemy that many people think it is in terms of combating type 2 diabetes.

Many see fat as a cause of diabetes ? however the fats contained in the Mediterranean diet are ?healthy fats? that the body needs. We are all for all example aware, of the benefits of the fats in oily fish ? a major component of the Med Diet.

An Easy Diet to Follow

It is incredibly hard for many people and also unhealthy to follow a diet without fat and the med diet overcomes this problem by providing a healthy diet with healthy fats that is easy to follow.

Type 2 diabetes is so common due to unhealthy living and diet and it therefore makes sense to look at this area first in terms of making oneself healthy.

A Diet to Prevent and Reverse

The above provides a balanced, healthy diet, that is easy to follow and provides the right balance of all food groups in a healthy manner.

It is no coincidence that, type 2 diabetes numbers have soared in recent years, the people it affects tend to be:

Overweight, consume bad fats and have a high consumption of processed foods.

Think About it

By cutting the above foods out and eating a healthy, natural balanced diet can help not only prevent, but cure type 2 diabetes in many cases.

While there is still much debate about the above (and any diet you undertake should be done in consultation with your doctor) the above argument for a change to a med style diet makes total and logical sense.

Importance Of Breakfast In Your Diet

Many people make the mistake of skipping or skimping on breakfast in their daily diet. This may be due to any number of reasons…rushing off to work, jumping into household chores, getting caught up with child care or just plain poor eating habits. Breakfast is an important element in one’s daily diet, whatever type of diet you may prefer.

I used to skip breakfast all the time. I would often fill up on water and head out the door for the daily 1.5 hour commute to work. Of course, the first stop after getting off the train would be a coffee – simply to keep me going, not for the caffeine fix! When I worked in the Corporate World, I counted myself among the many who would skip their morning meal. Breakfast was a luxury time didn’t permit.

Some who are very weight loss conscious, or just wish to control weight through diet, erroneously think that skipping breakfast is a good way to eliminate calories. This is a mistake in terms of overall health, calorie control and good diet habits. Because the food we eat in our diet, the times when we eat and the particular type of food intake (protein, starch, sugar) all affect blood sugar levels and appetite. We need to control food intake in our diet in order to keep energy and blood sugar at appropriate levels.

I started back at the gym two months ago after a five year hiatus. One of the first things I did, even before setting foot in the door of the gym, was incorporate a breakfast and a morning snack into my daily routine. It’s made the world of difference. In fact, the days that I don’t eat a full meal or skip my snack, I feel it in my energy levels when I hit the gym.

In essence when we awake in the morning our body has been through a period of “fasting”, with no food intake for a number of hours. This results in relatively low blood sugar. If one skips breakfast in one’s diet, the blood sugar level continues to dip and a sudden craving can develop for food, especially for sugar in the diet, which again causes a quick rise in blood sugar. When the diet includes sudden intake of sugar, the sugar level jumps, which develops a roller coaster effect and leads to a poor diet which includes “quick fixes”. Typically a quick response to low blood sugar is a sweet, a soft drink or alcohol…none of which are a good diet supplement.

A diet which maintains appropriate levels of blood sugar and energy will include a healthy breakfast. Blood sugar levels will be maintained with a diet that includes a balanced breakfast combining whole grain, some source of protein and fruit. Protein in particular in the diet, including breakfast, will maintain blood sugar levels, avoiding the dips which lead to snacking.

If you’re pressed for time, consider a smoothie. You can chop your fruits and vegetables the night before and load them into your blender glass. Refrigerate overnight (or not if you prefer room temperature smoothies) and whirl away in the blender in the morning along with your favorite liquid. Five minutes is all you’ll need to whip up a nutritious and substantial breakfast. You can even pour it into a travel mug or neoprene jug and tote it with you on your commute.

A healthy breakfast is an essential part of a healthy diet. Beginning your day with a good, nourishing meal is the first step toward maintaining a balanced diet and a sensible approach to good eating habits. Don’t skip breakfast in your daily diet.

Your body will thank you.

Fight Acne by Eating Right to Lower Blood Sugar Levels

If you are a teenager a cure for acne will likely be first on your list after finding a boyfriend or girlfriend, and most of us who have been teenagers can probably remember the misery that our perception of our looks gave us.

There have been many theories as to the cause of acne, and it is highly likely that there is more than one. The basic reason for the appearance of acne is that oils, dead skin cells and bacteria block the pores of the skin to form a variety of different types of pimples or spots, such as whiteheads, blackheads and pustules than can be irritating or painful. They can also be very unsightly, affecting the face, neck and sometimes the chest and back.

Studies have indicated that acne is caused by the over-production of sebum, a fatty oily substance secreted by the sebaceous glands of the skin to keep it supple and lubricated. If this is excessive, the sebum can block the pores causing blackheads, and become infected causing acne. So what causes this excess production of sebum? There are theories that it could be due to high insulin levels in the blood.

High insulin levels are promoted by high blood glucose levels the more blood glucose in your blood then the more insulin your pancreas produces to help covert it into energy. Higher insulin levels are also associated with high levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). The result of this is an increase in androgens (male hormones), specifically dihydrotestosterone (DHT), metabolized from testosterone. This in turn causes an increased production of sebum leading to acne.

The complete chain, therefore, begins with increased levels of glucose in your blood and ends in acne. In order to prevent acne you would have to break this chain anywhere in its sequence, and the only viable place to do this is at the beginning reduce your blood glucose level. In order to achieve this you would have to determine what foods you are eating that could cause an excessively high level of glucose in your blood.

Glucose is metabolized from carbohydrates, ranging from complex carbohydrates to refined sugar. However, those that you should try to avoid are the refined carbohydrates such as pasta, white bread, rice and sugar. These are what are known as the high glycemic index foods that can cause a sharp rise in your blood glucose levels when consumed. The complex carbohydrates take longer to be metabolized and are not so prone to producing sudden increases in your sugar levels. These lead to more sustained and gradual increases in blood glucose that demand a steady insulin supply, rather than the sudden increase that can lead to acne. Such foods include high fiber whole grains, oats and the like.

Studies have indicated that twelve weeks on a diet of low glycemic index foods resulted in a significant reduction in acne symptoms when compared to a control that did not change their diet. It therefore seems likely that your nutrition can affect your acne, and that changes in your diet could lead to a significant long-term reduction in acne symptoms such as pimples, pustules and other types of lesion.

The same studies also proved a reduction in the androgen levels of those on the complex hydrocarbon diet compared to the controls, and also greater sensitivity to insulin. However, the test group also experienced a significant weight loss, and it was not conclusively proved whether the reduction in acne symptoms was due to the reduction in blood glucose levels or to the weight loss.

However, the result is in accordance with the insulin and androgen theory, and it is known that diabetes is connected with obesity, so the two might in any case be related. Acne, diabetes, and weight are all related to your blood sugar level, which is in turn related to diet and carbohydrate intake.

Although a low glycemic index diet is suggested, such a diet is not easy to apply properly, and a dietician could help you here. Persistence is the name of the game, and you will not see instant results. Note that the tests referred to above were over twelve weeks, and this is likely the minimum period you will need to stick to your diet. However, the minute you break it, and revert back to simple carbohydrates, your problem will return. There is no sudden cure, rather a continual dietary approach to the prevention of the condition. Acne is not a disease that you can catch and cure. It is a condition created by lifestyle and diet, and can only be controlled rather than cured until you grow out of it in your late teens or early twenties, although many people suffer from acne until later in life.

Your diet should include plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and cereals, brown rice, fish, eggs and lean meats. You should avoid saturated and trans fats, and eat unsaturated fats and oils, with plenty of omega fatty acids, vitamins and minerals for a good skin and good health. Exercise will help by improving the blood flow to your skin.

You can also help your condition by taking some specific supplements. Saw palmetto and zinc will help to reduce the levels of testosterone in your blood, and vitamins E and B6 are also believed to help. Selenium, pantothenic acid and essential fatty acids are other supplements that can help with acne, but your best bet is to discuss your condition with a naturopath or somebody trained in the use of natural remedies and supplements with your condition.

Many swear by tea tree oil, although treatment has to be prolonged over a length period before it becomes effective, but you might prefer this to one of the chemical testosterone blockers that can be prescribed for acne in certain cases.

Overall, acne is not a serious condition but can be disfiguring. Although you can seek medical help in the event of serious attacks, your recommended treatment initially is to eat plenty of healthy foods low in simple carbohydrates, to take the appropriate supplements and nutrients to keep you healthy and to take plenty of exercise to maintain a good blood supply to your face.

In these ways you can reduce the number, depth and lasting effects of acne pustules, and in many cases clear the condition altogether.

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