Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes
Ditch the Food Pyramid, and Choose Whole Grains, High Fiber and Protein Foods
In May 2011, the USDA released a graphic called “My Plate” to help people choose what foods to eat. This new guideline is meant to replace the old “Food Pyramid” that many people grew up with. Remember the triangle shape with the bread, cereal, and rice at the bottom and the fats and oils to be “used sparingly” at the top? This useless and misleading food pyramid, which has been confusing consumers for over 25 years, has advocated a philosophy of eating more grains and other less “fatty” foods.
What the Food Pyramid failed to do was to differentiate simple versus complex sugars. It also placed undue importance on grain-based products. Grain-based “simple carbohydrates” such as breads, potatoes, rice, cereal and pasta, although often low in fat, also rate high on the glycemic index. That means that they break down quickly in the body, overwhelming the blood with sugars and potentially leading to a phenomenon called “insulin resistance.”
Affecting up to one in every three Americans, insulin resistance is very common and can lead to difficulty losing weight, pre-diabetes, or type II diabetes, heart disease and other long-term health problems associated with obesity. With the new “My Plate” guidelines and some other tips, more Americans may be able to avoid these unhealthy complications.
What is Insulin Resistance?
Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body produces insulin, but does not use it properly. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps the body use glucose (natural sugar) for energy. When people are insulin resistant, their muscle, fat, and liver cells do not respond properly to insulin. As a result, their bodies need more insulin to help glucose enter cells.
The pancreas tries to keep up with this increased demand for insulin by producing more. Eventually, it becomes overworked and may no longer be able to meet that demand. Excess glucose builds up in the bloodstream, setting the stage for diabetes.
Many people with insulin resistance have high levels of both glucose and insulin circulating in their blood at the same time. Learning about insulin resistance is the first step toward making lifestyle changes that can help prevent diabetes and other health problems.
Epidemic of Diabetes, Prediabetes and Metabolic Syndrome
Current statistics on diabetes, and prediabetes, from the American Diabetes Association!
- Prevalence: In 2012, 29.1 million Americans, or 9.3% of the population, had diabetes.
- Approximately 1.25 million American children and adults have type 1 diabetes.
- Undiagnosed: Of the 29.1 million, 21.0 million were diagnosed, and 8.1 million were undiagnosed.
- Prevalence in Seniors: The percentage of Americans age 65 and older remains high, at 25.9%, or 11.8 million seniors (diagnosed and undiagnosed).
- New Cases: 1.4 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes every year.
- Prediabetes: In 2012, 86 million Americans age 20 and older had prediabetes; this is up from 79 million in 2010.
- Deaths: Diabetes remains the 7th leading cause of death in the United States in 2010, with 69,071 death certificates listing it as the underlying cause of death, and a total of 234,051 death certificates listing diabetes as an underlying or contributing cause of death.
– See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/
How to reduce risk of diabetes, prediabetes by reducing Insulin Resistance
According to the American Diabetes Association, nearly two million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people aged 20 years and older in 2010. Since the grossly misleading food pyramid was introduced, the incidence of type 2 diabetes has gone up as much as 400 percent in the United States. Prediabetes, also called insulin resistance syndrome or metabolic syndrome, affects about a third of all Americans. If you have some extra weight around your waist, you might be insulin resistant. An obesity medicine physician specializing in the medical management of obesity and insulin resistance might be able to help. Call Prab R. Tumpati, M.D., an obesity medicine physician with specialized training in managing insulin resistance and medical weight loss and founder of W8MD Medical Weight Loss Centers of America can help. Dr. Tumpati serves as the medical director at Sleep Medical Associates and W8MD Medical Weight Loss Center located at 2003, Bath Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11214. 718-946-5500 or 1(800)W8MD-007.
- Get enough protein. If the body gets carbohydrates without enough protein, it goes into insulin resistance. Most people need about 30 grams of protein at each meal. One egg is about 7 grams. As we evolved as hunters and gatherers, we are designed to eat a non-grain based diet rich in protein, fruits, nuts and vegetables.
- Try to work more physical activity into your day. Both exercise and resistance training can help reduce your risk of diabetes, and also helps to control it once you have it.
- Eat more fiber. Fiber helps reduce your risk of diabetes by improving your blood sugar control. Try more fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.
- Choose whole grains. When you do eat grains, look for the word “whole” in the ingredient list. Whole wheat, stone-ground whole wheat, brown rice, and oats are all whole-grain ingredients.
- Eat fewer simple carbohydrates. These foods, with high glycemic index, break down quickly in the body, and can lead to rapid fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Go easy on foods like white rice, white bread, white pasta, refined flours, candy, fruit juice, soda pop, and baked goods made with white flour. The key is to understand glycemic Index of foods and focus on low glycemic foods.
- Get enough sleep. When you’re sleep deprived, your body drives you to eat more simple carbohydrates. Get at least 7-8 hours a night.
- Get help from Obesity Medicine physicians. You probably tried them all and still cannot lose weight! You might want to get help from physicians trained in Obesity Medicine that can help deal with the complex issues leading to weight gain.
This was an article published in the 4Health Magazine written by the founder of W8MD Medical Weight Loss Centers of America, Dr. Prab R. Tumpati, MD