Do you eat eggs? Or do you choose egg substitutes?

Eggs have omega-3 fatty acids in their yolks, but can often be considered a health concern. They have high cholesterol and fat content and are often linked to an increase in Type 2 diabetes. That's why many people are opting for egg substitutes -- and there are a variety of options.

Some egg substitutes are made from the egg white only. They omit the yolk and yet add vitamins and minerals including vegetable-based emulsifiers and thickeners like guar gum.

There are also ways to create your own egg substitutes. Two tablespoons of cornstarch may be equivalent to one egg as are two tablespoons of arrowroot flour or two tablespoons of potato starch. In cake recipes, one banana can be substituted for one egg.

Another idea is an egg substitute recipe, which includes one tablespoon of nonfat dry milk powder, two egg whites from large eggs and four drops of yellow food color. After you sprinkle powdered milk over egg whites, beat them until they're smooth. Add food color and beat until blended. This will create one-fourth cup, equivalent to one large egg.

That's Fit can answer all of your nutrition questions --whether they're about foods or supplements.

Learning that runners burn extra calories even at rest is good news for me. Because I've been concerned that my preferred cardio is not nearly as effective as strength training on the calorie burn front. It's why I'm weaving more lifting into my fitness world -- so my body burns calories more effectively. And while I don't plan on going back to an only-running routine (strength training is clearly good for me on more than just the calorie-burn level), I do feel better knowing that running is effective too.

Diet Blog shares that long-distance running causes an increase in the number of mitochondria in the body. Also known as the powerhouse of the cell, mitochondria convert sugar and fat into molecules that transport energy within cells.

All science aside, here's what you need to know: Even when at rest, running plays an important role in helping to burn fat. It also helps protect against type 2 diabetes by clearing out cellular fats that can contribute to insulin resistance.

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Exercise, a healthful diet, and maintaining an appropriate weight add up to a power play for health. The benefits are numerous, but one important perk is reducing your risk of diabetes. For improved blood sugar control and a reduced risk of developing diabetes, practice these five habits:

• Lose weight or maintain your healthy weight. Even a small weight loss can have a positive impact on blood sugar. More than 80% of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight -- controlling this factor significantly lowers your risk.
• Exercise regularly. Not only does physical activity help you with weight maintenance, it also offers diabetes risk reduction of its own.
  
• Eat less saturated fat and total fat. For some people, higher fat meals trigger a blood sugar response. Some researchers think that high-fat meals make insulin less effective. In addition, reducing the bad fats in your diet helps with weight control and is definitely a heart-healthy move.
• Keep excess calories to a minimum. When it comes to weight, you need to burn more than you eat. So keep treats and high-calorie foods to a minimum.
• Increase fiber intake. Dietary fiber -- especially soluble fiber (found in oatmeal, for example) -- isn't just for a healthy heart; it also helps regulate blood sugar.

[via FitSugar]

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Exercise might be just what you need if you wish to protect yourself from what approximately 14 million people living in the U.S. already have: Type 2 diabetes. Now, this number does not account for the people who have the disease but have yet to be diagnosed. And sadly, this figure continues to climb. That's why what follows is such very good news.

A new study from Johns Hopkins suggests that regular aerobic exercise and weightlifting may reduce levels of fat in the liver by as much as 40 percent. The role liver fat plays for people with type 2 is of particular importance, for it can contribute to heart attack risk when levels are high, which is oftentimes the case with people living with type 2.

For six months, one group of people with type 2 performed three 45-minute sessions of moderate aerobic exercise and three 20-minute sessions of weightlifting per week. The other group didn't perform any formal aerobic fitness or resistance training sessions.

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Carrying an excess amount of belly fat increases a person's risk of developing type 2 diabetes. And though frequent high blood sugars alone can be detrimental to someone's health, it's oftentimes the associated complications of type 2 diabetes that take quite a toll on people's lives.

A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine revealed that diabetes (both type 1 and type 2) complications can take up to eight years off a person's life. In particular, people with diabetes face an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, according to the study. Researchers found that women with diabetes developed cardiovascular disease 8.4 years sooner than women without diabetes. Consequently, women aged 50 and older with diabetes lived 8.2 fewer years than people without the disease.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that results in the permanent destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, an occurrence that happens for reasons unrelated to diet, exercise, or any other known factor. Type 2 diabetes, however, can many times be prevented or controlled with proper diet and regular exercise.

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Yo-yo dieting is frowned upon, but one group may benefit if they lose weight, then gain it back.

A four-year study by Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research suggests people with type 2 diabetes who lose weight within 18 months post-diagnosis -- then eventually regain the pounds -- are twice as likely to have good blood pressure and blood glucose control than people with type 2 diabetes who did not lose weight. The study was published in this month's Diabetes Care.

Researchers speculate the body might have a metabolic memory that recalls the benefits of a lighter, fitter frame. Hmm ... permanent benefits of weight loss even when the weight creeps back on? I fondly remember my lean, mean high school basketball frame -- maybe my body does, too.

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Recent research shows that people who are newly diagnosed with type II diabetes can gain better control over their health if they lose weight. While that isn't terribly surprising, what is surprising is that the benefits seem to last even if the patient gains back some of the weight. Losing some excess pounds helps people with type II diabetes better control blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol.

In the study, more than 2,000 people recently diagnosed with type II diabetes were followed for four years. 12% of those patients lost a mean of 25 pounds. Other groups either gained weight or their weight remained stable. Within 36 months almost all of the patients who had lost weight had regained it. Surprisingly, those patients continued to have better blood sugar and blood pressure control at the end of the four-year study -- even though their weight had been regained.

Obviously, this isn't an argument for losing and regaining weight. Researchers don't know how long the benefits would last after the four-year mark. The best bet for people with type II diabetes (or anyone for that matter) is to lose their excess weight and keep it off for good.

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Are you drinking fruit juice because you think it's a healthy alternative to soda? Think again. A recent study has linked the consumption of sweetened fruit juice to type 2 diabetes. Women in the study who drank two or more servings of sweetened fruit juice per day had a 31% increased risk of developing diabetes than those who drank less than one per month.

Researchers who are trying to zero in on type 2 diabetes say that "calories trump everything," and that drinking or eating heavily sweetened foods are an easy way to overdo it on the calories. My dentist has always given me and my kids the rule "4 oz. per day and after that, it's liquid candy."

Orange juice and grapefruit juice are exempt from this study, both because they are naturally sweetened and because they are more likely to be eaten with a meal, which means they'd likely have a reduced effect on blood sugar. Stick to water to stay hydrated in a healthy way between meals, flavoring it naturally if necessary.

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An eye-opening study from the University of Miami revealed that by ages 12 to 14, half of obese children have metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that predicts type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

This information is cause for concern, as the numbers of obese children has continued to rise steadily since the data for this study were collected (between 1999-2002, at which time more than 17 percent of chidldren aged eight to fourteen were obese).

As these children age, their chances of facing a lifetime with a chronic illness escalates if they're weight is not reined in. As one researcher from the University of Miami study states in a WebMD article, "If a kid is age 8 with metabolic syndrome, it will take 10 years or less for that child to become a type 2 diabetic or develop heart disease."

The study analyzed data data on some 1,700 children as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

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Perhaps I'm being a bit presumptuous, but I think it's safe to say that most women wouldn't exactly mind having a body like Jessica Biel. Similarly, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a guy that would scoff at having Jason Statham's physique. Well, in order to build a Hollywood-worthy hard body of your own, you have to be willing to enter into the iron age.

While cardiovascular exercise is a must for people looking to reduce their BMI, adding a weightlifting program to your weekly workout is vital for movie star muscle. My suggestion is to focus on calorie-torching compound exercises that target major muscle groups, rather than trying to isolate individual muscles with detailing exercises. For those of you who fear becoming big and bulky, you truly have little to worry about. By using light weights and performing a high number of repetitions (anywhere from 12 to 20) per set, you'll be able to stick to your goal of looking slim and toned.

In addition to the aesthetic benefits of resistance training, it also offers a number of benefits to your overall health. Not only have studies shown that it can help cut the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but Harvard researchers found that lifting weights can greatly improve the mood of a person experiencing depression.

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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.

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Can you remember the last time you had a candy bar? If you can't, it may be due to the fact that you've eaten too many of them. That's because spikes in blood sugar can have damaging effects on your short-term memory.

A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that when adults were given memory tests after consuming a sugary drink, those with the highest resulting blood glucose levels exhibited the worst recall ability.

High blood sugar has also been linked to a number of other health complications, including obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. Thankfully, it's often possible to avoid blood glucose-related issues by limiting your diet to foods rich in protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates, and by following a regular exercise program.

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There's new evidence the childhood obesity epidemic may be leveling off. The past three decades have been an utter disaster in terms of childhood obesity, with the percentage of obese six-to-11-year-olds rising from 6.5 percent in 1980 to 16.3 percent in 2002. Currently, 32 percent of American schoolchildren are overweight or obese.

After analyzing 1999-2006 survey data, researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report the level of overweight and obese schoolchildren in America has plateaued at around 32 percent. The rates have remained constant for the first time in 45 years. It's not clear whether kids have simply gotten as heavy they're going to get under current lifestyle habits or if family, school and community interventions to eat right and exercise are making a difference. Some wonder whether a 'fat ceiling' could be a false ceiling -- researchers acknowledge more time and data are required before the obesity rate is definitively deemed stable.

As a fan of fitness and nutrition, I'd like to think advocacy for healthier living is strongly pushing back against obesity's four-decade rising tide. But that's the optimist in me. The hearts of advocacy organizations such as The Alliance for a Healthier Generation must be enjoying a lighthearted moment right now -- AHG's immediate goal was to halt the rise of childhood obesity by 2010. But the moment must be brief as our nation has an immense amount of work to do -- 32 percent is no number to celebrate. In the 1960s, childhood obesity stood in the single digits.

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Investing in fitness and healthy eating habits now may deliver a big payoff later. New research reveals group-based diet and exercise interventions over six years can prevent or delay type 2 diabetes for up to 14 years. The study was published last week in a Diabetes Special Issue of The Lancet.

This study started way back in 1986, randomly assigning 577 adults with impaired glucose tolerance across 33 clinics in China to a control group or one of three lifestyle intervention groups incorporating diet, exercise or diet plus exercise. Interventions actively continued for the following six years until 1992, then participants were assessed in 2006 to determine long-term impacts of each intervention.

Compared to control participants, the combined lifestyle interventions reduced diabetes incidence by 51 percent during the six-year active intervention, and by 43 percent over the 20-year study span. Average annual incidence of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes was seven percent for intervention participants compared to 11 percent in the control group. By 2006, 80 percent of the intervention group had diabetes compared to 93 percent of the control group. Additionally, the intervention group spent an average of 3.6 fewer years with diabetes than controls.

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Red wine is known for its heart-healthy compounds, but a glass a day may hold promise for people with type 2 diabetes, say researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

According to the UMass scientists, blood glucose levels rise sharply in people with type 2 after they finish a meal high in carbohydrates. But, the natural antioxidants found in red wine may slow the passage of glucose through the small intestine and eventually into the bloodstream, thus prevent this spike.

The researchers also tested other popular drinks for their affect on blood sugar, finding that red wine was clearly the most successful in preventing a spike. However, though not as effective as red wine, black tea, oolong tea, green tea, and white wine had some effect.