In the study, using rabbits as subjects, one group of rabbits was fed a diet including a small amount of oxidized cholesterol; a control group was fed no oxidized cholesterol, but otherwise the same diet. The study was significant for being the first to show that oxidized cholesterol accelerates atherosclerosis in mammals; although, an earlier study found the same result in pigeons. The researchers speculated that oxidized cholesterol may accelerate atherosclerosis by damaging cells lining coronary arteries. Another approach suggests that oxidized cholesterol speeds up atherosclorosis by causing the formation of "foam cells," which are modified immune cells that may participate in plaque accumulation.
This research is still preliminary, but the research leader recommends reducing from one's diet, hamburgers and other cooked or processed food containing animal fat because they are frequently high in oxidized cholesterol. [Note that even if oxidized cholesterol is eventually found to be "just cholesterol," it is already commonly recommended that we cut down on all fried foods - fruits and veggies are in. [That said, let's go to Burger King, I'm hungry.]
Diabetes Mellitus, Type II (Use full name to distinguish it from diabetes insipidus, a rare and unrelated disease.) is a condition characterized by abnormally high blood levels of glucose (blood sugar) because of abnormalities in insulin (see Note 1) production or utilization. Insulin is supposed to aid in transferring glucose from the blood stream into cells for energy or storage as glycogen for later conversion to glucose for energy. Diabetes mellitus interferes with this process, allowing the blood sugar level to rise abnormally high .
Blood sugar levels tend to fluctuate during each day - rising after a meal, then returning to normal within about two hours. "Normal" levels tend to rise after about age 50, particularly for those who are primarily inert (a.k.a. couch potatoes).
After eating (or drinking sugary "stuff"), blood sugar levels rise, which stimulates the pancreas to release insulin to return blood sugar levels to normal. Muscles use glucose for energy, resulting in a decrease in blood sugar levels during physical activity.
There are two distinct types of the diabetic condition:
Commonly, the first symptom of diabetes mellitus is frequent, high-volume urination (called polyuria). A result is a frequent feeling of thirst. The frequent urination causes an excessively high loss of calories, resulting in weight loss and often a constant feeling of hunger. Other symptoms that may occur include blurred vision, drowsiness, nausea, decreased endurance especially during exercise, dehydration, seizures, mental confusion, and more. On-going high blood sugar levels can damage blood vessels, nerves, and other internal parts, and it is a long list: eyes, kidneys, ANS, skin, blood, connective tissue; and can slow down the healing process for injuries. In time, these symptoms can lead to loss of vision, kidney failure requiring dialysis, heart attacks, strokes, and more - all bad.
BUT, those conditions are not inevitable. It has been shown that diabetic complications can be avoided, delayed, or slowed down by controlling blood sugar levels. This requires some attention since there are cases of depressing blood sugar levels to a point of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
There are three primary components of the antidiabetes war: 1) weight control, 2) exercise, and 3) diet. For some diabetics these treatment modes are not realistic, in which case insulin replacement therapy or an oral hypoglycemic medication may be necessary.
Exercise plays a role in diabetes control by lowering our blood sugar levels, which can reduce the amount of insulin that a diabetic needs.
Diet is an important facet of controlling diabetes. It helps to minimize sweet foods, and to eat meals on a regular schedule. And occasional snacks may help to keep blood sugar levels even. [It seems that a "grazing" eating pattern would be ideal, but that is something that would need to be discussed with your health care provider.]
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Note 1 - Insulin is a hormone produced in and released from the pancreas, and mainly functions to maintain proper blood sugar levels.
Eating for your eyes? It turns out that, at least to some extent, how well you see may be affected by what you eat.
Vitamin A and night vision have long been linked, and there seem to be other dietary-vision links.
Each eye contains a small patch of specialized tissue in the back of the eyeball at the center of the retina called a macula. Deterioration of the macula in the retina can result in partial or complete blindness. Those over 60 are most vulnerable to this condition, called age-related macular degeneration (AMD) - which has no cure, and may result from nutritional deficiencies. A healthy diet may do much to save your eyes. In addition to vitamins and minerals, carotenoids may help keep eyes healthy. Carotenoids are contained in leafy greens, corn, kiwi, and other green, red, or yellow fruits and vegetables. Maybe the most important carotenoid is beta carotene (found in abundance in carrots and sweet potatoes). Other carotenoids include alpha carotenoid, lycopenes (tomatoes are a good source), leutine, and zeaxanthin.
Inspection of eye tissues reveals high concentrations of some carotenoids, which act as antioxidants to reduce damage to eye cells by free radicals resulting from factors like sunlight. It appears that those who eat a diet containing lots of carotenoids have the healthiest eyes.
Smokers, on the other hand, are at high risk for AMD. If you smoke, it may not matter much what you eat. Or maybe if you smoke you should eat tons of fruits and vegetables.
It isn't clear why carotenoids are especially eye-healthy, but it is theorized that they may function as filters that protect the eyes from blue light, which is a band of radiation from sunlight that can cause eye damage.
In addition to carotenoids, vitamin A is necessary for night vision, and vitamins C and E seem to help prevent cataracts.
The carotenoids, lutein, and zeaxanthin have been shown to be important in prevention of AMD. Lutein is most abundant in corn, kiwi, pumpkin, yellow squash, red grapes, green peas, green bell peppers, and some other foods to a lesser extent. Zeaxanthin is most abundant in orange bell peppers, corn, oranges and orange juice, honeydew mellons, spinach, zucchini squash, and mangos.
Although not specifically listed, any dark greens are candidates for AMD protection. SO, EAT THOSE VEGGIES AND FRUITS - just one more reason. Many more fruits and vegetables than those mentioned help to prevent AMD.
Reduce sugar consumption is an admonition that we have heard many times, but it isn't happening. And there seems to be some support for the "sugar is safe" idea. The FDA and many nutritionists claim that sugar causes no health problems, except for cavities - tooth decay. And at a moderate level, they are seemingly correct, but "moderate" and "sugar consumption" in the U.S. are contradictory. The USDA estimates that Americans eat about 20 teaspoons of sugar each day - about 320 calories. This isn't just the result of heading for the sugar bowl too often. Most of the excess sugar that we eat is added to products that we eat; many of which (Most? All?) are relatively nutrient-poor. And note that "sugar" doesn't just mean "sugar," but includes things like "corn syrup." The fattening of America should be no surprise.
The Nutrition Action Health Letter (November 1998) suggests that at the least, our high sugar consumption in the form of junk food, has a deleterious effect on our bodies, and not just our teeth - expanding waistlines and maybe heart and bone abnormalities. The culprits are artificial sweeteners and things like soft drinks and sweet snacks - donuts, cookies etc. They especially promote weight gain because they typically contain sugar and fat, both calorie-dense, and often nutrient-poor.
Some of the sugar-dense/calorie-dense, nutrition-poor products that many of us ingest so freely include:
It isn't at all difficult to see the connection between sugar consumption and weight gain, but is there a connection between high sugar consumption and heart disease? Maybe. Sugar may increase blood triglyceride and insulin levels more than other carbohydrates, and elevated triglycerides increase risk of heart disease. So, according to Stanford University's Gerald Reaven, not all carbohydrates are the same. He has found that sugar raises triglycerides higher than do carbohydrates like potatoes or bread. As it turns out some people are carbohydrate-sensitive (insulin-resistant). In those people, a normal (today) high sugar diet sends their triglycerides sky high.
If you happen to be insulin-resistant, your body doesn't adequately move sugar from your blood into the appropriate cells where it can be used to create energy or be stored for future energy needs. The result may be diabetes or the mysterious sounding Syndrome X (see Note 2) , which increases risk of heart disease
Overweight (obese or near-obese) makes insulin resistance worse, but not all obese people become insulin-resistant. It seems that genes may be responsible for the condition (up to half the risk), while the degree of overweight may account for a quarter of the risk, and degree of inactivity the last 25 %.
A big part of the danger of too much sugar is simply that junk foods often squeeze out more nutritious foods from a diet. Like teenagers and milk - they need calcium at their stage in life, but they aren't going to get it from soft drinks. And many people don't move enough to burn the extra calories from junk food. As Alice Lichtenstein of the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University says: "If we were all lumberjacks and had to split wood and carry it into the house to keep warm, we could afford those extra calories. But we don't even get up to change the channel on the TV anymore."
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Note 2 - Syndrome X is a group of risk factors, including high insulin, high triglycerides, low HDL, and high blood pressure.
Apreliminary study has shown that the B vitamins folate and B12 may reduce the risk of getting Alzheimer's. This study is far from conclusive, but suggests that these vitamins reduce risk of heart disease by reducing homocysteine levels, and may also reduce risk of Altzheimer's by virtue of the perceived link between elevated homocysteine and a form of dementia associated with Altzheimer's disease.
A question that arises is whether a diet rich in folate and vitamin B12 can work against development of Altzheimer's by reducing homocysteine. It still isn't clear whether low blood levels of folacin and B12, along with elevated levels of homocysteine, are a cause or a result of Altzheimer's. Further study is ongoing. BUT, it seems to be a good idea, especially for people in the 50-60 age range to be sure of getting the recommended amounts of the aforementioned vitamins because of their apparent effect on decreasing artery damage. For folate, 400 micrograms (mcg) daily is recommended, and 2.4 mcg of B12. Folate is contained in green leafy vegetables, legumes, liver, some fruits; and many grain products, like breakfast cereal, are fortified with folate by government mandate.
There is a decline in absorption of B12 in those over age 60; therefore, they might benefit from taking a multivitamin (and multimineral) supplement, or be sure to include fortified products (cereals) in their diets.
Don't squat with your spurs on.
Pregnancy normally causes weight gain. Does anyone dispute that statement? I didn't think so. But how much - 20 lbs, 50 lbs? Here is one suggestion, along with where the weight comes from.
29.5 - 32 lbs Total
So, 20 lbs may not be enough for a full-term baby, and 50 lbs is probably too much unless you are carrying full-size sextuplets. But talk to your doctor about a recommended weight gain during pregnancy.
Soy can be a good source of nutrition to add to your diet. It contains both complete protein [It may be that "complete" in terms of soy protein means all amino acids are present, but maybe not in perfect numbers; however, soy isn't likely to be eaten without other foods that can fill in the "holes."] and essential fatty acids, and can be a substitute (at least occasionally) for meat, thus reducing intake of saturated fat and cholesterol. [Remember that controlling weight can normally be assisted by substituting a plant-based food, like soy for meat.]
The soybean, native to China, is actually, like the peanut, a legume and not a true nut. But whatever you call it, it can be a healthy addition to your diet.
It may be that soy lowers LDL and other lipids in your blood, when substituted for meat the re-placement theory.
Soy may also lower cholesterol. The hormones in soy, estrogen in particular, may be responsible for this benefit. Another theory is that soy proteins change some hormone levels in a human body that possibly results in the liver producing less cholesterol.
Other areas of current research are related to cancer cell growth, which may be reduced by "something" contained in soy, hot flashes from menopause may be reduced by plant estrogen in soy, and finally, soy may retard cancer cell growth.
The bottom line is that research is too preliminary to recommend soy for its curative powers, but adding it to your diet makes good sense anyway. At least the replacement theory makes adding soy to your diet sound sensible.
The quality of soy protein may be the highest in the plant world, and can be found in a variety of products: soy beans, tofu, miso, tempeh, soy sprouts, soy flour, and a variety of meat-/fish-/poultry-like made-from-soy items. Also there are veggie burgers (soy burgers), and calcium fortified soy milk - there is quite an array of choices available at grocery stores and health food stores.
One caution to those of you who may be moving into a vegetarian lifestyle (or maybe are already there) is that zinc (a critically important mineral) is most abundant in high protein sources (typically animal sources), but it is also contained to a lesser extent in plant sources. Taking a multivitamin/multimineral supplement probably makes sense in spite of what many nutritionists say.
Eye Drops Off Shelf
(Q) I have weak ankles and frequently get sprains. Are there any exercises that might help?
M.L., Los Altos, CA
(A) Yes, here are four basic exercises that might help stabilize your ankle joints.
(Q) I have heard about a massage treatment called Endermologie that supposedly removes cellulite, and is FDA approved. Is this for real?
J.R., Santa Cruz, CA
(A) In a word, NO; but I will give you a few more.
First off, there is no such thing as cellulite, it is merely fat with a unique pattern. It is found most often in women with lighter skin.
Endermologie is massage using what looks like a hand-held vacuum cleaner, that can only be done by an M.D. But any results are transitory at best, and it definitely doesn't make fat burn faster as claimed. It is just a gimmick, and an expensive one at that.
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