Dietary Enigmas
asking questions about our diet
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Archive for September, 2007
Diabetes - Caused by Ignorance?
I see so many people who are developing Diabetes simply due to ignorance. Now some sadly choose to (or would choose to) ignore any advice and elect to rely on the medical worlds response which is very effective but still carries enormous risk due to the complications that inevitable come with long term pharmaceutical drug use.
Over the next few days I’m going to cover the subject of diabetes in some detail as many people are living and dying in Ignorance and that makes me MAD.
Diabetes is caused by a problem in the way your body makes or uses insulin. Insulin is needed to move glucose (blood sugar) into cells, where it is used for energy.
If glucose does not get into the cells, the body cannot use it for energy. Too much glucose will then remain in the blood, causing the symptoms of diabetes.
There are several types of diabetes. This article focuses on type 2, which is usually accompanied by obesity and insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance occurs when insulin produced by your pancreas cannot get the necessary Glucose (required for energy) inside fat and muscle cells to release energy. Since the cells are not getting the insulin they need, the pancreas produces more and more. Over time, abnormally high levels of sugar build up in the blood. This is called hyperglycemia. Many people with insulin resistance have hyperglycemia and high blood insulin levels at the same time. People who are overweight have a higher risk of insulin resistance, because fat interferes with the body’s ability to use insulin.
Type 2 diabetes usually occurs gradually. Most people with the disease are overweight at the time of diagnosis. However, type 2 diabetes can also develop in those who are thin, especially the elderly.
Family history and genetics play a large role in type 2 diabetes. Low activity level, poor diet, and excess body weight (especially around the waist) significantly increase your risk for type 2 diabetes.
Other risk factors include:
- Race/ethnicity (African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Native Americans all have high rates of diabetes)
- Age greater than 45 years
- Previously identified impaired glucose tolerance by your doctor
- High blood pressure
- HDL cholesterol of less than 35 mg/dL or triglyceride level of greater than 250 mg/dL
- History of gestational diabetes
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UK is only 4th most obese nation in the world
Yesterday it was revealed that the UK is the fourth most obese nation in the world, exceeded only by the US, Mexico and Scotland (on its own). It came as little surprise to me as I’ve been watching the figures (yes both statistics and people) for the last 8 or so years. You just have to look at the children of 2 and 3 years and the young teenage girls who have rolls of fat pushing over the waistbands of their trousers.
There is a time bomb ticking for this nation and others who have an epidemic of huge proportions. The best, and only truly scientific advice is to eat moderate amounts of low GI food and learn to manage your blood sugar levels - before the doctors tell you its too late.
Obesity crisis: Britain is losing its fight against obesity- So why is Britain getting fatter and fatter?
- why do so many people lose the weight only to put it back and a bit more besides?
The proliferation of fast-food franchises in the 1980s means there is now a burger-and-chips outlet almost on every corner.
Our society has become very must have and our food (like our lifestyle) has to be instant.
If you are hungry, why wait to grill or cook a healthy fresh dinner if you can pop a tasty ready-meal into the microwave?
Meanwhile everything in our society is being supersized-up, from our larger-than-ever cars to huge sofas, to the portions of fast food on sale or the size of the glasses in which fattening wine is sold in bars.
It is leading to a very real crisis and the statistics are chilling.
One in four adults and a quarter of 11 to 15-year olds in Britain are obese, and the problem is growing.
Now drugs are being prescribed to combat obesity - and it cost the country £47 million in anti-obesity prescriptions for last year alone.
Children as young as 12 can have gastric band operations - while the NHS spends about £7 billion a year treating obesity-related health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.
Meanwhile, the Government should help by advising people what to eat and how they should cook it - during the war, four-page advertorials appeared in newspapers and magazines telling housewives how to balance a healthy diet.
But as bigger becomes more acceptable (look at the fashions available now for fat women) then people will continue to get fatter and fatter, and our struggling health service will face a real crisis.Imagine a hospital where overweight patients are lying in corridors being fed low-fat drinks via intravenous drips.
It could become a reality. And sooner than any of us can dream of.
Reduce Stress - or Suffer
I didn’t sleep too well last night. I was worrying about something that keeps nagging at me - what is not important but it’s effect is. Stress, in any form, emotional, physical, infection, invariably affects the way we function. So what does stress affect:
- our immune systems - if we live stressed lives then we will invariably pick up more infections and possibly more serious conditions.
- our hormonal or endocrine systems - when we are stressed we don’t sleep well, we don’t burn fat off - we tend to store it. I remember a guy we were working with who was losing weight really well and then one day he came to me an asked why has the weight stopped coming off. A few quick questions looking for stress identified that his marriage was struggling - major stress - hormonal system shut down the fat burn and that was it. Over time reduce the stress if you want to lose weight.
When you are under stress your adrenal gland works overtime and you seem to have superhuman abilities. However, when you remove the stress you tend to collapse. If you get home from work and sit down and fall asleep - its a good indicator that your stress levels are too high and that you would do well to reduce them - or suffer the longer term consequences of heart disease, diabetes and many other associated diseases.
If you want helpful independent advice with no strings just go to www.healthymentors.com or e mail paul@sugars4life.com
Here we look at 10 top tips for reducing stress at work:
1: Learn to manage your time more effectively
We waste a lot of time doing unimportant tasks so prioritise your day and do the important jobs first.
The unimportant ones can wait, and often they will disappear completely leaving you time to do other things.
Also do not put off the unpleasant tasks. Every time we think about them we cause ourselves stress. Give an unpleasant task a high priority and do it first.
2: Adopt a healthy lifestyle
If we eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and ensure we get adequate rest our body is better able to cope with stress should it occur.
3: Know your limitations and do not take on too much
We cause ourselves a great deal of stress because we like people to like us and do not want to let people down.
We then end up doing more than we should. Learn to be assertive and how to say no without upsetting or offending people.
4: Find out what causes you stress
Take time to discover what is worrying you and try to change your behaviour to reduce it.
5: Avoid unnecessary conflict
Don’t be too argumentative. Is it really worth the stress? Look for win - win situations.
Look for a solution to a dispute where both parties can achieve a positive outcome.
6: Accept the things you cannot change
Changing a difficult situation is not always possible. If this proves to be the case recognise and accept things as they are.
7: Take time out to relax and recharge your batteries
You will perform much better after a break and easily make up the time you used relaxing.
8: Find time to meet friends.
Friends: Can ease work troublesFriends help us see things in a different way. The activities we engage in with friends usually help us relax and we will often have a good laugh. It boosts the immune system which is often depleted during stress.
If you do become stressed engage in some form of physical activity. It works off the biochemical and physical changes that occur within your body due to stress.
Relaxation helps your body return to its normal healthy state. Good relaxation techniques include breathing exercises, massage and a variety of complimentary therapies.
9: Try to see things differently
If something is bothering you try to see it differently. Talk over your problem with somebody before it gets out of proportion.
Often, talking to somebody else will help you see things from a different and less stressful perspective.
10: Avoid alcohol, nicotine and caffeine as coping mechanisms
Long term, these faulty coping mechanisms will just add to the problem.
For example, caffeine is a stimulant and our body reacts to this with the stress response.
Allergy Epidemic!!! - why
When i heard this report on the morning news i couldn’t help but ask: Why are we facing an allergy epidemic?
- Is it that our young mums and mums to be aren’t getting the nutrition they need before and after conception?
- could it be that the food we are producing is so heavily polluted with chemicals that it is masking the correct functioning of the immune system?
- could it be that our immune systems are so confused by stress, chemicals and lack of proper nutrition that the essential communication mechanisms no longer work correctly and odd things happen?
- Could it be that our immune systems are coming under such pressure that they simply don’t work as well as they used to?
- could it be that our immune systems are being hoodwinked by the presence of environmental toxins that confuse the identification mechanisms that are so central to correct immune system function?
I suspect that it is all of the above and much more. Please click here to listen to a 3 minute audio of what might be at play here and some ideas about what we might do about it.
Allergy epidemic gets ‘poor care’
Allergies have trebled in 20 years
Poor care and confusing advice is being used to deal with an allergy epidemic in the UK, experts have said. The House of Lords science and technology committee warned there were not enough specialist services and that food labelling was inadequate.
The cross-party group of peers said the UK was lagging behind western Europe.
It also called for advice to pregnant women and young children not to eat peanuts to be withdrawn. The government said the findings would be considered.
It comes after the Commons health committee criticised the lack of services in 2004.
Allergy centres
The number of people suffering allergic reactions has trebled in the last 20 years with a third of the population estimated to suffer at some point in their lives.
The government must now take steps to deal with that problem 
Baroness Finlay
Science and technology committee
Each year over 6,000 people in England are admitted to hospital - a quarter of these with anaphylaxis which is a severe and potentially life-threatening reaction involving breathing difficulties.
Allergic reactions are caused by substances in the environment known as allergens, of which the most common are pollen from trees and grasses, house dust mites, wasps, bees and food such as milk and eggs.
Cases of asthma and skin disorders can also be allergy related.
The Lords report called for specialist allergy centres to be set up in each region similar to the models operating in Denmark and Germany.
At the moment there are over 90 clinics, but only six are led by allergy consultants that can treat and diagnose the full range of conditions.
The report said GPs and other health professionals had poor knowledge of allergies and recommended allergy training becomes a more important component of medical training.
Abstaining
The committee also heard evidence that abstaining from eating peanuts in pregnancy and in the early years may be increasing the risk of allergies developing and as a result called for a change to government guidance.
The peers said food warnings - which commonly involve the catch-all term “may contain nuts” - need to be clearer with details of the specific amounts of allergen contained within the product.
The report also called for better training for school staff to deal with allergies.
PEANUT ADVICE
The government currently advises pregnant women and young children not to eat peanuts because of the risk of allergic reactions
But the House of Lords committee said this should be withdrawn after hearing evidence from experts that abstaining may increase the risk of developing an allergy
The Department of Health says the guidance is based on expert advice, but it will look at it after hearing form a Food Standards Agency allergen review
Committee chairman Baroness Finlay said: “We have a severe shortage of expert medical provision to deal with allergies.
“The government must now take steps to deal with that problem.”
Jules Payne from the British Allergy Foundation agreed with the findings
She said: “The problem is clearly at epidemic levels, which the House of Lords report has recognised.
“It also recognises that there’s an appalling lack of allergy services within the NHS in the UK.
“Now at the moment we’ve got people who wait for months, if not years, for a referral to see an allergy specialist, so that really does need addressing.”
Muriel Simmons, of the Allergy UK support group, welcomed the report, saying allergy services needed improving.
But she added: “Similar recommendations were made in 2004, but there has been nothing in the last three years to suggest that the government is taking serious steps to ease the burden of allergy sufferers.”
A Royal College of Physicians spokeswoman said: “A post-code lottery prevails.”
The government said it was waiting to hear from a Food Standards Agency review before issuing updated guidance about eating peanuts.
But Health Minister Ann Keen added the government would be considering the other recommendations of the report.
She said allergy care had “firm foundations” with more than 90 allergy clinics operating in England and more money was being made available to increase specialist allergy training posts to build on that.
6 Helpful Ideas To Stay Healthy
6 Simple ideas to promote health
Fed up with hearing about the plight of our declining health. Follow these 6 simple principles and you can help but lose fat and improve your health over time.
Have a great day Paul Barton www.sugars4life.com
Call me Free on Skype
1. Whenever possible, eat foods that are in their natural state.
(Note: This rule does not apply to meats and other foods that are dangerous to eat raw.) In this rule, reference is made to a food like carrots. What is the natural state of a carrot? Raw. When carrots are eaten raw, they are safe and natural-the way they were designed to be eaten. Raw carrots also fit the second rule-to eat foods that are harder to digest. Carrots also fit the third rule since they are high in fiber. Raw carrots have an index number of 35 (low-glycemic), but cooked carrots (not in their natural state) have an
index of 65 (moderately glycemic).2. Eat foods that are harder to digest.
The harder a food is to digest, the lower-glycemic it usually is. The harder the food is to digest, the longer ittakes to convert to sugars. This longer process minimizes insulin reactions. You can then maximize your conversion of food to energy and minimize the amount of food converting to fat. For example, cooked carrots are very easy to digest, so their index is much higher than raw carrots.
3. Eat foods that are high in fiber.
Fiber ranges from hard to digest to impossible to digest. Impossible to digest is actually good for humans. It not only helps with a feeling of fullness, but also helps to clean our colons-which is essential for good health. The higher the fiber, typically the more absorbent it is for fats. The slower the digestive process isfor a specific food, generally, the lower the glycemic index will be for that food. A good example is bread. Highly refined white bread’s fiber is so broken down and easy to digest that it is virtually useless for colon health. It is not in its natural state (Rule No.1), and it is white (Rule No. 6). However, whole grain bread with seeds is as close as bread gets to the natural state of grain. Depending on the grain and the seeds, it could be low-or moderately glycemic, but not high-glycemic. So you can have bread, but not highly refined flours and breads that are high-glycemic.
4. Time your food intake.
It is very important to your overall health-but particularly important to achieving a lean body-to keep your blood sugar balanced. Skipping meals may save calories, but will eventually backfire since your body will perceive a state of starvation and reduce the rate at which you convert your stored fats. Snacking is fine (even helpful) if it is with the right foods. Snacking helps keep your blood sugar balanced this in turn helps control appetite and maintain your ability to convert stored fat as energy. It would be ideal if we could get every one to snack only on fresh fruits or vegetables that are low-glycemic, such as peaches or celery. But this isn’t always convenient, so here is one practical (and tasty!) suggestion: A dozen almonds in their natural state eaten every two hours between meals should help the average person maintain a reasonable level of blood sugar.
5. Avoid white foods.
There are, of course, exceptions to every rule if you look hard enough. In general, white foods tend to be high-glycemic. White potatoes are the highest (85-98) on the glycemic index. They are a starchy complex, and those starches convert to glucose rapidly. Additionally, they are very easy to digest (Rule No. 2) and contain very little fiber (Rule No. 3).
6. Do not use artificial sweeteners.
There is preliminary evidence that artificial sweeteners may in fact slow the fat-burning process by confusing the normal chemical signals to the brain. An healthy alternative and actually beneficial sugar is Trehalose. These signals are normally associated with sweet tastes. There is also an increasing body of evidence that indicates some artificial sweeteners may have harmful effects on the human body.
Learn more about how plant sugars are transforming the world view of health. See what one specific plant sugar, Trehalose, can do to help diabetes and neurological issues like MS, Parkinsons, Huntingtons, Alzheimers.
Nitric Oxide - and Health
With our work on Sickle Cell Disease over the last few months we’ve been trialling a compound that is known to produce Nitric Oxide. the initial results we’ve seen are very encouraging - like reducing sickle cell crisis pain to manageable levels within 15 minutes. This article is one that was one i came across today which supports the view that NO or Nitric Oxide is very helpful in a number of health issues.
If you’d like to know what compound we are using and where to get it please e mail me paul@sugars4life.com
Nitric oxide:From menace to marvel of the decade
A briefing document prepared for the Royal Society and Association of British Science Writers
Pearce Wright
May 1996Nitric oxide: From menace to marvel of the decade
Summary Research papers continue to flood the scientific journals with insights into the biological activity and potential clinical uses of nitric oxide (NO): a gas controlling a seemingly limitless range of functions in the body. Each revelation adds to nitric oxide’s already lengthy resume in controlling the circulation of the blood, and regulating activities of the brain, lungs, liver, kidneys, stomach, gut, genitals and other organs.
The molecule governs blood pressure, through a recently recognised process that contradicts textbook wisdom. It causes penile erections by dilating blood vessels, and controls the action of almost every orifice from swallowing to defecation. The immune system uses nitric oxide in fighting viral, bacterial and parasitic infections, and tumours. Nitric oxide transmits messages between nerve cells and is associated with the processes of learning, memory, sleeping, feeling pain, and, probably, depression. It is a mediator in inflammation and rheumatism.
Clinically, newborn babies with breathing problems are getting relief by an experimental inhalation treatment developed from this new understanding. A novel class of drugs that block the production of nitric oxide is being assessed as a possible treatment for septic shock. Drugs that liberate or enhance the action of nitric oxide may be useful in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension, and could prevent the formation of blood clots and counteract impotence. Animal experiments show how to manipulate nitric oxide production to stop the development of arthritis and kidney disease.
In the longer term, drugs that alter the amount or activity of nitric oxide might help protect the brain in conditions such as stroke, Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease. (more…)
Why are 25% of Europeans Sick?
I saw this article in the BMJ e mail magazine and it made a question echo in my mind. If we have the right concept and outworking of ‘health care’ then shouldn’t we be seeing less illness? One would think so but why are 1 in 4 people in Europe chronically sick? Maybe its because we don’t have enough pharmaceutical drugs? Maybe we are just living stressful lives or maybe there is something else at play? My own research suggests that it could be something to do with the food we are eating being nutritionally almost empty and we are living in an increasingly polluted environment. If you want to stay free of illness maybe we should turn first to our lifestyles and diets and then seek to combat the effects of the pollutants in the environment. www.sugars4life.com has some answers and more canbe found at www.squidoo.com/plantsugars
Paul barton
BMJ
One quarter of the European Union’s 500 million people are undergoing long term treatment for illnesses ranging from hypertension and arthritis to ulcers and cataracts.
The findings, released last week, are the result of a survey carried out for the European Commission in September and October 2006 into the health of citizens in the 27 EU member states and Croatia.
The commonest long term treatment is for high blood pressure (36% of those being treated), which is particularly prevalent in central and eastern Europe. In Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece it accounts for at least half of people receiving a long term treatment, while the lowest levels of hypertension are to be found in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
Long standing problems with muscles, bones, and joints are the second most common type of ailment, accounting for 24% of those receiving treatment. Next are diabetes (15%), depression (10%), asthma (9%),
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Click the picture or the link below to go to our new group focused on staying healthy without pharmaceutical drugs.
Oh boy have we gone crazy
When i saw this it convinced me once and for all (if i needed convincing) that our health care model has gone completely mad. OK boys don’t get cervical cancer for obvious reasons. So why has a pharmaceutical drug company recomended that a vaccine for cervical cancer be given to boys of school age!!!!!!
from an astonished Paul barton
School-age boys are now being advised to get vaccinated with Gardasil, Merck’s cervical cancer vaccine, according to mainstream media reports. Previously, the vaccine was only recommended for girls.
The new male recommendation is based on the notion that boys could get throat cancer if they have oral sex with an HPV-infected girl.
According to some, however, recommending Gardasil to boys is little more than a scare campaign aimed at gaining market share from teenage boys.
Even the advice to give mandatory Gardasil vaccinations to young girls is simply disease mongering designed to sell vaccines. This is because girls who have HPV do not automatically get cervical cancer.
Girls who have healthy immune systems, and who lead healthy lifestyles, have little risk of developing cervical cancer from HPV. It is only girls who have compromised immune systems that may be vulnerable. Medicine Net May 18, 2007
Why do we associate drugs with health
Have you ever noticed how things creep up on us without us seeing. It is a bit like a lion stalking her prey - when you notice its often too late.
In the UK we have the National Health Service (NHS) and in the USA Medicare. Surely it should be called the National Sickness Service and does Mecicare really care? I know that we have become too dependant upon pharmaceutical drugs and what follows is a prime example and while it is extreme it is not that extreme.
We may be living longer but we are living sicker - just look at the drugs we are one by the time we reach old age.
For a safer way to stay healthy try www.squidoo.com/plantsugars
Warmly Paul barton
A 78-year-old woman was found unconscious on the floor of her apartment by a neighbor who checked on her. The woman could not remember falling but told doctors that before going to bed she had abdominal pain and nausea and had produced a black stool, after which she had palpitations and felt lightheaded.
Her medical history included high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure and osteoarthritis. She also had a cold with a productive cough. For each condition, she had been prescribed a different drug, and she was taking a few over-the-counter remedies on her own. These were the medications:
¶Lopressor to control high blood pressure.
¶Digitalis to help the heart pump and control its rhythm.
¶Coumadin to prevent a stroke caused by blood clots.
¶Furosemide, a potent diuretic to lower blood pressure.
¶Lipitor to lower serum cholesterol.
¶Baby aspirin to reduce cardiac risk from blood clots.
¶Celebrex for arthritis pain.
¶Paxil for depression and anxiety.
¶Valium, as needed, to help her sleep.
¶Levofloxacin, an antibiotic for the cough.
¶Ibuprofen for body aches.
¶Cough medicine.
This is what doctors call polypharmacy, otherwise known as a “poisonous cocktail” of many drugs that can interact in dangerous ways and cause side effects that can be far worse than the diseases they are treating. Elderly people are especially vulnerable because they often have several medical problems for which they see different doctors, each prescribing drugs, often without knowing what else the patient is taking.
The woman described above passed out because she had a bleeding stomach ulcer from a combination of drugs that irritate the stomach, Celebrex, ibuprofen and aspirin, and thin the blood, coumadin and aspirin, made worse by an antibiotic that raises blood levels of coumadin.
She recovered after a transfusion of two units of packed red blood cells and was sent home with strict instructions to stop the Celebrex, ibuprofen and aspirin and advice to “contact her internist and psychiatrist regarding possible medication changes that might decrease the risk for future adverse events,” Dr. Michael Stern reported in the June issue of Emergency Medicine.
Dr. Stern, a specialist in geriatric emergency medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, noted that the elderly took about 40 percent of prescribed drugs, roughly twice what younger adults take, and that they suffered twice as many adverse drug reactions as younger people.
“The average community-dwelling older adult takes 4.5 prescription drugs and 2.1 over-the-counter medications,” Dr. Stern reported. Polypharmacy is responsible for up to 28 percent of hospital admissions and, he added, if it were classified as such, it would be the fifth leading cause of death in the United States.
- Race/ethnicity (African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Native Americans all have high rates of diabetes)
