The traditional trick or treat bag is loaded with candies that should really only be eaten infrequently. But who can deny their child the hard earned sweets? The best advice I've heard is to let your child eat to their heart's content that evening (of course, after first checking the "goodies" for safety) and then remove the candy for safe keeping to dole out in responsible amounts. Some parents go as far as throwing away most of it to keep their kids from being tempted, but some parents enjoy the fruits of their child's labor and like to keep the candy around for all. Additionally, those who don't have children often have candy left over after the trick or treating is finished. If you have the candy bowl featured to celebrate the season, that means temptation looms every time you pass by it. What harm is one piece? The problem is, we often don't stop at one.
Best to keep the candy "out of sight, out of mind." If you are going to save it, place it in plastic zip bags and put it in the freezer.
Remember to engage in good dental care when exposed to the onslaught of candy. Best for you and your child to eat the sweets right before teeth brushing, rather than throughout the day.
As always, moderation seems to be the key to good health. So, when the excess of Halloween candy arrives, take the effort to allow for moderation, and you will be happier and healthier for it.
JS
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Autumn is Plentiful!
Well….. fall is in full swing, with weather turning chilly, and many people assuming all the tasty produce is gone until next spring. Not so! Many delicious fruits and vegetables are available, adding new variety as the summer options wane.
There are more than 15 well-known fruits and vegetables in season this time of year with upwards of 35 options when the less well-known produce is included in the list. Squash is commonly associated with the fall season, but here is a list of many other foods you can include in your diet in the coming weeks:
Pomegranates, Sweet Potatoes, Bok Choy, Carrots, Grapes, Apples, Mushrooms, Snow Peas, Pears, Swiss Chard, Brussel Sprouts, Figs, Plums, Cauliflower, Leeks, Ginger and Belgian Endive.
The variety of vitamins and minerals offered by these foods is plentiful! Take the challenge of trying a new variety of squash or by incorporating a new fruit or vegetable into your diet each week throughout the fall season!
There are more than 15 well-known fruits and vegetables in season this time of year with upwards of 35 options when the less well-known produce is included in the list. Squash is commonly associated with the fall season, but here is a list of many other foods you can include in your diet in the coming weeks:
Pomegranates, Sweet Potatoes, Bok Choy, Carrots, Grapes, Apples, Mushrooms, Snow Peas, Pears, Swiss Chard, Brussel Sprouts, Figs, Plums, Cauliflower, Leeks, Ginger and Belgian Endive.
The variety of vitamins and minerals offered by these foods is plentiful! Take the challenge of trying a new variety of squash or by incorporating a new fruit or vegetable into your diet each week throughout the fall season!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Physicians Perspective.....Mediterranean Diet
Mediterranean Diet Might Delay Need for Drugs in Diabetes
The benefits of a “therapeutic" lifestyle as an integral part of diabetes management is evident in a new study by Dr Katherine Esposito and colleagues, published in the September 1, 2009 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. Moreover, the importance of compliance with nutritional advice is not just in forestalling the need for medicines and decreasing cost but in improving important CV risk factors attributable to future heart attacks, stroke and kidney failure.
The study evaluated a low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean diet rather than a low-fat diet, in newly diagnosed diabetic patients. After four years, with continued nutritional advice, only 44% of newly diagnosed diabetic patients on a Mediterranean diet vs 70% of those on a low-fat diet required drug therapy as well as diet to control their diabetes.
Currently the American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends a low-carbohydrate or a low-fat diet for overweight people with type 2 diabetes, however, few studies have directly compared these diets in diabetes.
The patients were sedentary, had a mean age of 52 years (range 30 to 75 years), a body-mass index greater than 25 kg/m2 (mean 29.6 kg/m2), and a hemoglobin A1c level of less than 11%. Most (77%) had an HbA1c level greater than 7%. The primary study outcome was timed) to introduction of antihyperglycemic therapy--predetermined to start when HbA1c levels were more than 7% at two measurements three months apart.
Secondary outcomes included weight change, glycemic control, and attaining ADA coronary-risk-factor goals (HbA1c <7%;>30% of calories were from fat, largely olive oil).
2. A low-fat diet based on AHA guidelines, which included lots of whole grains and restricted sweets, fats, and high-fat snacks, where <30%>7% at baseline, only 22 patients still had an elevated HbA1c level after three months, and all patients had lower levels after six months on either diet.
Patients in both diet groups lost weight and had declines in plasma glucose and HbA1c levels, but the reductions were nearly 40% greater in the Mediterranean-diet group. The dramatic benefits of the Mediterranean diet included the delayed need for BP drug therapy independent of weight change. More participants in the Mediterranean diet met all three ADA goals and had consistently greater increases in HDL-cholesterol levels and decreases in triglycerides.
Problems of HDL/triglyceride metabolism are in fact more important in predicting risk than cholesterol levels for those with cardiometabolic disease and diabetes.
A simple and inexpensive method to delay the need for drug therapy for diabetes and lessen major CV risk factors of hypertension and abnormal lipids offers very impressive hope for our patients. The importance of this 4 year study mandates the importance of the Mediterranean diet, and most importantly nutritional counseling and the clear call to provide individuals with a better system for long-term counseling and/or coaching.
SR
1. Esposito K, Maiorino MI, Ciotola M, et al. Effects of a Mediterranean-style diet on the need for antihyperglycemic drug therapy in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes. Ann Intern Med 2009; 151:306-314.
The benefits of a “therapeutic" lifestyle as an integral part of diabetes management is evident in a new study by Dr Katherine Esposito and colleagues, published in the September 1, 2009 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. Moreover, the importance of compliance with nutritional advice is not just in forestalling the need for medicines and decreasing cost but in improving important CV risk factors attributable to future heart attacks, stroke and kidney failure.
The study evaluated a low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean diet rather than a low-fat diet, in newly diagnosed diabetic patients. After four years, with continued nutritional advice, only 44% of newly diagnosed diabetic patients on a Mediterranean diet vs 70% of those on a low-fat diet required drug therapy as well as diet to control their diabetes.
Currently the American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends a low-carbohydrate or a low-fat diet for overweight people with type 2 diabetes, however, few studies have directly compared these diets in diabetes.
The patients were sedentary, had a mean age of 52 years (range 30 to 75 years), a body-mass index greater than 25 kg/m2 (mean 29.6 kg/m2), and a hemoglobin A1c level of less than 11%. Most (77%) had an HbA1c level greater than 7%. The primary study outcome was timed) to introduction of antihyperglycemic therapy--predetermined to start when HbA1c levels were more than 7% at two measurements three months apart.
Secondary outcomes included weight change, glycemic control, and attaining ADA coronary-risk-factor goals (HbA1c <7%;>30% of calories were from fat, largely olive oil).
2. A low-fat diet based on AHA guidelines, which included lots of whole grains and restricted sweets, fats, and high-fat snacks, where <30%>7% at baseline, only 22 patients still had an elevated HbA1c level after three months, and all patients had lower levels after six months on either diet.
Patients in both diet groups lost weight and had declines in plasma glucose and HbA1c levels, but the reductions were nearly 40% greater in the Mediterranean-diet group. The dramatic benefits of the Mediterranean diet included the delayed need for BP drug therapy independent of weight change. More participants in the Mediterranean diet met all three ADA goals and had consistently greater increases in HDL-cholesterol levels and decreases in triglycerides.
Problems of HDL/triglyceride metabolism are in fact more important in predicting risk than cholesterol levels for those with cardiometabolic disease and diabetes.
A simple and inexpensive method to delay the need for drug therapy for diabetes and lessen major CV risk factors of hypertension and abnormal lipids offers very impressive hope for our patients. The importance of this 4 year study mandates the importance of the Mediterranean diet, and most importantly nutritional counseling and the clear call to provide individuals with a better system for long-term counseling and/or coaching.
SR
1. Esposito K, Maiorino MI, Ciotola M, et al. Effects of a Mediterranean-style diet on the need for antihyperglycemic drug therapy in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes. Ann Intern Med 2009; 151:306-314.
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