Welcome to “FitnessMantra Weekend”, your once-a-week health news update. As always you can also stay updated with the latest in fitness news by subscribing separately to the Fitness Mantra del.icio.us feed.

In the Glycemia series of posts, I described the effect that different foods have on our blood sugar levels. While our goal should be to maintain a steady level of blood sugar (since our bodies perform optimally under this condition), not all foods like to comply with our wishes. High-glycemic-index (GI) foods like white rice, pasta, or bread create a surge of glucose that our bodies must respond to with insulin. The failure to adequately match insulin requirement with proportionate production is the deadly disease, diabetes. (Do read the series again to brush up your knowledge of the key terms involved in the discussion).

No, all that was not just to promote a previous post: BBC News reports that a Starchy diet ‘may damage liver’. Regular consumption of high-glycemic and refined foods not only causes the body to develop insulin resistance and develop a risk for diabetes, it is now also being shown to cause “fatty-liver”, a condition by which fat accumulates in the liver, leading to potential liver-failure in the future. The image on the right shows a close-up of fatty cells in an affected liver (courtesy Brown University).

In an interesting study conducted at the Boston Children’s Hospital, two groups of mice were given food with exactly the same calorie content but one group got food composed of high GI ingredients while the other was fed low GI foods.

After six months on the diet, the mice weighed the same, but those on the high GI diet had twice the normal amount of fat in their bodies, blood and livers.
…
Dr David Ludwig, who led the research, said that the results would also apply to humans, and even children, in whom fatty liver is becoming far more common.

- Via BBC News

Including more whole grains and reducing the amount of refined carbohydrates in our diets is a key step to maintaining a steady glucose level in our blood while also keeping full for longer periods of time as the energy in the food is released slowly to the cells in our bodies.

Here’s more health news from the week that was:

1. Diabetes may hike death risk from pneumonia: People with type 2 diabetes or elevated blood sugar are at increased risk of dying after being hospitalized for pneumonia, a new study hints.
2. Make your friends fit your diet - not blow it: As it turns out, not only does your diet influence which friends you pick, your friends influence your diet.
3. Seniors balk at ban on free doughnuts: It was just another morning at the senior center: Women were sewing, men were playing pool - and seven demonstrators, average age 76, were picketing outside, demanding doughnuts.
4. Rich or Poor, Fat People Have Higher Diabetes Risk: Fat people who are rich are just as likely to develop a precursor to diabetes as those who are poor, suggesting that money for a healthier diet and better treatment matters less than being active
5. Soccer beats jogging for fitness: A friendly game of soccer works off more fat and builds up more muscle than jogging, new research shows.
6. Obesity Won’t Affect Seniors’ Memory: While past studies have found obesity in middle age increases a person’s risk for dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, our finding shows obesity in old age has no effect on a person’s memory.
7. Starchy diet ‘may damage liver’: A diet rich in potatoes, white bread and white rice may be contributing to a “silent epidemic” of a dangerous liver condition.
8. Smart Fitness: Getting high on exercise: The euphoria that some people report from exercise is often referred to as a “runner’s high,”
9. FDA helps kids learn to read food labels: “Since I find parents are not doing a bang-up job (teaching nutrition), I think it’s important to empower the children with their own information”
10. Any kind of exercise helps diabetics: Weight training works just as well as running on a treadmill or biking to help the most important symptom of type-2 diabetes - long-term control of blood sugar
11. Report: Fewer soft drinks in school: School vending machines are stocked with fewer high-calorie soft drinks today because some states have banned the sale of sodas on campus and the beverage industry is phasing in healthier drinks

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Have a great weekend!

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, health news, fitness news, health links, fitness links, del.icio.us, high-glycemic diets, fatty liver, diabetes

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Welcome to “FitnessMantra Weekend”, your once-a-week health news update. As always you can also stay updated with the latest in fitness news by subscribing separately to the Fitness Mantra del.icio.us feed.

“Snacking itself is neither good nor bad. The effects of snacking depend upon what snack you choose and whether the snacks meet your nutritional needs.” These words in the very first paragraph of “Snack Smart To Stay Energized” really ring true.

For many people the long gap between meals leads to larger single meals - a big no no if watching one’s waistline is the goal. Remember, although one of the tips of FitnessMantra is to “Eat More Often“, what you eat that often is obviously important too!

Snacks like candies and fried foods will probably satiate your immediate hunger and salt/sugar craving but since they lack any basic nutrition (proteins, fiber, vitamins, minerals) they won’t fill you up for long - their Calorific Payload is really poor.

This is why the picture of a stressed man with the words “Feed The Need” near the vending machine at work always makes me laugh. While the need is for something that will keep your blood sugar as level as possible throughout your day while providing you with essential nutrients, the feed in the vending machine will almost always do the exact opposite! Candies and refined snacks will do nothing but wreak havoc on your insulin levels leaving you more dissatisfied than before, within the hour.

The best solution to the problem of finding the right meal-between-meals is to be prepared (especially if you are working and forced to depend on a poorly stocked vending machine). Veggie-sticks with hummus dips, trail mix bags (typically raw mixed nuts and seeds), dried fruits, peanut butter, fresh fruits, low fat yogurt and cottage-cheese are all excellent examples of snacks that are nutritionally superior and hunger-satiating.

During your next snack, munch on the past week’s top health and fitness stories:

1. Dollars for Pounds: Incentives Encourage Weight Loss: Money motivates people to slim down. Overweight employees who were paid a small amount lost more weight than those who weren’t compensated for their efforts, according to one of the first studies to examine such a strategy at workplaces.
2. Being overweight is hard on the heart: A new study involving more than 300,000 people finds that being overweight independently increases a person’s risk of coronary disease.
3. Models ’should show health proof’: London Fashion Week models should be asked to prove they do not suffer eating disorders, a report says.
4. Obesity in pregnancy hikes risk of stillbirth: Obese pregnant women may have an increased risk of losing their baby relatively late in pregnancy, and black women appear particularly at risk, a large study suggests.
5. Teen girls on a diet more likely to smoke: Teenage girls who start dieting are nearly two times more likely to also take up smoking regularly, compared with teenage girls who are not dieting.
6. Snack smart to stay energized: For some people, snacks can be a key to their good health and nutrition; for others, snacks may be their greatest downfall.
7. Teens’ unhealthy weight affects later fertility: Teenagers who are either underweight or obese are likely to have fewer children in adulthood, a study has found.
8. Test measures fat around organs: Measuring levels of a protein in the blood could provide the most accurate way to assess how much fat coats the body’s organs, say scientists.
9. Brits ‘dying not to do exercise’: Most UK adults are so unwilling to exercise that not even the threat of an early death is enough to get them off the sofa, a survey suggests.
10. Burger King unveils new health kick: Burger King pledged Wednesday to offer healthier fast-food items for children under 12, with plans to sell and market flame-broiled Chicken Tenders and apples cut to resemble thick-cut french fries.
11. Property values signal obesity: For each additional $100,000 in the median price of homes, researchers found, obesity rates in a given ZIP code dropped by 2 percent.
12. Spinach, eggs may ward off blindness: Two nutrients found in eggs, spinach and other leafy green vegetables offer some protection against the most common cause of blindness among the elderly, researchers said on Monday.
13. Judge strikes down NYC calorie-posting rule: A judge struck down a New York City rule Tuesday that required fast-food restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus.
14. High gas prices could make you skinnier: Higher gasoline prices may slim more than just wallets, according to a new study from Washington University in St. Louis.
15. L.A. official proposes fast-food ban: A city councilwoman is proposing a moratorium on fast-food restaurants in south Los Angeles, which has more such eateries than any other part of the county.
16. Study: Taking Vitamin D Supplements May Extend Lives: Taking vitamin D supplements may extend the lives of the Individuals who take them, according to a new study.
17. FDA considers adding symbols to food labels: Federal health officials on Monday considered whether adding symbols with nutrition information to food labels, like a traffic light system used in Britain, might help shoppers make healthier food choices.
18. Eat well cash for mothers-to-be: Pregnant women will get about £200 paid into their bank account to spend on healthy food under a government initiative, the BBC has learned.

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Have a great weekend!

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, health news, fitness news, health links, fitness links, del.icio.us

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