Cinnamon appears to fight inflammation and help insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar. That news comes from researchers including Richard Anderson, PHD, CNS, of the U. S. Department of Agriculture Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Md.
Anderson and colleagues presented two papers on cinnamon at the Experimental Biology 2006 meeting, held in San Francisco. In both studies, researchers did lab tests in an effort to find cinnamon's active ingredient that might affect diabetes.
Cinnamon In The Lab
One of Anderson's studies focused on cinnamon's insulin-like effects. In lab tests, Anderson's team found that cinnamon contains antioxidants called polyphenols that boost levels of three key proteins.
Those proteins are important in insulin signaling, glucose (blood sugar) transport, and inflammatory response, the researchers write. That study was partially funded by PhytoMedical Technologies, a company involved in pharmaceutical research on plant-based products, including cinnamon.
The second study probed cinnamon's chemistry. The researchers found and extracted a natural compound in cinnamon that they think may have insulin-like properties. The compound is a proanthocyanidin, which is a type of polyphenol.
Previous Work
Previously, Anderson tested cinnamon on people with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes patients took varying daily doses of cinnamon for 40 days. The doses were larger than levels typically used in food.
The patients' insulin sensitivity improved during the study. No differences were seen among the three doses of cinnamon.
Twenty days after the patients stopped taking cinnamon, those effects were fading but were still significant, meaning that they didn't seem to be due to chance, according to the study. Those findings were presented at the fourth International Congress Dietary Antioxidants and Trace Elements, held in Monastir, Tunisia, in April 2005.
Sources: Experimental Biology 2006, San Francisco, April 1-5, 2006. Agriculture Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture: "Research Project: Chromium and Polyphenols from Cinnamon in the Prevention and Alleviation of Glucose Intolerance." News release. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Blood Sugar Levels - Guidelines for Diabetes
Blood Glucose Goals - Desirable Blood Sugar Levels
Source: The American Diabetes Association's Complete Guide to Diabetes
Time of Test Person without diabetes Person with diabetes
Before meals Less than 115 mg/dl 80 to 120 mg/dl __________________________________________________________
Before bedtime Less than 120 mg/dl 100 to 140 mg/dl
Your Blood Glucose Goals
Choosing blood glucose goals can be easy. You can simply follow guidelines supported by the American Diabetes Association (see table). However, these goals may not be easy for you to reach. Or they may not be appropriate for you because of a health problem. Your goals may be consistently higher. Why not see what your blood glucose levels are before and after meals and before bed and compare them to the goals in the table. Perhaps you can make small changes, a few at a time, to slowly lower your blood glucose levels.
Changes may include:
* how much food you eat
* the kinds of food you eat
* how much exercise you get
* how much insulin or medication you take.
Whether you have type 1 or type II diabetes or gestational diabetes, the goals of achieving control of blood glucose levels are similar: to keep blood glucose as close as possible to that of a person without diabetes. For many people with diabetes, getting normal blood glucose levels (like a person without diabetes) just isn't realistic or even desirable. For instance, if you are elderly and live alone, you may be more concerned with preventing severe low blood glucose than avoiding long-term complications. You and your health care team should decide together what goals are best for you.
Tips: Blood glucose goals for children are looser. For example, the target range may be 100 or 200 mg/dl. Most children under the age of 6 or 7 are not yet able to be aware of and respond to oncoming low blood glucose, and it's very important to limit episodes of low blood glucose. Tailor goals to the age and abilities of the child and be flexible with goals as the child grows.
Source: The American Diabetes Association's Complete Guide to Diabetes
Time of Test Person without diabetes Person with diabetes
Before meals Less than 115 mg/dl 80 to 120 mg/dl __________________________________________________________
Before bedtime Less than 120 mg/dl 100 to 140 mg/dl
Your Blood Glucose Goals
Choosing blood glucose goals can be easy. You can simply follow guidelines supported by the American Diabetes Association (see table). However, these goals may not be easy for you to reach. Or they may not be appropriate for you because of a health problem. Your goals may be consistently higher. Why not see what your blood glucose levels are before and after meals and before bed and compare them to the goals in the table. Perhaps you can make small changes, a few at a time, to slowly lower your blood glucose levels.
Changes may include:
* how much food you eat
* the kinds of food you eat
* how much exercise you get
* how much insulin or medication you take.
Whether you have type 1 or type II diabetes or gestational diabetes, the goals of achieving control of blood glucose levels are similar: to keep blood glucose as close as possible to that of a person without diabetes. For many people with diabetes, getting normal blood glucose levels (like a person without diabetes) just isn't realistic or even desirable. For instance, if you are elderly and live alone, you may be more concerned with preventing severe low blood glucose than avoiding long-term complications. You and your health care team should decide together what goals are best for you.
Tips: Blood glucose goals for children are looser. For example, the target range may be 100 or 200 mg/dl. Most children under the age of 6 or 7 are not yet able to be aware of and respond to oncoming low blood glucose, and it's very important to limit episodes of low blood glucose. Tailor goals to the age and abilities of the child and be flexible with goals as the child grows.
Influence Of 'Obesity Gene' Can Be Offset By Healthy Diet
Children who carry a gene strongly associated with obesity could offset its effect by eating a low energy density diet, according to new research from UCL (University College London) and the University of Bristol published
The study, based on data from a sample of 2275 children from the Bristol-based ALSPAC study (Children of the 90s) provides evidence that people might be able to avoid becoming obese if they adopt a healthier diet with a low energy density – even those who carry the FTO gene, identified as being a high risk gene for obesity.
Dietary energy density (DED) refers to the amount of energy consumed per unit weight of food, or number of calories per bite. A low dietary energy density can be achieved by eating lots of water-rich foods like fruits and vegetables and limiting foods high in fat and sugar like chocolate and biscuits.
The researchers looked at how DED affected the build up of fat in the body over a period of three years in children aged between 10 and 13 years old. They found that children with a more energy dense diet (more calories per bite) tended to have more fat mass three years later and also confirmed that those carrying the high risk gene had greater fat mass overall.
When the researchers looked at whether children with the FTO gene had a stronger reaction to an energy dense diet than children with a lower genetic risk they found that they did not. These results indicate that if a child with a high genetic risk eats a diet with fewer calories per bite, they may be able to offset the effect of the gene on weight gain and so stay a healthy weight.
Lead author Dr Laura Johnson, UCL Epidemiology and Public Health, said: "This is an important finding because it provides evidence that it's easier to eat too much energy and gain weight when your diet is packed tight with calories, so adopting a diet with more bulk and less energy per bite could help people avoid becoming obese regardless of their genetic risk. Obesity is not inevitable if your genes give you a higher risk because if you change the types of foods you eat this will help curb excessive weight gain."
"This shows that although our genetic make-up does have an influence on our health, it's certainly not the only defining factor. Those with high risk genes can, in some cases, resist their genetic lot if they alter their lifestyle in the right way – in this case, their diet."
FTO is the first common obesity gene to be identified in Caucasian populations. Previous studies have shown that adults with two copies of the FTO gene are on average 3kg heavier, and individuals with a single copy are on average 1.5kg heavier, than those without the gene.
The data was taken from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) and analysis was carried out by researchers at UCL, Bristol University, Peninsula Medical School, and MRC Human Nutrition Research in Cambridge.
The study, based on data from a sample of 2275 children from the Bristol-based ALSPAC study (Children of the 90s) provides evidence that people might be able to avoid becoming obese if they adopt a healthier diet with a low energy density – even those who carry the FTO gene, identified as being a high risk gene for obesity.
Dietary energy density (DED) refers to the amount of energy consumed per unit weight of food, or number of calories per bite. A low dietary energy density can be achieved by eating lots of water-rich foods like fruits and vegetables and limiting foods high in fat and sugar like chocolate and biscuits.
The researchers looked at how DED affected the build up of fat in the body over a period of three years in children aged between 10 and 13 years old. They found that children with a more energy dense diet (more calories per bite) tended to have more fat mass three years later and also confirmed that those carrying the high risk gene had greater fat mass overall.
When the researchers looked at whether children with the FTO gene had a stronger reaction to an energy dense diet than children with a lower genetic risk they found that they did not. These results indicate that if a child with a high genetic risk eats a diet with fewer calories per bite, they may be able to offset the effect of the gene on weight gain and so stay a healthy weight.
Lead author Dr Laura Johnson, UCL Epidemiology and Public Health, said: "This is an important finding because it provides evidence that it's easier to eat too much energy and gain weight when your diet is packed tight with calories, so adopting a diet with more bulk and less energy per bite could help people avoid becoming obese regardless of their genetic risk. Obesity is not inevitable if your genes give you a higher risk because if you change the types of foods you eat this will help curb excessive weight gain."
"This shows that although our genetic make-up does have an influence on our health, it's certainly not the only defining factor. Those with high risk genes can, in some cases, resist their genetic lot if they alter their lifestyle in the right way – in this case, their diet."
FTO is the first common obesity gene to be identified in Caucasian populations. Previous studies have shown that adults with two copies of the FTO gene are on average 3kg heavier, and individuals with a single copy are on average 1.5kg heavier, than those without the gene.
The data was taken from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) and analysis was carried out by researchers at UCL, Bristol University, Peninsula Medical School, and MRC Human Nutrition Research in Cambridge.
Western Diets Turn on Fat Genes: Energy-Dense Foods May Activate Genes That Ultimately Make Us Obese
This means these foods hit you with a double-whammy as the already difficult task of converting high-fat and high-sugar foods to energy is made even harder because these foods also turn our bodies into "supersized fat-storing" machines.
In the research report, scientists show that foods high in fat and sugar stimulate a known opioid receptor, called the kappa opioid receptor, which plays a role in fat metabolism. When this receptor is stimulated, it causes our bodies to hold on to far more fat than our bodies would do otherwise.
According to Traci Ann Czyzyk-Morgan, one of the researchers involved in the work, "the data presented here support the hypothesis that overactivation of kappa opioid receptors contribute to the development of obesity specifically during prolonged consumption of high-fat, calorically dense diets."
To make this discovery, Czyzyk-Morgan and her colleagues conducted tests in two groups of mice. One group had the kappa opioid receptor genetically deactivated ("knocked out") and the other group was normal. Both groups were given a high fat, high sucrose, energy dense diet for 16 weeks. While the control group of mice gained significant weight and fat mass on this diet, the mice with the deactivated receptor remained lean. In addition to having reduced fat stores, the mice with the deactivated receptor also showed a reduced ability to store incoming nutrients.
Although more work is necessary to examine what the exact effects would be in humans, this research may help address the growing obesity problem worldwide in both the short-term and long-term. Most immediately, this research provides more proof that high-fat and high-sugar diets should be avoided. In the long-term, however, this research is even more significant, as it provides a new drug target for developing therapies for preventing obesity and helping obese people slim down.
"In times when food was scarce and starvation an ever-present threat, an adaptation that allows our bodies to store as much energy as possible during plentiful times was probably a lifesaver," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "By taking that opioid receptor off the table, researchers may have found a way to keep us from eating ourselves to death."
Aerobic exercise
In physical exercise, aerobic exercise is complementary to anaerobic exercise
Aerobic literally means "with oxygen", and refers to the use of oxygen in muscles' energy-generating process.
Aerobic exercise includes any type of exercise, typically those performed at moderate levels of intensity for extended periods of time, that maintains an increased heart rate.
In such exercise, oxygen is used to "burn" fats and glucose in order to produce adenosine triphosphate, the basic energy carrier for all cells.
Initially during aerobic exercise, glycogen is broken down to produce glucose, but in its absence, fat metabolism is initiated instead.
The latter is a slow process, and is accompanied by a decline in performance level.
The switch to fat as fuel is a major cause of what marathon runners call "hitting the wall." There are various types of aerobic exercise.
In general, aerobic exercise is one performed at a moderately high level of intensity over a long period of time.
For example, running a long distance at a moderate pace is an aerobic exercise, but sprinting is not.
Playing singles tennis, with near-continuous motion, is generally considered aerobic activity, while golf or doubles tennis, with their more frequent breaks, may not be..
Aerobic literally means "with oxygen", and refers to the use of oxygen in muscles' energy-generating process.
Aerobic exercise includes any type of exercise, typically those performed at moderate levels of intensity for extended periods of time, that maintains an increased heart rate.
In such exercise, oxygen is used to "burn" fats and glucose in order to produce adenosine triphosphate, the basic energy carrier for all cells.
Initially during aerobic exercise, glycogen is broken down to produce glucose, but in its absence, fat metabolism is initiated instead.
The latter is a slow process, and is accompanied by a decline in performance level.
The switch to fat as fuel is a major cause of what marathon runners call "hitting the wall." There are various types of aerobic exercise.
In general, aerobic exercise is one performed at a moderately high level of intensity over a long period of time.
For example, running a long distance at a moderate pace is an aerobic exercise, but sprinting is not.
Playing singles tennis, with near-continuous motion, is generally considered aerobic activity, while golf or doubles tennis, with their more frequent breaks, may not be..
Physical exercise
Physical exercise is the performance of some activity in order to develop or maintain physical fitness and overall health
It is often directed toward also honing athletic ability or skill.
Frequent and regular physical exercise is an important component in the prevention of some diseases such as heart disease, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Exercises are generally grouped into three types depending on the overall effect they have on the human body: Flexibility exercises such as stretching improve the range of motion of muscles and joints; aerobic exercises such as walking and running focus on increasing cardiovascular endurance; and anaerobic exercises such as weight training, functional training or sprinting increase short-term muscle strength. Physical exercise is considered important for maintaining physical fitness including healthy weight; building and maintaining healthy bones, muscles, and joints; promoting physiological well-being; reducing surgical risks; and strengthening the immune system..
It is often directed toward also honing athletic ability or skill.
Frequent and regular physical exercise is an important component in the prevention of some diseases such as heart disease, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Exercises are generally grouped into three types depending on the overall effect they have on the human body: Flexibility exercises such as stretching improve the range of motion of muscles and joints; aerobic exercises such as walking and running focus on increasing cardiovascular endurance; and anaerobic exercises such as weight training, functional training or sprinting increase short-term muscle strength. Physical exercise is considered important for maintaining physical fitness including healthy weight; building and maintaining healthy bones, muscles, and joints; promoting physiological well-being; reducing surgical risks; and strengthening the immune system..
General fitness training
General fitness training works towards broad goals of overall health and well-being, rather than narrow goals of sport competition, larger muscles or concerns over appearance.
A regular moderate workout regimen and healthy diet can improve general appearance markers of good health such as muscle tone, healthy skin, hair and nails, while minimizing age or lifestyle-related reductions in health..
A regular moderate workout regimen and healthy diet can improve general appearance markers of good health such as muscle tone, healthy skin, hair and nails, while minimizing age or lifestyle-related reductions in health..
Friday, December 11, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Brain Activity Exposes Those Who Break Promises
Scientists from the University of Zurich have discovered the physiological mechanisms in the brain that underlie broken promises. Patterns of brain activity even enable predicting whether someone will break a promise.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)