Control your diabetes: Just make 1 change a week

Type 2 Diabetes is a complicated disease that can affect multiple body organs and processes. It is also a progressive disease, meaning it will get worse over time. However, the better blood sugar control you can maintain, the progression of the disease seems to be slowed.

It is never too late and there is no "good" time of the year. The holidays are upon us, so now is a good time to change some of the old habits, one at a time, and help yourself through the holidays.

Diabetes consists of eight core defects in the body, involving liver, muscle, kidney, adipose (fat) tissue, pancreas and intestines. As diabetes progresses, more of these defects become active. Most of the medications we have available for diabetes address one of these defects. So, when the doctor says we need to add another medication for your diabetes, he/she recognizes that there may be another defect that is causing your higher blood sugars.

But, have no fear, it is a good time to start making a change or two.

Now that our temperatures are more moderate, we need to incorporate 20-40 minutes of physical activity into our daily schedules. Moving is so important for a lot of bodily functions: blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and weight control. Use your calendar to schedule in the time and activity for the upcoming week. Your body does not need or benefit from a day off, so schedule something active every day.

Plan ahead for your meals. Have sources of protein available for all meals (egg, chicken, fish, tuna, cottage cheese, peanut butter).

Buy vegetables, wash them, cut them and put in small containers or baggies at eye level in your frig. They will get eaten more.

Use a smaller plate for mealtimes. Put vegetables and salad on ½ plate, then add protein to ¼ of plate. The other quarter is for the starchy foods (rice, potato, pasta, etc). (Limit to 3 (1/2 cup servings) per meal.

This plate method seems to be very helpful for patients to be able to plan their meals, eat appropriate amounts and balance their meals. For more information on the plate method, see www.choosemyplate.gov.

Susan Smith, Ph.D., CDE, is a nationally Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) and a specialist in the field of diabetes since 1988. Since 2002 she has worked with patients individually through all of the internal medicine and family practice providers at Visalia Medical Clinic. Susan also leads the monthly diabetic support groups, which are open to non-VMC patients and family member

Daily breakfast consumption lowered type 2 diabetes risk profile in children

September 5, 2014

The risk for type 2 diabetes among children may be lowered with regular consumption of a healthy breakfast, according to research published inPLoS Medicine.

Angela S. Donin, MSc, of the Population Health Research Institute at St. George’s University of London, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study of 4,116 children aged 9 to 10 years to determine the effect of regularly consuming breakfast on the risk for type 2 diabetes.

Angela S. Donin

Participants were asked how often and what they consumed for breakfast, and blood tests were taken to measure diabetes riskmarkers that includedfasting insulin, glucose and HbA1c. A 24-hour recall of foods eaten the previous day was conducted by a research nutritionist.

Overall, 26% of participants reported not regularly eating breakfast; 11% of those reported eating breakfast most days, 9% on some days and 6% not usually. Researchers found good agreement between self-reported breakfast frequency and the 24-hour dietary recall.

Compared with participants in the managerial group, those in the lowest socioeconomic category were most likely not to have breakfast (P<.0001). Compared with participants who reported always eating breakfast, participants who reported not usually eating breakfast had higher fasting insulin (percent difference, 26.4%), higher insulin resistance (26.7%), slightly higher HbA1c (1%) and slightly higher glucose (1%). Total and LDL cholesterol and diastolic blood pressure did not show significant differences in mean values among the groups.

Participants who ate high-fiber breakfasts had lower fasting insulin levels and insulin resistance.

Participants who did not eat breakfast every day had lower energy levels compared with those who did, as well as lower intakes of carbohydrates and total non-starch polysaccharides (dietary fiber).

“Our findings suggest that eating a breakfast every day, particularly one which is high in fiber, may help to protect against developing type 2 diabetes,” Donin told Endocrine Today.“Trials are needed to confirm whether the relationship between breakfast and type 2 diabetes is causal.” — by Amber Cox

Disclosure: See the full study for a complete list of the researchers’ financial disclosures.