Diabetic Digest – Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009

Readers:

Now that the fall season has begun we all know that the
holidays are right around the corner, and that means
food, food, food.

Take a minute to watch this video about Delicious Diabetic
Diets. Twenty million Americans have diabetes, and diet
plays an important role in controlling the disease. Feeling
over-whelmed with all the options? Check out this video!

Click & View: http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=10321

After the video don’t forget about the rest of today’s
dynamite issue. Learn about caring for your heart, healthy
eating, and a great recipe for Pacific Coast Pizza. Sounds
good to me.

Regards,
Steve

Concerned about your health? Evtv1.com has videos for you!
http://www.evtv1.com/Health.aspx

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Diabetes Drugs Alone Do Not Ease Key Heart Risk

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Drugs used to control diabetes do not
reduce signs of inflammation that are linked with heart
disease, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday in a study that
reinforces the need for diet and exercise.

Both heart disease and diabetes are inflammatory diseases,
and researchers had assumed that controlling diabetes
would have an effect.

“At the time we initiated the trial, we were thinking if
we treat the diabetes, we will lower inflammation,” said
Dr. Aruna Pradhan of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and
Harvard Medical School in Boston, whose study appears in
the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“This study suggests that lowering glucose alone does not
impact one important risk factor for heart disease, and
that is inflammation,” Pradhan said in a telephone
interview.

She said the data may help explain the findings of a number
of large studies in diabetics that found aggressive control
of blood glucose did little to protect against heart
attacks and stroke.

“Just simply treating diabetes does not seem to have a
benefit at preventing these vascular events,” she said.

An estimated 23.6 million people in the United States and
246 million people globally have diabetes. Most have type 2
diabetes, the kind linked with a poor diet and lack of
exercise.

Adults with diabetes are two to four times more likely to
have heart disease or suffer a stroke than people without
diabetes. Seventy-five percent of diabetics die from heart
disease or stroke, according to the American Heart
Association.

DIABETES TREATMENTS

Pradhan and colleagues studied 500 people with type 2
diabetes to see whether insulin, or the common diabetes
pill metformin, or both could lower levels of inflammatory
markers such as C-reactive protein, an immune chemical
called interleukin-6, and soluble tumor necrosis factor
receptor 2 or sTNFr2, which plays a role in autoimmune
disease.

People in the study got insulin plus a placebo pill,
metformin alone or metformin plus insulin.

After 14 weeks, the team found the drugs helped lower
blood glucose levels, but had little effect on inflammation.

Pradhan said everyone in the study was obese, with a body
mass index of 36. BMI is equal to weight in kilograms
divided by height in meters squared. Someone with a BMI
of 25 to 29 is classified as overweight; 30 and over is
considered obese.

While treating diabetes alone may not reduce inflammation,
a study last November showed that taking AstraZeneca’s
cholesterol fighter Crestor, a statin, had a powerful
effect at reducing deaths, heart attacks and strokes in
people who had normal cholesterol but high levels of
C-reactive protein.

Pradhan said her study confirms the need for diabetics to
exercise and have a healthy diet and weight. Some may also
need to take statins and aspirin to control their heart
disease risk.

And she said diabetics still need to control their blood
sugar to reduce other complications such as eye and kidney
problems, and damage to blood vessels that can lead to
amputations.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association,
September 16, 2009.

Copyright Reuters Limited.

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Most Diabetics Falling Short on Healthy Eating

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Most Americans with diabetes
are eating too much fat and sodium, and not enough fruits,
vegetables, grains and low-fat dairy, a new study suggests.

The results, say researchers, indicate that many people
with diabetes may need more education about the importance
of nutrition in managing their condition.

Excess weight is one of the major risk factors for type 2
diabetes, a disorder in which the body can no longer
properly use the blood sugar-regulating hormone insulin.
Diet, exercise and weight loss are key to managing the
disorder, and in some cases, weight loss can reverse the
condition.

Yet in the new study, researchers found that of nearly
2,800 middle-aged and older U.S. adults with type 2
diabetes, nearly all were exceeding the daily recommended
fat intake. When it came to artery-clogging saturated fat,
85 percent were consuming too much.

Similarly, 92 percent of study participants were consuming
too much sodium, which can raise blood pressure and
contribute to diabetics’ already elevated risks of heart
disease and kidney disease.

The researchers used a number of nutritional yardsticks,
including the Food Guide Pyramid and recommendations by
the Institute of Medicine. For example, experts recommend
that adults get no more than 20 percent to 35 percent of
their daily calories from fat, with less than 10 percent
coming from saturated fat.

And if most study participants were getting too much of
those nutrients, many were also not getting enough of
certain healthy foods, the researchers report in the
Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Less than half were getting the minimum recommended
servings of fruits, vegetables, dairy and grains each
day.

“I thought we were going to find people who, because
they have a chronic disease, were more educated about
and more motivated than the average American to eat
healthy, but that’s not the case,” lead researcher
Dr. Mara C. Vitolins, of Wake-Forest University School
of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, said in
a written statement.

The “most important thing” in managing type 2 diabetes,
Vitolins noted, is balancing calories in and calories
out to help shed pounds or at least avoid weight gain.
The choice of foods is also vital in getting enough
beneficial nutrients — like antioxidants and “good”
unsaturated fats — and helping to control blood sugar,
blood pressure and cholesterol.

But many people in this study were not making healthy
diet choices, even if they had long-standing diabetes,
the researchers found.

“The findings clearly illustrate a need to provide ongoing
nutrition education for people with diabetes regardless
of the amount of time they’ve had the disease,” Vitolins
said.

“These people have, within their cupboards and
refrigerators, the potential to really manage their
diabetes well,” she added. “Day to day, the foods they
are eating should be considered a vital part of their
treatment.”

SOURCE: Journal of the American Dietetic Association,
August 2009.

Copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

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Diabetic Recipe

Pacific Coast Pizza

(Makes 4 servings)

2 teaspoons (10 ml) olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml) dried crushed red pepper flakes

1 10-ounce (12-inch) (300 g, 30.5cm) thin crust pizza shell

1 cup (240 ml) non-fat grated mozzarella cheese

1 14 1/2-ounce (435 g) can no salt added diced tomatoes,
drained

1/2 pound (240 g) fresh salmon fillet, skinned, cut into
1-inch pieces

1 1/2 tablespoons (22.5 m.) fresh dill, minced

1/4 cup (22.5 g) red onion chopped into 1 inch pieces

1 ounce (30 g) crumbled low-fat feta cheese

10 basil leaves, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 450° F. (230° C, gas mark

2. Combine the olive oil, garlic and pepper flakes and set
aside.

3. Place the pizza crust on a baking sheet or preheated
pizza stone Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, leaving a
1-inch border. Cover with diced tomatoes, salmon pieces,
dill, red onion, feta cheese, and basil leaves. Drizzle
top with garlic-olive oil.

4. Bake in oven until the cheese bubbles and crust is
browned. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Per serving: 422 calories (26 % calories from fat),
24 g protein, 11 g total fat (2.4 g saturated
fat), 48 g carbohydrates, 6 g dietary fiber,
35 mg cholesterol, 591 mg sodium

Diabetic exchanges: 2 lean meat, 3 carbohydrate
(3 bread/starch, 1 vegetable), 1 fat

Copyright 1997-2001 Diabetic-Lifestyle.

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