Cherries and Diabetes

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=disease&dbid=3

Visited on July 8, 2015

Cherries Fight Diabetes and Feed Your Sweet Tooth:

*Anthocyanins are plant pigments found in cherries and other red and purple fruit.

*Anthocyanins may help lower blood sugar levels in people with diabetes based on research published in Jan 2005 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

*Michigan State University research exposed rodent pancreatic cells to antocyanins and were able to increase insulin production by 50%.

*There may be more health benefits to Anthocyanins: such as protection against heart disease and cancer

http://www.everydayhealth.com/type-2-diabetes-pictures/colorful-diabetes-fighting-foods.aspx#02

Visited on July 8, 2015

6 Colorful Diabetes-Fighting Foods by Chris Iliades MD and Lindsey Marcellin MD

Subtitle: 2/7  Tart Cherries

Research from the University of Michigan:

*Eating a cup and a half of frozen Cherries can increase your antioxidant activity for 12 hours.

Cherries may reduce the type of belly fat linked to type 2 diabetes and lower heart disease risk.

Fresh cherries would be the first choice

Frozen cherries second but can lose about 50% of their anthocyanins.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/diabetes-pictures/best-fruits-for-diabetes.aspx#03

Visited on July 8, 2015  Last updated 6/05/15

Title:  8 Low-Car fruits for the Diabetic Diet type 2 Diabetees

sub title:  3/9 Tart Cherries to Fight Inflammation

Facts:

*Cherries are low carb

*Cherries are low-GI choice

*12  sweet cheeries have 59 calories and 14 grams of carbohydrates, but tart cherries may be a better choice.

*Tart cherries are pakced with antioxidants which help fight heart disease, cancer and other disease.

*Beware of canned and dried fruit because of added sugar.

The Liver notes from Dr. Oz, The Good Life June 2015 Pages 30-31

Liver Factoids:

*Largest internal Organ (size of Deflated football)

*Weighs 3 pounds

*Superpower:  Removes as much as 755 of the liver and it can grow back to it's normal size within a few weeks.

*Blood tests can detect damaged to the liver cells.  If your food choices are balanced and healthier diet full of veggies, whole grains & lean protein maybe the fix the liver needs.

*The liver is the body's central refinery:  Everything digested travels through the small intestine.  The liver takes the ingredients and packages them into forms of fuel the body can use.  For example it turns carbs into glycogen, which is fuel for the muscles.

*The liver also acts like a sieve to clean out irritants ingested.  The waste is sent to the large intestine.

"It doesn't love extra cheesecake or candy"

        *The liver acts as a nutrient storage tank, storing away anything your body doesn't need at the
          moment so the body can access the reserves later.

        *If you eat more fat and sugar then you can use, your liver packs up the extra and stores its                      triglycerides (fats your body taps for energy between meals).

*Eat way too much and the storage systems chokes up.

*The excess fats continue to collect, causing liver cells to swell and eventually die.

*Unhealthy liver can cause big problems:
   
                    *Liver cancer

                     *Cirrhosis
 
                      *Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

         
*If you put a liver with too much fat and sugar next to a liver from a heavy drinker, they look nearly identical.

Green Tea factoids from Prevention magazine Sept 2014

I was reading in Prevention: Sept 2014, page 26 an article on Green Tea

They name different health benefits but not the research so not as solid as I wish it was but probably can't hurt either.

Nothing like a good cup of tea.  Especially Green Tea

Here are the benefits the article listed:

*Anti-inflamatory antioxidants

*Best Brewed yourself:
             I believe because you would control the amount of sugar and also know that there are no extra
             unwanted ingredients


*May help burn fat
             *Article suggests studies are far from conclusive:  Maybe green tea plus exercise leads to 36%
                less belly fat.

Protects the brain
             *EGCG, a polyphenol in green tea may guard against neurological diseases

*It staves off strokes: 3 cups of day would reduce risks of stroke by up to 20%


Those are the factoids of this article are interesting

I know, at least I think I know, that diabetes can lead to complications and that strokes might be one of them.

What is Diabetes?

Basically in real simple terms, Diabetes is a disease in which the body not successfully processing sugar properly. Insulin isn't produced or received effectively and there's an overflow of sugar in the blood. There are two types of Diabetes.  Type 1 and Type 2.

I have Type 2.

Type 1is an insulin dependent disease

Type 2 is a non-insulin dependent disease

Did I mention I'm a type 2?

Yep, I did it to myself.  I'm owning it, never mind the fact that it runs in my family.  I am overweight and this year I'm turning 50.  Yikes.  So one thing I need to learn is stress management.  I guess I internalize it and turn to comfort food.  Perhaps the wrong choices of comfort food.

I'm on Metaformin HCL  to help manage my blood sugar level.  I check my blood sugar levels with a prick of my finger.  A sting on that tip of finger then a bubble of blood and smear on to a digital meter and a number magically appears to tell me where I am.

I'm writing this blog because maybe it will help me.  Maybe it will help others.  There are some scary statistics about people with diabetes.  Hey it's deadly.

My personal goal is to get to a safe weight, a safe blood sugar level and a much more healthier life living pattern.

When I initially found out I had type 2, I was on it.  But then,  I wasn't on it.  The weight came back and stress was secretly whispering to go ahead and enjoy the comfort food.  Oh and I paid for it.  Poor little body.  I need to apologize to all my amazing organs.  Sorry pancreas, sorry heart, sorry liver.  Especially sorry liver.  I don't even drink alcohol.  Maybe once in a long, long, long while a drink but turns out you can mess up your liver with poor food choices.  (sugar) Darn that sugar.  Maybe I should rename the blog, darn that sugar.

But every day is a new day and I'm still good and can turn this around.  I have a great doctor and there are great magazines to help me learn.  My plan is to share what I learn, and share where I am.

And if you have diabetes or think you have, don't mess around, keep on it, keep learning, keep moving,

and eat healthy.