September 16, 2008
By COLE KAZDIN and THEA TRACHTENBERG
Sept. 15, 2008
ABCNews.com
Cheryl Kain Credits the Exercise With Controlling Her Type 2 Diabetes
Cheryl Kain says she has battled her weight and mood her entire life.
Can a visit to the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health transform your life?
“Weight’s been on my mind since I came out of the womb,” Kain said. “You lose the weight and then you gain that and more.”
To drop pounds, she tried a variety of options, including ditching carbs, trimming fat and eliminating specific foods from her daily intake.
“I’d tried everything,” she said.
But her weight worries reached a poignant point when she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 2½ years ago.
“My body was in a state of emergency all the time,” Kain said.
So she turned to Dr. Mark Pettus, who runs the health for life program at the Kripalu center in Stockbridge, Mass., where people like Kain come to transform their health.
“If someone were to hand me a blank piece of paper and say, ‘Mark, you know, put down something on that paper that would have an impact more than anything on potential to reduce disease risk, to improve health and vitality,’ it would be yoga,” Pettus said.
“Yoga’s one of the few things that enlivens almost every system in the body,” said Garrett Sarley, chief of the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health.
Medical studies show the poses, along with meditation and specific yoga breathing techniques, reduce stress responses, which significantly influences health.
Yoga has been shown to help insomnia and relieve chronic pain conditions. In Kripalu’s program, Kain began to cultivate a yoga practice, and she studied nutrition and food preparations. She practiced meditating and went on 4-mile hikes.
To continue reading:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=5805800&page=1
September 9, 2008
By Lara Rondinelli RD, LDN, CDE
From: Healthy Calenda Diabetic Cooking, The American Diabetic Association
dLife
If you were like most Americans, you were cheering for Michael Phelps during the Olympic games. He has amazing athletic ability and endless energy, and it was reported that he eats between 10,000-12,000 calories per day during a competition! It was reported that a typical breakfast for him includes: 3 fried egg sandwiches with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions, and mayonnaise; a 5-egg omelet; a bowl of grits; 3 slices of French toast with powdered sugar; 3 chocolate chip pancakes; and 2 cups of coffee. This is the breakfast of a champion — but definitely not a champion breakfast for the average person with diabetes.
Unfortunately, too many people skip breakfast or make unhealthy choices. Breakfast kick-starts your metabolism and gives you energy to begin the day. Often, people skip breakfast because they don’t have time, are trying to lose weight, or have gotten into the habit of not eating breakfast so are not hungry in the morning.
Skipping breakfast can lead to overeating later in the day because you end up ravenous. If you are skipping breakfast because you are in a rush, you need to make the time to eat and it will be well worth the 15 minutes of your day. For those of you that say you are not hungry in the morning, try making yourself eat breakfast around the same time every day for two weeks. Yes, this means eating even if you aren’t hungry. After two weeks, you’ll start getting used to eating at that time and your body will begin expecting breakfast.
There are many unhealthy breakfast choices loaded with carbohydrates and bad fats such as: pancakes, sausage and egg biscuits, muffins, scones, and bagels. Choose your breakfast foods wisely and your days will get off to a great start. You may even find that your blood glucose levels are easier to control, especially if you have been overeating later in the day.
Here are some good breakfast choices with various (approximate) carbohydrate counts:
Four 15-gram Carbohydrate Breakfasts
* 1 slice whole-wheat toast, veggie omelet
* 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1 cup strawberries with 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
* 1 egg, 2 turkey sausage links, 3/4 cup blueberries
* 1/2 cup low-carb yogurt, 3/4 cup raspberries
Click here for dLife breakfast recipes sorted from lowest-carb to highest!
Five 30-gram Carbohydrate Breakfasts
* 1 cup oatmeal with 2 tablespoons walnuts, 1/2 cup milk
* 1 cup low-carb yogurt (15 grams carb), 1 cup strawberries
* 1 whole-wheat English Muffin with 2 teaspoons peanut butter, 2 teaspoons sugar-free jelly, and 1/2 cup cottage cheese
* 1 whole-wheat English Muffin with 1 egg and 1 slice Canadian bacon
* 1 cup Special K® Protein Plus Cereal and 1 cup milk
Five 45-gram Carbohydrate Breakfasts
* 1 cup Kashi Go Lean® Crunch, 1 cup skim milk
* Egg sandwich (2 slices whole-wheat bread, 1 slice cheese, and 1 slice Canadian bacon), 1 cup cantaloupe cubes
* 2 whole-wheat waffles, 2 tablespoons sugar-free syrup, 1 cup milk
* Smoothie made with 1 cup milk, 1 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup blueberries, 6 ounces low-carb yogurt
* 1 bottle low-carb yogurt smoothie (15 grams carbohydrate), 1 slice whole-wheat toast, 1 small apple
Try this healthy and tasty omelet that starts off your day with 1 serving of vegetables.
Veggie Omelet
Serving Size: 1 omelet
Yield: 4 servings
Cooking spray
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 small red bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cups egg substitute (or 8 whole eggs)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup shredded, reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1. Add cooking spray to a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, bell pepper, and mushrooms to pan and sauté for 5-6 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
2. Add cooking spray to a small non-stick pan (omelet pan) over medium heat. Pour 1/2 cup egg substitute in hot pan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
3. Once eggs set up and are still a little runny in the center, spread 1/4 cup of vegetable mixture on one side of eggs. Sprinkle the vegetable mixture with 2 tablespoons cheese.
4. Fold the other half of the eggs over the vegetables and gently flip the omelet using a wide spatula.
5. Repeat process for remaining three omelets.
Nutritional Info: 108 calories, 3 grams total fat, 2 grams saturated fat, 10mg cholesterol, 642mg sodium, 4g total carbohydrate, 1 grams dietary fiber, 16g protein.
*Eliminating the salt in this recipe will reduce sodium to 342 mg sodium per serving.
http://www.dlife.com/dLife/do/ShowContent/inspiration_expert_advice/expert_columns/rondinelli_sept08.html
July 31, 2008
I remember the day that my soon-to-be husband got his first pager. He was so excited to be considered important enough to be given a company pager because, to him, it meant that he was now the new go-to guy - the guy who could be trusted to fix any problem that came up, day or night. He could hardly contain himself!
I, on the other hand, wanted to throw the pager in toilet after its third day on my sweetie’s hip. He had received no less than 25 pages during the few hours we had spent together during these three days. This left me wondering where the line had been crossed between work and home. It also made me think about how I was going to get my fiancé to become more engaged in his life outside of work when he was so unfairly lured by the demands of the people who support his self esteem and who also pay his bills.
What we needed was a work-life balance plan. I had heard of these before, but had never put one together myself. After going through the process, here’s what I have learned:
1. Figure out your priorities.
In order to achieve a work-life balance you first need to figure out what really makes you happy. Is it your family? Your friends? Your career? Something else? Take a moment to write down, in order of importance, what really matters to you most. This will help you establish what it is you really want to spend your time on. If something is not on the list or is rated a low priority, you need to give serious consideration to eliminating this item from your life altogether. By sticking to mid-to-high priority items, you can start building a life that you can be proud of and are excited to actively participate in, not one that you are just going through the motions with.
2. Focus on a few activities.
Let’s face it. Most of us are extremely over-programmed. Every minute of our lives is taken up with various activities that, at some point, we thought we wanted to participate in. The reality is that some or even most of these activities are just drains on our time. If you are serious about achieving a happy work-life balance, then you need to figure out which activities you just can’t live without and focus solely on them. You’ll be amazed at how much time, stress, and energy you’ll save by whittling your activity commitment down to just one or two really rewarding ones.
3. Learn how to say no.
One of the things that gets us into the most trouble with our work-life balance is our inability to say no. As human beings we have empathy for one another and we really do not want to let anyone down. In the meantime, we are letting ourselves down because every time we accept a new responsibility, we are taking time away from our personal priorities. Saying no is not easy and it can takes lots of practice in order to find a way that makes both you and the person you are saying no to feel comfortable with the outcome. But in doing so, you are freeing yourself and your time to focus on things that matter most to you.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Life can be overwhelming, even when we are organized and have our priorities in line. The fact is that everyone needs help sometimes. By not asking for help we are creating more stress in our lives that can be damaging to our overall health. Stress alone can bring on other health issues. As an example, pre-diabetes can be caused by Insulin Resistance-related obesity which, in turn, may be brought on by stress. Various forms of stress release the steroid cortisol and this process may result in weight gain. And we all know that added weight can bring on additional complications like high cholesterol and heart disease.
So what types of things can you do to relieve some of this stress and avoid potential health risks? Ask a neighbor to watch your kids while you go to dinner with your spouse. Or have a neighborhood kid mow your lawn so that you can spend some quality doing something else that you love. The extra effort is worth it as you keep your life and your relationships on track and keep stress down to a minimum.
5. Always have something to look forward to.
We all are a little happier when we have a vacation, fun activity or big family gathering coming up on the calendar. Everybody’s work calendar is booked with various activities so why not your home calendar as well? Planning special events will enhance your life by allowing you to keep those personal relationships with friends and family strong. So turn off your cell phone and make the most of these special occasions. You might find that you have more of a skip in your step at work because of it!
July 9, 2008
ABC News.com
July 10, 2008
From Checking Family History to Eating Better, How to Protect Yourself
More than 23 million Americans have diabetes, and up to a quarter of those do not even know they have it. A new report found that children are at greater risk of developing the disease.ABC News’ medical contributor Dr. Marie Savard appeared on “Good Morning America” today to share five tips on reducing you and your family’s risk for type 2 diabetes
1. Determine if You are at Risk
Find out your family history. If there is diabetes in your family, then you are at greater risk. If you had pregnancy gestation diabetes, you are at risk. If you are African-American or Hispanic, you are at greater risk.
Check on blood sugar level. Your blood sugar should be under 100; 100 to 126 is prediabetic, which means you are well on your way to trouble, but diabetes is still preventable at this stage.
2. Rule of 100s
Blood sugar under 100. As previously mentioned, check your blood sugar level, and if it is higher than 100, you are on your way to trouble.
LDL Cholesterol under 100. This is the bad kind of cholesterol. As opposed to HDL, the “good” kind of cholesterol, high levels of LDL can put you at serious risk for diabetes.
Mean blood pressure under 100. The average of two blood pressure tests ought to be under 100. It will tell you where you stand and how much you need to work at lowering your numbers by changing your lifestyle.
3. Exercise
Walk 30 minutes every day. The No. 1 way to cut down your risk of diabetes, or to manage the disease if you already have it, is to exercise. Several studies say that exercise can lower your risk of diabetes by nearly 60 percent and as much as 70 percent in the elderly.
Lose 2 inches from the waist. You need to lose weight to get the effects. So get out a pedometer and your tape measure and start taking 10,000 steps a day. That’s about 30 minutes of walking and you can do it in increments of 2,000 steps. The benefit is cumulative, even if you stop and start.
4. Eat High Fiber Foods and Healthy Fats
Eat more fruits and vegetables. Diet is another big lifestyle change that has a major impact on preventing diabetes.
To continue reading:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/story?id=5337605&page=1
