Let Food Be Thy Medicine

According to a report published in Diabetes Care, a journal published by the American Diabetes Association, people who ate a low-fat vegan diet, cutting out all meat and dairy, lowered their blood sugar more and lost more weight than people on a standard American Diabetes Association diet.Participants say the vegan diet was easier to follow than most because they did not measure portions or count calories. Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine, which helped conduct the study said, "I hope this study will rekindle interest in using diet changes first, rather than prescription drugs." After 22 weeks on the diet, 43 percent of those on the vegan diet and 26 percent of those on the standard diet were either able to stop taking some of their drugs such as insulin or glucose-control medications, or were able to lower the doses. In other words, food really can be your medicine.The vegan dieters lost 14 pounds on average while the diabetes association dieters lost 6.8 pounds. An important level of glucose control called A1c fell by 1.23 points in the vegan group and by 0.38 in the group on the standard diet. A1c gives a measure of how well-controlled blood sugar has been over the preceding three months.Small changes made now can make a BIG difference later, when it comes to educating your children and teaching them to steer clear of type-2 diabetes.

To Your Health!

John Hall NSCA-CPT

Walk Away From Stroke!

Walking is a low-impact, high-benefit exercise that is simple, safe, and has many health benefits. Recent research, conducted at Harvard School of Public Health, shows that women who walk at a brisk pace (3 miles per hour or faster) could reduce their risk of stroke.

The lead author of the research, Jacob Sattelmair, said "Physical activity, including regular walking, is an important modifiable behaviour for stroke prevention." He also stated, "Physical activity is essential to promoting cardiovascular health and reducing risk of cardiovascular disease, and walking is one way of achieving physical activity."

The study followed roughly 40,000 women with an average age of 54 and tracked their activities such as walking, jogging, running, biking, and aerobic exericse. Walking was categorized in three groups for this study:

• Normal, which was between 2 and 2.9 miles per an hour
• Brisk, which was between 3 and 3.9 miles per an hour
• Very Brisk, Which was 4 miles per hour or greater

The researchers found that women who maintained an active lifestyle were 17 percent less likely to suffer a stroke compared to those who had an inactive lifestyle. In addition, the women who walked at a brisk pace lower their risk of hemorrhagic stroke by 68 percent and any other type of stroke by 37 percent. It was also found that the women who walked two or more hours a week lowered their risk of hemorrhagic stroke by 57 percent and 30 percent for any other type of stroke! The researchers were amazed to find that vigorous activity wasn't associated with a reduced risk of having a stroke.

Only 579 of the women were recorded of having suffered a stroke during a 12 year follow-up period. The results of the researchers were detailed in Stroke: The Journal of the American Heart Association.

Having trouble trying to find time to walk? Consider taking an early morning walk, a walk during your lunch break, or a walk as soon as you get home from work or right after dinner. Take the dog along – take the kids along.

To Your Health!

John Hall NSCA-CPT

Eat Your Oats!

Oats are a nutritious whole grain that can help to prevent heart disease and diabetes. Oats contain a special type of fiber that is called beta-glucan. Studies dating back over 40 years have consistently shown the beneficial effects of beta-glucan on cholesterol levels. In individuals with cholesterol above 220, consuming only 3 grams of soluble oat fiber per day (an amount found in one bowl of oatmeal) typically lowers total cholesterol by 8-23%. Each 1% drop in cholesterol equates to a 2% decrease in the risk of developing heart disease. Now that’s an easy way to take care of your heart.Studies also show that beta-glucan has beneficial effects in diabetes as well. Type 2 diabetics who ate foods high in this type of oat fiber such as oatmeal or oat bran experienced much lower rises in blood sugar compared to those who were ate processed foods. Starting out your day with oats may make it easier to keep blood sugar levels under control the rest of the day, especially when the rest of your day is also includes other whole foods that are rich in fiber.More recently, researchers from the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, report that oats may have another heart protective quality. Their findings were reported in The Journal of Nutrition, June 2007, and indicate that oats contain unique antioxidant compounds called avenanthramides. These special antioxidant compounds help prevent free radicals from damaging LDL cholesterol thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.In another study also conducted at Tufts and published in the journal Atherosclerosis, researchers exposed human arterial wall cells to purified avenenthramides from oats for 24 hours, and found that these oat phenols significantly suppressed the production of several types of molecules which cause arteries to become clogged.Oats are a nutritious whole grain that can help to prevent heart disease and diabetes. Oats contain a special type of fiber that is called beta-glucan. Studies dating back over 40 years have consistently shown the beneficial effects of beta-glucan on cholesterol levels. In individuals with cholesterol above 220, consuming only 3 grams of soluble oat fiber per day (an amount found in one bowl of oatmeal) typically lowers total cholesterol by 8-23%. Each 1% drop in cholesterol equates to a 2% decrease in the risk of developing heart disease. Now that’s an easy way to take care of your heart.Studies also show that beta-glucan has beneficial effects in diabetes as well. Type 2 diabetics who ate foods high in this type of oat fiber such as oatmeal or oat bran experienced much lower rises in blood sugar compared to those who were ate processed foods. Starting out your day with oats may make it easier to keep blood sugar levels under control the rest of the day, especially when the rest of your day is also includes other whole foods that are rich in fiber.More recently, researchers from the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, report that oats may have another heart protective quality. Their findings were reported in The Journal of Nutrition, June 2007, and indicate that oats contain unique antioxidant compounds called avenanthramides. These special antioxidant compounds help prevent free radicals from damaging LDL cholesterol thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.In another study also conducted at Tufts and published in the journal Atherosclerosis, researchers exposed human arterial wall cells to purified avenenthramides from oats for 24 hours, and found that these oat phenols significantly suppressed the production of several types of molecules which cause arteries to become clogged.

To Your Health!

John Hall NSCA-CPT

Raisins and Gum Disease

It was believed that the sweet and sticky foods, such as raisins, would cause plaque formation and could damage your dental health a great deal. According to research at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry, that may not be the case.Dr. Christine Wu, the lead author on the study, said "Raisins are perceived as sweet and sticky, and any food that contains sugar and is sticky is assumed to cause cavities. But our study suggests the contrary. Our laboratory analyses showed that phytochemicals in this popular snack food suppress the growth of several species of oral bacteria associated with caries and gum disease"Dr. Wu and her team performed a routine chemical analyses and identified five phytochemicals in Thompson seedless raisins: oleanolic acid, oleanolic aldehyde, betulin, betulinic acid, and 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furfural.These phytochemicals inhibited the growth of two species of oral bacteria: Streptococcus mutans, which is known to cause cavities, and Porphyromonas gingivalis, which can cause periodontal disease. With concentrations ranging from 200 to 1,000 micrograms per milliliter the phytochemicals were effective against the bacteria.Eating raisins also has many other health benefits, such as stronger immunity, lower chances of suffering from insomnia and lower risks of having heart disease.


To Your Health!

John Hall NSCA-CPT

Almonds

Almonds are a wonderful Whole Food and science has discovered the benefits of eating them in their whole form. Research reveals that the flavonoids in almond skin works synergistically the vitamin E found in almonds.This synergistic combination creates more than 200% the antioxidant power of the almonds and almond skins when separated. "We have identified a unique combination of flavonoids in almonds," said Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D., senior scientist and director of the Antioxidants Research Laboratory at Tufts University. "Further blood tests demonstrated that eating almonds with their skins significantly increases both flavonoids and vitamin E in the body. This could have significant health implications, especially as people age."Blumberg's team tested the effects of almond skin's flavonoids alone and then in combination with the vitamin E found in almonds. The tests were done on blood samples containing LDL cholesterol. While almond skin flavonoids alone enhanced LDL's resistance to oxidation by 18%, when the almond’s vitamin E was added, LDL's resistance to oxidation was extended by 52.5%!"The synergy between the flavonoids and vitamin E in almonds demonstrates how the nutrients in whole foods such as almonds can impact health," says Dr. Blumberg.

To Your Health!

John Hall NSCA-CPT