by Dan | Jan 20, 2011 | Diabetes
Are there lifestyle changes recommended for prediabetes? Absolutely! Lifestyle changes can help many people with prediabetes to delay, or even prevent, the onset of full-blown diabetes. Changes that can help prevent diabetes are the same things that we are teaching in the Strive 2 Survive course, which includes weight loss, exercising frequently, even daily, and eating balanced diets. In a large research study called the Diabetes Prevention Study, lifestyle changes reduced the development of diabetes over 3 years by 58%. For people aged 60 or over, the reduction was even greater at 71%. The above picture may look good, but would not typically be part of a balanced diet, and is exactly what you want to be cutting back on if you have prediabetes, or diabetes already. Balance is the key!
Dr. Dan
My Activity today: 15 mile bike, weight workout
Consecutive day #: 1212
by kelsey | Jan 18, 2011 | Diet
If you scroll down you will see a few posts about whole grains. Even though I have discussed them in previous posts, I wanted to post them again in relation to current topic of diabetes. Whole grains, which include whole wheat bread, brown rice, wild rice, whole grain noodles, etc will help keep your blood sugars lowered compared to the white, refined products. Switching to whole grains will not only help your blood sugars, it will also aid in a healthy digestive tract and promote heart health. To ensure you have a true whole grain product, check the ingredient list under your label…the first ingredient should say ‘whole grain’ or ‘whole wheat’ ….if it says ‘enriched,’ it’s still a white product! Stay tuned to my next post regarding ways to enjoy your sweet treats without all of the added sugars!
-Kelsey
by Dan | Jan 17, 2011 | Etc.
We have all heard of Diabetes, but how many of us have heard about prediabetes? People with prediabetes have blood sugar levels that are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to indicate diabetes. Normal blood sugar levels for somebody fasting is less than 100. Diabetes is diagnosed when the blood sugar is 126 or higher. Prediabetes is a blood sugar level between 100-125. The Center for Disease Control estimates that as many as 57million Americans aged 20 or older have prediabetes. Prediabetes should not be ignored. If you have prediabetes, you’re at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes as well as serious medical conditions associated with diabetes, including heart disease and stroke. So what do you do about it? Stay tuned as the next several posts will discuss this in more detail.
Dr. Dan
My Activity today: 15 mile bike
Consecutive day #: 1209
by Dan | Jan 15, 2011 | Exercise
As you continue to work on strength training exercises, you will find as time goes on, that the exercises will become easier. This is time to start increasing your efforts/weights to continue gaining strength. When starting, you want to be able to complete 2 sets of 8 repetitions in good form. Keep using that weight or resistance until you become strong enough to perform 12 to 15 repetitions. Overall, proper form is more important than quantity or speed. Stay tuned as the next post I will discuss diabetes/pre-diabetes.
Dr. Dan
My Activity today: 15 mile bike, 1+ hour of shoveling snow. Oh yeah!
Consecutive day #: 1207
by Dan | Jan 14, 2011 | Diet
Diabetes is a disease that is linked to genetics, however it can also be related to your lifestyle which includes dietary and activity habits. I am going to let Dr. Dan cover the medical side of diabetes and I will focus on the nutrition and lifestyle part. I work with people with diabetes daily as diet is an important part in preventing and managing your blood sugars. Carbohydrates are our best source of energy for our body, however they are also the foods that raise our blood sugars more than others. They include: breads, cereals, tortillas, rice, pasta; a few starchy vegetables like potatoes, peas, corn, and squash; natural sugars like fruits and dairy products; and the all of the foods that have added sugars like regular pop, sweetened tea or coffee drinks, sweets, candy, etc. An excess consumption of these foods can raise your blood sugars. In future posts, we will explore these foods and discuss which ones are better than others.
-Kelsey
