That's Fit

It isn't surprising that pregnant women are supposed to eat healthfully. Good nutrition will help a baby develop properly. But did you know that poor nutrition can not only negatively effect a baby's development, but it can also cause long-term damage?

A study by the Royal Veterinary College and London's Wellcome Trust, shows that when pregnant rats are fed fatty, processed foods during pregnancy, their offspring have high levels of fat in their bloodstream and around major organs -- even into their teenage years.

Fat gathered around internal organs has been linked to development of type II diabetes. Male rats tended to have higher insulin levels and normal blood sugar, while female offspring tended to have low insulin, high blood sugar, and tended to be more overweight.

While further research is obviously necessary, this is just one more link between healthy diet and a healthy life.

Not a breakfast person? Well, if you want to lose weight and decrease your risk for metabolic syndrome, you may want to force yourself to be.

An analysis of government data on 4,200 adults revealed that that people who ate breakfast regularly tended to eat fewer calories overall during the day. And, a separate study out of the University of Connecticut found that eating three eggs daily can cut your risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and obesity -- three known risk factors that, along with others, are classified as metabolic syndrome.

So, if your usual breakfast is nothing more than a quick cup of coffee, it may be worth your while to take the extra ten minutes to cook yourself up some eggs.

The U.S. Senate is expected to vote today on a Medicare package that includes a two-year extension on the Special Diabetes Programs.

According to the American Diabetes Association, these programs at the National Institutes of Heath and the Indian Health Service represent a major portion of the government's commitment to find a cure for diabetes. Earlier this week, the House voted 355-59 in support of the bill.

Despite the resounding support, now is not the time to let up on pressure to pass this legislation. Now is the time, however, to let your Senator know prevention of and finding a cure for diabetes should be a financial priority with the federal government for the sake of human health, as well as our ailing economy. Treatment and a cure will cost money, but denying crucial funding would be penny wise and pound foolish. That's my two cents for today.

The American Diabetes Association has put a shout out on the advocacy front and I'm passing it on. According to the announcement, the U.S. House of Representatives is about to consider one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation for people with diabetes.

A vote on the ADA Amendments Act (formerly called the ADA Restoration Act) could happen as early as today.

This bill makes it clear that when Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, they intended the coverage to protect anyone who faces unfair discrimination because of a disability. The bill confirms for the courts that people should not lose their civil rights protections because they may have a disease that may be manageable with mediation.

It's not too late to send your letter of support to your representative. Please take a moment to do so on behalf of all people with diabetes.

A data analysis of a government health study, conducted from 1999 to 2004. revealed that people with diabetes may be more prone to developing hearing problems.

Among people with diabetes who were part of the study (representing 8 percent of the total number of participants), 54 percent had at least mild hearing loss in their ability to hear high-frequency tones, compared with only 32 percent of those with no history of diabetes. Moreover, 21 percent of participants with diabetes had at least mild hearing loss in their ability to hear low-to-mid frequency tones, compared with nine percent of those without the disease.

Researchers posit that diabetes may damage blood vessels or nerves in the ear, although there is currently not enough evidence to prove this connection.

If you have type 2 diabetes, you may be interested to know that there may be something you can eat to help keep your blood glucose levels under control. Just don't get grossed out when you find out that something is tree bark.

A new study published in the May 2008 edition of the journal of Nutrition Research shows Pycnogenol, an antioxidant plant extract from the bark of the French maritime pine tree, reduces blood sugar in type 2 diabetes patients. What's more, this somewhat magical bark also showed promise for people with other diabetes-related health risks, such as cardiovascular disease.

A breakthrough of this kind, provided further testing also produces similar results, could affect the lives of the estimated 20 million people in the U.S. living with type 2 diabetes, serving as a potent adjunct to prescription medication.

Are you tired? Yawning, stretching, feeling unfocused and unenergetic? If that sounds like you, read up on some tests you might want to take.

The truth is: I love cherries. Some other truths: Cherries have the highest levels of disease-fighting antioxidants compared to other fruits, a growing body of evidence shows that tart cherries may help relieve arthritis, cherries are one of the few foods known to regulate natural sleep patterns, and cherries also might reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. Geez, and I just loved them for the taste.

Wait. There's more: Cherry consumption help prevent colon cancer, may aid in the management of diabetes, and may be good for the brain.

Ready to love cherries, like me? If so, check out this handy tool and learn how to incorporate cherries into your routine. Take a peek at these recipes too -- this month's featured treat is Confetti Couscous Salad with Dried Cherries. Yummy. And for up-to-date cherry news, pay this location a visit every once in a while..

If you've got a little cush in your tush and are thinking about dropping a few pounds, you might not want to go too lean, because U.S. researchers announced yesterday that a type of fat that accumulates around the hips and bottom may offer some protection against diabetes.

Subcutaneous fat -- the type that collects just under the skin -- seems to help improve sensitivity to the hormone insulin, which regulates blood sugar. We're not talking visceral fat -- the kind that collects in the abdomen and can raise the risk of diabetes and heart disease. It's the fat that deposits down lower that appears to shelter some people from metabolic disease.

So, not all fat is bad fat. Celebrate that pear-shape if you have one, then. And consider yourself lucky.

Wouldn't it be grand if you simply had to eat a chocolate bar every day? Not complying with your daily prescription would mean the study of heart disease would take a hit. People could get sick, for goodness sake. You wouldn't want that on your conscience, would you?

Participants in Britain will soon be eating one grand chocolate bar every day for one whole year to help researchers determine whether compounds called flavonoids found in chocolate and other foods help reduce the risk of heart disease for menopausal women with type 2 diabetes. Previous studies suggest dark chocolate is linked with heart health but experts say the high sugar and fat content might cancel out some of the benefits.

One hundred and fifty women -- each one past menopause and with type 2 diabetes -- will come to the aid of science very soon. While downing their daily decadence -- half will eat a super-charged bar with 30 grams of flavonoids; the others will get chocolate without the active compounds -- researchers will look at their blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and the condition of their arteries.

Researchers hope this study has implication for a wider population. If all goes well, maybe a candy bar will soon be on your daily diet plan.

Put down the eggs, men! Well, not all of them. For some of you, anyway.

Middle-aged men who ate seven or more eggs per week had a higher risk of earlier death, say U.S. researchers reporting on the 20-year-long Physicians' Health Study. And men with diabetes who ate any eggs at all raised their risk of death.

Eggs have long been controversial -- and this research adds to a growing body of evidence about the safety of the possibly-forbidden food. Here are some initial conclusions:

A recent Japanese study, published in the Kobe Journal Medical Sciences and most recently highlighted in Fitness Rx magazine, confirms what we've known for quite some time: eating foods high in simple, fast-digesting carbs can cause you to pack on more fat. The difference this time around, however, is that this study provides an additional explanation for why this happens.

When you drink copious amounts of regular soda and chomp on white bread, you spike your blood glucose levels (also known as blood sugar). You may be familiar with this concept from your own knowledge base or from hearing of this process from someone who has diabetes. In response, your body produces a large amount of insulin in efforts to bring your blood glucose back down from orbit by moving the glucose out of the blood and into the cells (whereas a person with diabetes may have to use synthetic insulin -- administered either by shot or pump -- to make up for what their pancreas is not able to sufficiently do on its own in this regard). After this occurs, all excess glucose is stored for later use as fat in white adipose tissue.

It's important for everyone to have an active, healthy lifestyle. For those who have beat cancer, it's possibly even more important. More than 10 million Americans have survived the disease -- but the impact it had on their health puts them at higher risk for conditions such as heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, and a reduced quality of life... not to mention the risk of cancer recurrence.

Exercise, eating healthfully, and not smoking can help counteract that increased risk. But, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS), too few cancer survivors adopt a healthier lifestyle. Though approximately 75% of cancer survivors do stop smoking, the ACS isn't seeing as good of an improvement with healthy eating and physical activity.

The ACS recommends a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise a day (at least five days a week) and a diet that includes at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Less than 48% of survivors are meeting the exercise requirements and less than 20% are eating the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables.

This month, the American Diabetes Association invites anyone willing to make a few phone calls between today and May 2 to call on Congress to do more to fight diabetes.

Calls will be made to congressional Representatives and Senators during the ADA's 2008 Call to Congress Call-In. Also, hundreds of diabetes advocates will be on Capitol Hill visiting with their Members of Congress and asking them to increase funding for diabetes research and prevention.

Talking points and the call-in flyer (for printing and distributing) can be found online.

Source: American Diabetes Association

Bad news for women in the Washington Post yesterday. A study, also published yesterday, reveals evidence that life expectancy is falling for a significant number of American females.

According to the Post, the study cites that in nearly 1,000 counties that together are home to about 12 percent of the nation's women, life expectancy is now shorter than it was in the early 1980s. This marks the first decline in life expectancy for a significant number of women since the Spanish influenza of 1918, the Post reports.