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.

Remember the Grapefruit Diet? Here at That's Fit, we avoid fad diets like Big Macs, but you might be surprised to hear that this one might actually have some merit.

What do you do after your workout? If you're like me you gulp down the last of your water, head home for a shower and prepare a meal. Not the most thoughtful set of steps when it comes to your muscles.

Carbo-loading before a big race was all the rage in the '90s. But new research has identified a more efficient way to stock the muscles with fuel -- by re-fueling immediately after your workout. Ingesting a combo of protein and carbs within 30 to 45 minutes after your workout takes advantage of an improved insulin response sparked by exercise. Insulin increases glycogen muscle uptake, so those muscles absorb more fuel and are better prepared for tomorrow's 10K.

The gym smoothie bar is looking even better now. Think ahead and have that carbo/protein recovery drink standing by. Down it right after your workout and then eat a standard meal within two hours post-workout to take advantage of potentially four to six more hours of increased insulin levels and accelerated recovery.

Did you eat breakfast today? How about yesterday? If you answered "No," you may be interested to learn that starting the day off with a substantive meal can help keep your weight in check.

The American Journal of Epidemiology reports that participants in a recent study who sourced 22 to 50 percent of their total daily calories from their breakfast gained an average of only 1.7 pounds over a four-year span. By contrast, those who did not eat breakfast -- or only sourced up to 11 percent of their daily calories from breakfast -- gained about three pounds.

Researchers posit that eating a meal after a long period of fasting -- as in, sleeping through the night, skipping breakfast, and then eating at around noon -- releases excess amounts of insulin, leading to fat storage and, as a recent Japanese study revealed, prevents the breakdown of stored fats.

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.

Last week, Diabetes Alert Day was celebrated on March 25th. According to popular diabetes website dLife.com, this awareness campaign is aimed at people becoming more aware of type 2 diabetes and taking a few minutes to assess their own diagnosis potential.

But, what about type 1 diabetes?

Wait a second ... did you even know there were two types of diabetes? If not, you're not alone, as it seems that there are many people who also lack awareness of this difference. Unlike people with type 2 diabetes, people with type 1 are usually diagnosed when they are children after their pancreatic beta cells stop producing insulin. This cessation has nothing to do with weight, diet, or even blood sugar fluctuations at its onset. It simply happens, and it does so for reasons unknown.

Many feel that the differences between type 1 and type 2 are so stark that they should not both fall under the umbrella category of "diabetes." Pointing to the fact that various types of cancer have their own respective names (as opposed to merely being labeled Cancer 1, Cancer 2, and so forth), many feel that type 1 should be renamed entirely, as doing so will help raise awareness of this much lesser known (and incurable) version of the disease.

To that end, Monday, April 14th has officially been designated Type 1 Diabetes Awareness Day. Though the name of the disease remains the same, the level of awareness will surely be raised through this campaign. To help spread the word about the "Raise Your Voice: Type 1 Diabetes Awareness Day" campaign, be sure to pass this information along to as many people as you can!!

Researchers have found that, in patients with type 2 diabetes who require insulin treatment, a new formulation that only has to be injected once daily controls blood sugar as well as the more typical three-shots-a-day formula. Not surprisingly, patients in the study were more satisfied with the once-a-day formula. (Seriously... who would want three shots each day if they could have only one?) There was no added benefit in insulin control, however.

For many patients with type 2 diabetes can control their blood sugar with diet, exercise, and oral medications. But for those that require insulin treatments a once-a-day treatment could be a welcome change.

When researchers asked a group of healthy, active men to cut their activity levels down considerably, something interesting happened. Though the men did not gain weight or noticeable fat, their visceral (belly) fat increased by 7%. Belly fat is the more dangerous type of fat because it surrounds the internal organs and is linked to cardiovascular disease. Exercise reduces belly fat, and according to this study, not-exercising allows it to return.

In addition to increased belly fat, the men also became less sensitive to insulin and their triglycerides also increased. All of these changes occurred in just two to three weeks time.

While the men were still healthy after the study was over, it's clear that exercise is an important part of a healthy life. Even if you can only manage a short or moderate workout, keep moving to help your body stay at the top of its game.

So far only worms are seeing the benefit, but in a recent study worms who had their insulin levels adjusted lived longer than their counterparts. Researchers found that added insulin reduces the activity of a gene-regulating protein called SKN-1. So, by lowering the levels of insulin in the worms researchers subsequently boosted the protein -- resulting in an increased lifespan. The SKN-1 protein essentially acts as an antioxidant, protecting cells from damage.

Researchers believe the findings hold hope for future human medicine.

Insulin, as incredible as it is in terms of its ability to help regulate blood sugar levels, may be worthy of even greater praise. That's because scientists (A.K.A. those smart people who went to a better college than I did) have discovered that applying insulin directly to wounds my actually help them heal more quickly.

Tests performed first on rats and then on human skin cells in culture resulted in the interesting discovery that wounds treated topically with insulin healed faster than wounds left untreated. The scientists examined the molecular impact of the topical application of insulin on keratinocytes, which are the cells responsible for regenerating the epidermis after wounding. The scientists also looked at microvasular endothelial cells, which are the cells that restore blood flow to a wounded area.

The evidence from these examination is what lead the scientists to their conclusions. Further, they speculated that this apparent link between insulin and healing may work to explain why many people with diabetes heal very slowly when wounded. Given the fact that people with diabetes suffer from impaired production or utilization of insulin, it stands to reason that this may be one of the reasons behind why healing may be impaired.

I remember taking a supplement called Rocket Fuel when I was a stupid teenager. It came in a medicine dropper bottle, touting itself as a workout energy booster that would surely make you the next Arnold Schwarzenegger. Like I said, I was a stupid teenager. In reality, all the stuff did was burn the hell out of your mouth, making you want to workout as fast as possible so you could bury your mouth under the kitchen sink. Not that I know for sure -- or really feel like taking the time to look it up to find out -- but, I'm guessing that Rocket Fuel had some sort of chili pepper extract in it. However, the crazy thing is that there is plenty of evidence suggesting that eating foods that contain chili peppers and chili powders can help reduce fat. Granted, the last thing my 130 pound teenage body needed at the time was to lose weight, but it's still pretty funny to think that there may have been something to that foolish Rocket Fuel after all.

This chili pepper phenomenon was examined by Australian scientists, who discovered that capsaicin -- the chemical that makes chili peppers hot -- may improve the liver's ability to clear insulin from the bloodstream after a meal. This is rather important, for it is insulin that signals the body to store fat. With respect to the results of the Aussie's research, they found that their test subjects' insulin levels were 32 percent lower following their consumption of a chili pepper flavored meal.

To receive the benefits of capsaicin, you could try adding Tabasco sauce to your foods. As for Rocket Fuel, that should probably be left in the heaping pile of useless supplements where it belongs.

The number of new benefits related to strength training never ceases to amaze me. Once considered to be a workout relegated for the guy who no longer wanted to get sand kicked in his face at the beach, weight lifting has grown to become a doctor recommended way to maintain health. Serving as a testament to this is the discovery that strength training improves insulin sensitivity.

In a back issue of the Journal of Endocrinology Metabolism, French researchers published data suggesting that resistance training may fight against inflammation in internal tissues and organs. Specifically, they found that it improves insulin sensitivity and blood sugar metabolism without any effect on C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation. What's more, not only does this help to prevent diabetes, it appears as though weight training's effect ability to fight inflammation can also aid in the fight against cancer and coronary artery disease.

In a related study, researchers from the University of Southern California studied weight training's effect on insulin Resistance and body fat in Latino boys aged 14-17. They found that 16 weeks of strength training improved insulin resistance, reduced body fat and increased lean body mass by 91 percent.

Having spent time as a fitness trainer, added with the time I have spent in the gym over the years for my own personal workouts, I can safely say that I have seen people of all shapes and sizes. I've worked out at gyms ranging from Gold's Gym, Bally Total Fitness, World Gym and Powerhouse Gym, down to YMCAs and independent gym chains. Hell, I've worked out in a gym that looked like a prison yard. And in the course of my workout travels, I've come across people with a wide range of workout styles. Some go hard and then go home, others spend most of their time working their jaw than they do their muscles, and others who work out like it's their job (and in some cases it is). Still, of all these people -- as interesting as each and every one of them truly are -- I have always been fascinated by the guy or girl that trains quite hard, but for some reason never seems to reap any benefits of their workout.

First of all, the key word here is "seem." At first blush, you can't tell whether someone feels better emotionally, whether their amount of vigor is at an all-time high, or even if they've lost five or ten pounds. All you can usually tell is what "seems" to be the case; they workout hard, but they look the same. "Look," therefore, is yet another operative term. But, when you spend time talking with these people, and they too confirm that they just can't seem to lose the weight or tone their muscles, one of two things springs to mind: 1) These people are what are typically referred to as "Hard Gainers"; a term that pretty much means what it sounds like, or 2) They may have a medical condition such as a thyroid issue or a gluten intolerance, either of which being a reason why losing weight could be inordinately difficult.

Who knew that Hewlett-Packard was such a versatile company? Not only are they busy making computer printers (some of which, when they don't work properly, drive me to the point of lunacy), but apparently have their hand in advanced medical technology, as well.

Within four years from now, HP hopes to have their pain-free, micro-needle patch on the market. Using its own ink-jet technology, the company has developed a multiple-dose patch that can inject drugs just beneath the surface of the skin. Using a microchip to control timing and dosage, the patch could potentially be used to administer insulin, fertility drugs, and heart medication.

(Note: the photo above depicts a testosterone patch, not the forthcoming HP patch. However, it is an example of what the HP product may look like and how it may be applied to the skin).

According to a recent Swedish study, people with high blood-glucose levels (when you don't have enough insulin in your body) are 68 percent more likely to suffer from Alzheimer's disease later in life. They found that the high levels cause structural damage in the brain, leading to the disease.

The good news: Exercising for a half hour five times a week cuts your risk of developing high blood-glucose by 58 percent.