Watch out for glucose spikes
Spikes in blood sugar levels can damage your heart and your brain
Dracula (Bela Lugosi) was vanquished with a spike through his heart in the 1936 movie “Dracula’s Daughter.” And vampires are hunted and killed with homemade spikes (and a silver watch) by the soon-to-be 16th president, in the 2012 movie “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.”
Turns out glucose spikes, even in folks without prediabetes or diabetes, can be just as threatening as those vampire-slaying tools. A new study in PLOS Biology found that healthy people without prediabetes or diabetes (measured by standard tests like HbA1c) are very likely to experience heart- and braindamaging glucose spikes after eating certain meals. In fact, 80 per cent of the study participants who had a breakfast of cornflakes and milk got spiked — their blood sugar reached 140 milligrams per deciliter, a sign of prediabetes.
What’s going on? The Stanford University researchers say that frequently seeing blood sugar levels in the prediabetic and diabetic range in “healthy” folks may be a sign that the current testing for prediabetes is not sensitive enough. They used continuous glucose monitors, not finger pricks or blood draws to get their readings.
We say it’s confirmation that highly processed carbs and high-glycemicindex foods aren’t good for anyone.
Tip: If you get sluggish or out of sorts after eating, chances are you’ve chowed down glucose-spiking foods. They’re damaging your cardiovascular system, not to mention your gums, guts and good looks. But you can drive a spike through the heart of this unholy trend! Eat only 100 per cent whole grains, lots of colourful produce, lean proteins and no added sugars.
OBESITY AND THE FLU ARE DOUBLE TROUBLE
The influenza pandemic of 1918 infected and affected almost everyone in the world. An estimated 50 million people died as a result, making it three times more deadly than World War I, which claimed 16 million lives. As horrible as that was, an unchecked flu pandemic today could have even more devastating results.
A new study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that “obese adults with flu symptoms and laboratoryconfirmed influenza shed influenza A virus for 42 per cent longer than adults with flu who were not obese.” Meaning, they can infect others for much longer than normal-weight folks. The study also notes that folks who have obesity don’t respond to the flu vaccine as positively as normalweight folks and, if they get the flu, are far more likely to have complications and die.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that almost 40 per cent of American adults are obese — the highest rates ever recorded for the U.S. So it has never been more important to get your flu vaccine, whatever your weight. Also, practise infection control by staying home from work if you get the flu and washing your hands frequently. Keep your immune system healthy, and increase the chance the flu vaccine will work by getting enough sleep and taking a multivitamin, especially in the week before your shot; reduce stress with meditation and exercise (10,000 steps daily); and eat healthfully by avoiding the Five Food Felons (trans and sat fats, added sugars and syrups, and any grain that isn’t 100 per cent whole) as well as red meats and highly processed foods.
THE MIND-BELLY FAT CONNECTION
In an episode of “The Simpsons,” Homer and Bart are watching TV when Homer decides to show off the remarkable powers of his beer belly: He takes a beer that’s propped on his stomach and lifts it to his mouth without using his hands. Then he flips the can over using only his belly, and crushes it.
While Homer’s dumb trick with his beer belly is oddly athletic, that mountain of abdominal fat has powers far more extraordinary — and crushing — than that. Not only has belly fat been linked to a higher risk of heart disease and cancer, but now a new study shows it can make you as foggy-brained as Homer. D’oh!
Research published in Circulation looked at data from over 5,000 people and found that a higher waist-to-hip ratio (one measure of belly fat) was associated with lower cognitive function in adults over age 60. Seems abdominal fat pumps pro-inflammatory juices into your bloodstream, which damages your brain.
So, we’re suggesting that the 229 million of you in the U.S. who are overweight or obese consider enacting a plan to reduce your waistline. Adopt a full-body workout; don’t just target your waistlines with situps or crunches — you need aerobics, too. Opt for an antiinflammatory diet based on leafy greens, legumes, lean proteins and whole grains. An ideal waist-to-height ratio to aim for: Your waist circumference (measured at your belly button while sucking in) should be half your height.
DON’T TAKE A WORKOUT VACATION
When entrepreneurial gadfly Richard Branson owned a hideaway for celebs, Belmond La Residencia, in Majorca, Spain, everyone from Princess Diana and Harrison Ford to Kate Moss hung out with him. That indulgent lifestyle didn’t seem to make any of them gain weight! But according to a recent survey of over 2,000 people in the U.K., Majorca is one of the top four pack-on-the-weight destinations for vacationers. The toll? Nine added pounds.
Vacations are essential; they dispel stress and revive your spirit. But you don’t want them to become a getaway from exercise and smart nutrition. A new study of 45 active adults found that after two weeks of reducing their physical activity — taking less than 2,000 steps a day and sitting or floating in a pool for more than three and a half hours a day — almost all of them were less sensitive to insulin and had higher blood sugar, worse cholesterol readings, slightly less leg muscle mass and more abdominal fat. Another recent study found that if you’re older than 65, a break from physical activity (1,000 or fewer steps a day) for two weeks can send you straight to fullblown diabetes.
So, a vacation from work, that’s healthy. But don’t take a break from being active. You’re aiming for 10,000 steps a day or the equivalent: 10 minutes of freestyle swimming equals 2,300 steps; 10 minutes trotting on horseback equals 1,880 steps; 10 minutes of tennis equals 2,320 steps.
Sounds like fun! Then you’ll be taking a vacation from health problems, too.