Tag Archive for: blood sugar

The Science Behind Holiday Spices: Cloves

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No one has to tell us that Christmas and the New Year are coming; it’s in the air. You can smell the holiday season this time of year. This week, I’m going to cover three spices used this time of year and talk about some of the potential health benefits of each. I’m not suggesting their use makes foods healthy if they’re also high in sugar and fat—just that there’s some interesting science behind these spices.

If you prepare . . .

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The Answer to the Sugar Conundrum

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Whether you have prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, or are just concerned about the calories in the sugary treats this holiday season, what should you do? Go without and feel deprived, or indulge and pay some sort of price? Let’s take a look by beginning with a few questions.

Why do you want to reduce your sugar intake? Do you want to reduce your caloric intake? Is it because you know you have prediabetes or type 2 diabetes? Are you concerned about gaining weight over the holiday season? Once you know why you want to avoid sugar, you can start . . .

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Sugar Alternatives

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Dealing with our sweet tooth this week, let’s look at sugar alternatives that may give us better choices if we don’t want to use artificial sweeteners.

Sugar alcohols are one alternative; xylitol, sorbitol, and other sugar alcohols are often used in candies and other treats. They can be a reasonable alternative to regular sugar, but there are a few things you need to know. First, they have a pronounced aftertaste; it feels like a cool sensation. Second, they’re not calorie free but . . .

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The Sugar Conundrum

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During the holiday season, there are plenty of sugary snacks available. Candy, cookies, pies, all kinds of treats. But can something as simple as jam on toast, let alone the holiday treats, be an issue for someone with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes? With close to half of all adults afflicted with one condition or the other, any kind of sugar stops them in their tracks. I see people reading labels carefully in the grocery store and often hear the words “No good. It has sugar!” In the prediabetes and diabetes groups I . . .

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Pedelec: The Bottom Line

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I want everyone to exercise. Period. It doesn’t matter how. You can work within your physical limitations, but everyone needs to exercise. That’s why the pedelec story and research study attracted my attention. Combining what you have to do anyway—get to work—with physical activity could be just the ticket. Let’s see if this is your ticket to ride.


The Benefits

Even in a study as short as four weeks, there were some health benefits, especially for blood sugar control. For someone at risk for type 2 diabetes, which is just about everyone, it . . .

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Prediabetes: What Now?

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The messages this week have talked about the risk factors for prediabetes and how many people don’t know what they are. It’s time to change that, at least in those of you who read the messages. Please feel free to pass them along to anyone you feel might also be unaware.

How do you know if you’re actually prediabetic? It requires a blood test for a specific protein called HbA1c. This protein indicates the amount of sugar that’s been in your blood stream for the past 90 days. The number for your blood sugar might be . . .

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Keeping Track of Life’s Simple 7

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To complete American Heart Month, here’s an easy way to track your heart health called Life’s Simple 7 (LS7), developed by the American Heart Association. LS7 has been around since 2010 but it escaped my attention until recently. For those of you who like to track your progress to see how you’re doing, this is a great tool; you may remember I mentioned it last month, but I think you need the details to really understand how LS7 can work for you.

There are seven different categories of variables to track, hence the name Life’s Simple . . .

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