And if you haven’t heard about it yet, you need the facts.

Known as metabolic syndrome, it’s actually a cluster of symptoms including high blood pressure and blood sugar, abdominal obesity and abnormal levels of triglycerides and cholesterol.

And once any of the symptoms gets supercharged, it tips you over into heart disease.

Now though, Brazilian researchers believe they have found a potent weapon in the fight against metabolic syndrome — an Amazonian fruit with a mouth-puckering taste that could put a halt to drivers of the condition.

Here’s what they found…

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The secret’s in the phenolic compounds and fiber

The fruit is known as the Jaboticaba berry, which is native to the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest and is usually thrown away because the tannins in it make it too sour to eat.

However, the fruit is also rich in two things that make it a potential health powerhouse: phenolic compounds and dietary fiber.

So those Brazilian researchers decided to pit the fruit against metabolic syndrome in the bid to save hearts and lives.

And as it turns out, they got more than they ever hoped for.

After dividing 49 patients with metabolic syndrome and obesity into two groups — one where participants took jaboticaba peel powder for five weeks, while the other group took a placebo — there was a clear winner…

“The main benefits of taking the supplement were lower post-prandial glycemia (blood sugar after meals) and less inflammation,” said lead author and professor, Mário Roberto Maróstica Junior.

“Blood sugar typically rises after meals even in healthy people, although it soon returns to normal in these cases. Something that can lower blood sugar levels after meals is interesting because it helps people control this variable over time and live a healthier life.”

It also lessens the risk of developing insulin resistance, considered a driver of metabolic syndrome. When blood sugar spikes often, the pancreas produces too much insulin and the body stops responding to it. Type 2 diabetes isn’t usually far behind.

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A local source of phenols and fiber

The good news is that you don’t have to travel to the Brazilian rainforest to find a berry that’s packed with phenolic compounds and fiber like the Jaboticaba berry.

In fact, those compounds, including anthocyanins, and their rich levels of fiber is why other berries have a powerful effect on blood sugar and metabolism, including:

• Fermented Aronia Berry — shown to naturally lower the amount of sugar entering your bloodstream after you eat
• Blueberry — shown to provide support against insulin resistance
• Acai berry — shown to help provide free-radical protection and support normal blood sugar levels

Previous studies have shown people who consume the most anthocyanin-rich foods were least likely to have chronic inflammation — which has long been associated with metabolic syndrome and blood sugar problems.

Berries also contain flavones, also a phenolic compound, shown to improve levels of a protein (adiponectin) which helps regulate a number of metabolic processes including glucose levels.

This time of year you can find plenty of berries at your local farmer’s markets — along with plenty of other health-promoting fresh organic fruits and vegetables

Sources:

Jaboticaba peel reduces inflammation and controls blood sugar in people with metabolic syndrome — EurekAlert!

The post The Amazonian fruit ‘prescription’ that tames blood sugar appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Some people dismiss it as a myth, others believe it’s the sole cause of heart disease.

The truth lies in between.

Cholesterol is real, it matters, and the way we understand it can have a profound impact on cardiometabolic health.

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Myth 1: All cholesterol is bad

Cholesterol itself isn’t harmful. In fact, your body needs it to build cell membranes, produce hormones, and aid in digestion. What matters most isn’t whether cholesterol is present, but how it’s carried in your bloodstream.

LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol can contribute to plaque buildup in arteries if levels are too high.

HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol helps remove excess cholesterol from the bloodstream.

Although the balance matters, your LDL level is probably the most important value when it comes to avoiding heart disease. The lower your LDL, the lower your risk for cardiovascular events.

In fact, data from multiple randomized controlled trials show that populations with lower LDL levels consistently experience fewer cardiovascular events.

Myth 2: Cholesterol is a “myth”

At Step One, I sometimes hear from people who insist cholesterol doesn’t matter, or worse, that it isn’t even “real.” Nothing could be further from the truth.

High cholesterol is one of the most extensively studied risk factors for cardiovascular disease, with incredibly consistent results: lower LDL levels translate to better outcomes, no matter how you get there — through medications, diet, or favorable genetics.

There are even rare individuals who are genetically unable to make PCSK9, the enzyme that slows LDL receptor activity. Their LDL levels hover around 30 mg/dL for life. And they almost never get cardiovascular disease. That’s not myth — that’s biology.

Myth 3: Dietary cholesterol is the main cause of high cholesterol

For years, foods like eggs and shellfish were villainized for raising cholesterol. But dietary cholesterol has much less impact on blood cholesterol than most people think.

Your liver produces the majority of cholesterol circulating in your body. What influences blood cholesterol more strongly is the type of fat (and types of carbohydrates) you eat.

Saturated and trans fats can raise LDL cholesterol.  These fats are all solid at room temperature and include butter, cheese, the marbling in beef, the fat in chicken, coconut oil and all hydrogenated fats.

Unsaturated fats (found in foods like nuts, seeds, and olive oil) are liquid at room temperature and can help improve cholesterol levels.

The bigger picture: food has the power to harm and the power to heal. Poor nutrition doesn’t just raise LDL — it also drives up blood pressure, blood sugar, weight, and inflammation. Eat right, and you improve all of these risk factors at the same time.

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Myth 4: Cholesterol is the only thing that matters

Cholesterol is important, but it isn’t the only player. Cardiovascular disease is multifactorial. High blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, chronic inflammation, and genetics all layer on top of cholesterol to influence risk. Even with high LDL, some people may avoid disease, while others with normal levels may still experience events.

This is why reductionist thinking — blaming everything on a single risk factor — misses the mark. Cholesterol matters, but so do the other pieces of the puzzle.

Myth 5: Medication is the only solution

Statins and other cholesterol-lowering drugs can be transformative for some people. But they’re also an incomplete solution, because they only target one factor. If you lower cholesterol through medication but ignore blood sugar, blood pressure, weight, or inflammation, your risk remains elevated.

Nutrition, on the other hand, is comprehensive. Eat poorly, and you worsen multiple risk factors at once. Eat well, and you lower LDL, improve blood pressure, stabilize blood sugar, reduce inflammation, and support healthy weight — all in one step.

The bottom line

Cholesterol is not a myth. It’s a proven, powerful risk factor for disease. But it’s also not the only one, and it shouldn’t be viewed in isolation. The good news is that food gives us an opportunity to improve cholesterol while simultaneously improving overall cardiometabolic health.

At Step One Foods, we’ve made it easier to take control of your nutrition with convenient options proven to help support cholesterol management. 

The post What everyone gets wrong about cholesterol appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

They can also deliver a power-packed punch of vitamins and minerals to your diet that can help you get your health back on the right track.

In fact, while the humble pickle isn’t typically considered a superfood, these six reasons for eating a pickle a day could be one of the easiest and tastiest “self-health” hacks around…

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The nitty-gritty on pickle nutrition

The secret behind the pickles’ powerful health benefits is all in their vinegary brine.

That’s because the salt that’s used to enhance the flavor, help in preservation and support the growth of beneficial bacteria during the fermentation process, also draws out water from the pickle, concentrating its vitamins and minerals.

To give you just a little taste, let’s take an approximate look at what a single whole dill pickle can deliver nutritionally:

• 20% of the vitamin K you need each day to support healthy blood clotting and bone strength.
• 6% of the calcium that’s essential for nerve function, strong bones and teeth.
• 2% of the potassium necessary for muscle contractions, nerve signals and better blood pressure.
• 3%-4% of the daily vitamin C you need for antioxidant protection and to keep your immune system healthy.
• 1% of the vitamin A your body needs on a daily basis to keep your vision sharp, your immune system strong and your skin and other cells in optimal shape.

And that’s just in one pickle!

How pickles support your health

With all of those vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, you’re probably starting to see why pickles really can be an essential part of a healthy diet.

But let’s break down exactly what health benefits pickles offer. These include:

#1 – Better gut health and improved digestion

While not all pickles are fermented, you can find brands that are. They’re easy to pick out as their label will say ‘naturally fermented.’

The advantage of this type of pickle is the good bacteria, or probiotics, which support bacterial diversity and the balance of your microbiome. This can help support your digestion, regularity, immune function and more.

#2 – Disease-fighting power

In addition to the vitamins and minerals we already talked about, pickles are also packed with other nutrients that can help support a healthy body.

These include phosphorus, which helps your body produce energy and is essential for cell growth and repair, and folate, which may help reduce heart disease risk.

Finally, pickles also contain beta-carotene, which your body needs for healthy vision as it helps reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration. This common eye disease affects the macula, the part of the retina responsible for central vision. It can lead to blurred or distorted vision.

Beta-carotene may even lower your risk of chronic diseases, including respiratory diseases, cognitive decline, heart disease, stroke — and may even slow aging.

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#3 – Blood sugar health

Pickles are also good for your blood sugar thanks to a combination of that beta-carotene plus the vinegar used to brine them.

Beta-carotene plays a preventive role in the development of type 2 diabetes, improving glucose metabolism. And the vinegar in pickle juice can help curb blood sugar spikes, to help you maintain steady blood glucose.

#4 – Muscle relief

Pickle juice, which is rich in electrolytes, may even help alleviate muscle cramps by replenishing sodium lost during exercise.

Additionally, some experts believe that the vinegar itself might fight cramps by triggering the ‘gag reflex’, resulting in the muscles in the throat contracting and the muscles in the rest of the body relaxing.

According to Madison Shaw, RDN, a registered dietitian and personal trainer, “It basically disrupts that signal that’s being sent by the central nervous system to the muscles and tells the body, ‘All right, stop cramping.”

#5 – Cell health and protection

Because pickles deliver so many antioxidants, they can also help reduce free radical damage to your cells that accelerates aging and disease.

Research has shown that antioxidants can help maintain skin health, guarding against UV radiation, reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline, prevent eye disease and even reduce certain cancer risks.

 These include breast, lung and pancreatic cancers.

#6 – A slimmer you

Pickles could even offer help with weight loss.

Not only are they a low-calorie food, but pickles also have the power to help you feel full longer due to their high water content.  

And thanks to the vinegar in pickles, you could grab two weight loss benefits for the price of one.

That’s because not only does vinegar help decrease appetite, it also slows the absorption of other carbohydrates from the foods you eat, which can reduce the insulin spikes that cause your energy and mood to fluctuate and contribute to insulin resistance and diabetes.

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Pickles as part of a healthy diet

So it seems that pickles might join the apple in the ‘one a day to keep the doctor away’ mantra.

Just be aware that if you have blood pressure, kidney or liver concerns, the high levels of salt found in many pickles might not be for you. In this case, you can always opt for a low-sodium option.

Also, when incorporating pickles into your healthy diet, be sure to get enough calcium daily, as sodium can bind and leach the calcium you need to keep your bones strong.

Finally, if you decide to can pickles at home rather than using store-bought options, always follow all boiling and canning instructions carefully to prevent harmful bacteria from taking hold.

My favorite is to make fermented pickles with garlic and dill.

They’re crispy, crunchy and flavorful. And they get their delicious tanginess from light fermentation rather than vinegar.

Sources:

What Pickles Can Do for Your Health — WebMD

β-Carotene: Preventive Role for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Obesity: A Review — NIH

Does Drinking Pickle Juice Actually Help With Cramps? Here’s What Science Says — Good Housekeeping

Health Benefits of Beta Carotene — WebMD

The post 6 reasons to eat a pickle a day appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

However, more often than not, I feel I have to skip over my preferred side dish to avoid carbs, eat healthier and keep my blood sugar in the green zone.

But what if I told you that a new study is providing good news for potato lovers like me everywhere — revealing that there is a way to eat potatoes, without significantly impacting your diabetes risk.

And it’s even offering insight into just how often it’s okay to go all out and enjoy some French-fried goodness…

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Boiled, baked, mashed or fried, oh my!

Scientists reported in the BMJ that while past research had linked eating potatoes to an increased risk of blood sugar problems, no one had ever determined if how the potatoes were prepared made a difference to that risk.

So they set out to fill that gap in our nutrition knowledge…

To begin, they analyzed data collected over a 40-year period from 205,000 health professionals who participated in three extensive U.S. studies conducted between 1984 and 2021. These participants were free of diabetes, heart disease or cancer when it started, and completed detailed food questionnaires every four years.

After measuring the risk of type 2 diabetes based on the intake of different preparation methods of potatoes — boiled, baked, or mashed versus French fries — here’s what they found…

• Eating three weekly servings of total potatoes increased the risk of type 2 diabetes by 5%.
• However, eating French fries three times a week skyrockets that risk to 20%.

All in all, they say that choosing baked, boiled or mashed potatoes was not associated with a significantly increased risk. But you might think twice or thrice about having French fries three times a week.

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Wise choices keep your risk low

This means keeping potatoes on the menu — especially if your guilty pleasure is creamy mashed potatoes or a baked potato with a pat of butter and topped with chives — doesn’t present a significant threat.

It also appears that the risk of diabetes is most significantly impacted by French fries when consumed three times a week. That means you may still be able to indulge once a week without losing control of your blood sugar.

So what could you replace those other two servings of fries with to help keep your type 2 diabetes odds low?

The researchers found that substituting baked, boiled, or mashed potatoes with whole grains lowered diabetes risk by 4%. But replacing French fries with whole grains lowered it by 19%.

You know what else would make for a great substitution? Berries.

• Previous studies have shown that people who consume the most anthocyanin-rich foods, like berries, are least likely to experience chronic inflammation, a condition long associated with metabolic syndrome and blood sugar issues.
• Berries also contain flavones, a phenolic compound, shown to improve levels of a protein (adiponectin) which helps regulate several metabolic processes, including glucose levels.
• Some berries, such as the Amazonian Jaboticaba berry, can help lower postprandial glycemia (blood sugar levels after meals).
• Best of all, most berries are antioxidant powerhouses. That’s a big deal because antioxidants guard against the development of diabetes. They support overall glycemic control by improving insulin sensitivity and slowing carbohydrate digestion.
• Berries are also excellent appetite suppressants.

So, don’t be afraid of the potatoes, as long as you choose good substitutes to keep your French fry habit to one or fewer servings a week. And when you do eat fries, make them at home. This video from America’s Test Kitchen shows how to make them from scratch in an air fryer.

But, whatever you do, steer clear of rice. The researchers found that white rice, as a substitute for potatoes, increased type 2 diabetes risk.

Sources:

What scientists discovered about french fries and diabetes — ScienceDaily

The post What you need to know about French fries and diabetes appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Like the way gum disease is tied to cancer and diabetes.

Well now, researchers have confirmed a new connection…

It comes from a type of drug known for helping get things “up” — but has been found to take down long-term blood sugar in type 2 diabetics…

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It’s all about nitric oxide

Before you read about this amazing connection, you need to know a little about nitric oxide (NO).

Nitric oxide is a gas that our bodies produce naturally. It acts as a signaling molecule, telling blood vessels to relax, for one very important purpose: to allow healthy blood flow to every nook and cranny of the body.

One arena where this is crucial is in the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

NO is what makes drugs for erectile dysfunction, like Viagra and others, effective.

You see, erectile dysfunction is a vascular (blood vessel) and hormonal problem.

When NO helps the muscles in the penis to relax, the chambers inside the penis can fill with blood and an erection can be achieved.

Erectile dysfunction is not only a sign of trouble in the bedroom. It can be a sign of a serious heart problem or an indication of high blood sugar that is moving quickly toward full-blown diabetes.

And here’s where the connection comes in…

ED drugs promote effects of NO on blood sugar

Drugs like Viagra, known as PDE5 inhibitors, harness nitric oxide and its ability to open blood vessels.

That’s why, in previous research, investigators tested a theory that providing a sustained supply of NO may be an efficient way of treating cardiometabolic syndrome. Reduced NO absorption is a hallmark of the disorder.

And they were right. In experiments using mice, those that had their NO levels boosted had better glucose tolerance and lower fasting insulin levels. And compared to a control group that was not supplemented with NO, the NO mice gained 17 percent less body weight.

More recently, research at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden set out to investigate whether the drug tadalafil (Cialis), might have a similar effect in people…

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Potency drug reduced long-term blood sugar in small group of people

In their research, eighteen participants were randomly assigned to receive either a high daily dose of tadalafil or a placebo for a period of six weeks. The groups then switched for another six weeks.

Because tadalafil has several unpleasant side effects, including headache, heartburn, diarrhea, muscle and back pain, low blood pressure, nasal congestion, tinnitus and blurred vision, the participants were closely monitored. 

How did things pan out?

There was no significant difference in insulin sensitivity. But surprisingly, tadalafil caused a clear improvement in metabolic control, based on a test that shows how much sugar is in your blood known as the A1C test.

For people taking tadalafil, the level of A1C fell by an average of 2.50 mmol/mol (millimoles/mole).

“That’s a very distinct improvement in the long-term sugar levels, which we couldn’t have dreamed of after only six weeks of supplementary treatment in patients with well-controlled type 2 diabetes,” said Prof. Per-Anders Jansson who led the research.

But he also had a warning: “Self-medication with PDE5 inhibitors must never take place because, at worst, it can be life-threatening in combination with certain other drugs. These medicines are available on prescription only and must always be prescribed by the attending physician.”

His team is looking at repeating this pilot study with a larger group for a longer period to see if the results are similar.

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How the body produces NO

Our bodies produce NO in a couple of ways — no drugs needed — with the right foods.

The most direct way is via the nitrate–nitrite–nitric oxide pathway. Research claims it’s the most bioavailable, sustainable and quickest route for raising NO levels. And it works like this…

When we eat foods containing dietary nitrates (not to be confused with the food preservatives sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate), like beets or spinach, a chemical reaction occurs with bacteria in the mouth. This converts nitrates to nitrites and then NO in the gut, bloodstream and various organs.

The amino acids l-arginine and l-citrulline are also building blocks of NO and are found in a range of foods, including:

• Lobster
• Turkey
• Chicken
• Watermelon
• Squash
• Chickpeas
• Pumpkin
• Cucumber

So, whether you are a meat eater, a vegetarian or a vegan, there are foods available to you that will help generate healthy levels of nitric oxide naturally. That’s a relief considering the side effects — and the cost of drugs like Cialis…

To quote Dr. John Morley, director of endocrinology at Saint Louis University in Missouri, providing his opinion on a similar study, “Clearly, there is a potential, but these are among the most expensive drugs there are.”

Sources:

Potency drug reduced long-term blood sugar in type 2 diabetes — Eureka Alert

Feasibility of high-dose tadalafil and effects on insulin resistance in well-controlled patients with type 2 diabetes (MAKROTAD): a single-centre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, cross-over phase 2 trial — The Lancet

All About Your A1C — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The post The ED drug that brings long-term blood sugar down appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

For men, it’s a bit more complicated. While some older men with erectile dysfunction (ED) do suffer from low testosterone levels, it’s far from the only potential cause. Some others include:

• Heart disease
• Atherosclerosis
• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Metabolic syndrome
• Parkinson’s disease
• Treatments for prostate cancer or an enlarged prostate

It may be surprising to see diabetes on this list. But high blood sugar can cause vascular and nerve damage (or neuropathy), both of which can decrease blood flow to the genitals.

If you haven’t been diagnosed with diabetes, you may think you’re in the clear. However, recent research indicates even a small increase in blood sugar levels could have an impact on your sex life…

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Blood sugar elevation and virility

For the study, researchers recruited 200 healthy men ages 18 to 85 in 2014 and tracked them through 2020. By the end of the study, 117 men were still participating.

The researchers examined progressive changes in participants’ semen and hormonal profiles, erectile function and metabolic health. The latter was measured through BMI and blood sugar levels monitored by the HbA1c test.

According to the results, hormone levels and semen parameters stayed largely within normal ranges over time. However, sperm movement and erectile function decreased in men with minimally elevated blood sugar levels below the diabetes threshold of 6.5% HbA1c.

The study also found that while testosterone levels did not have a direct impact on erectile function, they were related to participants’ libido assessment.

“Although age and testosterone levels have long been considered an impetus for men’s declining sexual health, our research indicates that these changes more closely correlate with modest increases in blood sugar and other metabolic changes,” says Dr. Michael Zitzmann, professor and doctor of medicine at University Hospital in Muenster, Germany.

“This means that men can take steps to preserve or revive their reproductive health with lifestyle choices and appropriate medical interventions,” Zitzmann adds.

Zitzman notes that the researchers hope the information gleaned from the study will help doctors and their patients establish effective male sexual health maintenance plans. “We now know that it’s in our power to retain sexual and reproductive wellbeing in men, even as they age,” he says.

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Keeping blood sugar in balance

The best way to keep blood sugar levels in check is through diet. Any diet that ditches added sugars and ultra-processed foods for more lean meats, fruits and vegetables and whole grains is a good place to start.

But if you’re on the road to diabetes, you may want to try a low-calorie keto diet. In addition to helping manage blood sugar, this diet can also boost testosterone. The downside is that it’s hard to stick to. In that case, consider a Mediterranean diet. Both diets improve blood sugar, weight and metabolic health.

Another lifestyle change that can help is getting regular exercise. Engaging in regular physical activity increases your body’s sensitivity to insulin, allowing sugar to be processed more efficiently. In fact, exercise can lower your blood sugar for up to 24 hours or more after you work out.

You should also consider a vitamin D supplement. Taking vitamin D has been associated with a reduced likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes in adults with prediabetes, a condition where blood sugar levels are elevated but have not yet progressed to full-blown diabetes. The recommended therapeutic dose for vitamin D is between 4000 and 5000 IUs a day.

There are a few supplements that have shown promise in balancing blood sugar levels, including black seed oil and berberine. Make sure you talk to your doctor before taking supplements if you’re already on medication to lower your blood sugar.

Sources:

Not just diabetes: How slightly high blood sugar wrecks men’s sexual health — ScienceDaily

Male Virility Affected By Minimal Rises In Blood Sugar, Study Says — U.S. News & World Report

Erectile dysfunction — Mayo Clinic

Blood Glucose and Exercise — American Diabetes Association

The post How slightly elevated blood sugar tanks a man’s sex life appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

One reason is because it’s easy to stick to. In fact, it’s not really a “diet” at all, but more like a lifestyle choice that‘s more about choosing the right foods than restricting what you eat.

But in all of this, there’s more talk about the food and very little about the spices that are typical of Mediterranean cooking, like black cumin, garlic, rosemary, cinnamon, ginger, and fennel.

Rosemary is my personal favorite. But it’s not one of the three that have recently been found to play a powerful role in the fight against diabetes…

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Free radicals 101

You’ve probably heard of free radicals (also known as reactive oxygen species, or ROS), those pesky, unstable molecules that a lot of us carry around due to exposure to cigarette smoke, air pollutants and other toxins.

Free radicals are also an unavoidable result of certain metabolic processes, like those involved in energy production.

That’s why a balance between free radicals and antioxidants is necessary. If free radicals overwhelm the body’s ability to regulate them, a condition known as oxidative stress occurs.

Many diseases can result, or become worse if oxidative stress goes uncontrolled.

Type 2 diabetes is one of them.

Antioxidant spices win at managing blood sugar and A1C

A group of Spanish researchers conducted a meta-analysis (an examination of 77 existing studies) to determine which Mediterranean spices are most beneficial for people with type 2 diabetes in terms of their glycemic profile.

A glycemic profile is like a “snapshot” of a person’s blood glucose fluctuations throughout the day. It shows how well (or poorly) their insulin is working to control their blood sugar.

Reactive oxygen species can compromise a glycemic profile in two ways: they can lead to insulin resistance (insulin is produced but the body does not respond to it as it should), as well as to β-cell dysfunction (insulin secretion is impaired).

“As far as we are aware, this is the first systematic review and meta-analysis aiming to evaluate the effect of aromatic herbs and spices included in the Mediterranean Diet, such as black cumin, clove [and others], on the glycemic profile of individuals with type 2 diabetes,” the study noted.

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The analysis focused on cinnamon, curcumin, ginger, black cumin, saffron, and rosemary.

But three stood out for their powerful effects on different aspects important for blood sugar management:

• Only ginger and black cumin were associated with a significant improvement in A1c (a blood test that measures your average blood sugar levels over the past three months)
• Only cinnamon and ginger were associated with a significant decrease in insulin values (cinnamon is already well-known for keeping blood sugar in check).
• Ginger was the only spice associated with a significant decrease in fasting glucose, A1c, and insulin.

What’s behind these spice benefits?

Spices are at the top of the ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) scale. The NIH’s National Institute on Aging developed ORAC to quantify a food’s total antioxidant capacity (TAC) — which equates to it strength in fighting off free radicals.

So there you have it. Spice things up and reap the benefits!

Sources:

Ginger, Cinnamon, Cumin Improve Glycemic Control — Medscape

Effect of Aromatic Herbs and Spices Present in the Mediterranean Diet on the Glycemic Profile in Type 2 Diabetes Subjects: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis — Nutrients

Free radicals, antioxidants and functional foods: Impact on human health — Pharmacognosy Reviews

The post 3 spices that tackled A1C, fasting glucose, insulin and won appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Take the hormone glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). It’s released when we eat in order to stimulate insulin.

But GLP-1 does more than regulate blood sugar. It also suppresses appetite by slowing the passage of food from the stomach.

Sure enough, the weight loss industry latched on to this and brought us the drug Ozempic, whose active ingredient is semaglutide.

Originally meant to treat type 2 diabetes, it’s also marketed in a higher dose (with a hefty price) as Wegovy to anyone willing to pay for the weight loss “miracle drug.”

And now, experts are sounding new alarm bells about harmful impacts…

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Semaglutide can rob you of muscle mass

According to a study presented at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, women and older adults taking these anti-obesity drugs may be at higher risk for muscle loss.

For adults with obesity, losing muscle is already a common side effect of weight loss.

But according to Dr. Melanie Haines of Harvard Medical School, about 40% of the weight loss experienced by women and older adults taking semaglutide-based drugs is not fat loss, but rather the loss of lean muscle.

Since muscle helps control blood sugar (and support bone health), it’s not surprising that the researchers also saw less improvement in HbA1c levels among this group. Not only does muscle increase insulin sensitivity, but it also takes glucose from the bloodstream to fuel muscle cells.

In fact, sarcopenia — age-related loss of muscle mass — is tied to health complications including diabetes.

Additionally, Dr. Haines and her colleagues found that eating less protein is also linked to greater muscle loss while on these drugs — and cautions that more studies are needed to find the best way to lose fat but keep muscle when using GLP-1 medications.

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Consider the risks and the alternatives

Muscle loss is just the latest in a series of findings that should make you think twice before using semaglutide as a weight loss strategy.

A large study at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital, one of the country’s largest neuro-ophthalmology clinics, found an association between semaglutide and non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), an irreversible and uncommon condition causing damage to the optic nerve and, ultimately, permanent loss of vision.

And both Wegovy and Ozempic have black box warnings. A black box warning is the most serious type of health warning mandated by the FDA.

Such a warning, usually prominently featured on a drug’s label, is reserved for serious adverse reactions or special problems associated with a drug.

A safer alternative is to help your body do its job naturally by eating foods that balance and strengthen your hunger hormones, stabilize blood sugar and help you feel full.

Berries create a feeling of fullness, and their anthocyanin content makes the body more sensitive to insulin.

Oats contain beta-glucan, a form of fiber singled out in a study to mimic how GLP-1 agonists work, without the harmful side effects.

Protein has been shown to suppress ghrelin, the hormone that signals hunger.

The only side effect here is that it could take you a little longer to lose weight than if you took drugs, and it may require some exercise. But building your muscles is also going to help keep your blood sugar under control.

But using the right foods to achieve your weight loss goals will leave you with good eating habits you can use for the rest of your life and won’t leave you with side effects like diarrhea… or an empty bank account.

Sources:

Semaglutide melts fat—but may quietly strip away your strength — Science Daily

The post Semaglutide melts muscle: Why that’s bad news for blood sugar appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

From food to books and everything in between, you can learn a lot about your family, friends and even yourself by their answers.

It’s why just the other day, I asked myself that same question when it came to supplements. I take several, so if I could only choose one, the answer, for me, is really quite simple…

If I were stuck on a desert island, the supplement I could not do without would be an omega-3. Preferably krill oil (fish oil gives me fish burps), but I digress…

If you’re down to just one choice, you want the nutrient science has consistently demonstrated can fight all inflammatory and metabolic disorders.

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#1 – Inflammation

Doctors now consider inflammation to be “the root of disease.” The good news is that we already have omega-3s to yank out that root and preserve our health.

That’s because studies have shown that the unsaturated fatty acids in these omegas act to directly resolve inflammation. In addition to this direct action, they provide the additional bonus of competing with omega-6s (the kind found in refined oils) in your diet. This action inhibits the synthesis of pro-inflammatory prostaglandins and shifts the balance toward a more anti-inflammatory state.

#2 – Obesity

Obesity, while usually seen through the lens of weight alone, is actually an inflammatory condition that kicks off a multitude of other dangerous diseases. But omega-3s can once again come to the rescue with their potent anti- inflammatory and adipogenic effects that occur right inside the fat tissue itself.

It’s no wonder, then, that studies have found that even mice fed an obesogenic (obesity-inducing) diet benefit from reduced fat mass accumulation when taking omega-3s. To top it off, researchers also discovered that a higher proportion of omega-3s in red blood cell (RBC) membranes has been associated with a lowered fat mass index.

#3 – Heart Health

As with their effects on obesity, larger amounts of omega-3s in RBC membranes support heart health by reducing inflammatory markers and lowering triglycerides.

Numerous prospective and meta-analytic studies have concluded that supplementing with omega-3s in your daily diet substantially reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by 15 to 25%.

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#4 – Blood Sugar

In addition to their anti-inflammatory properties, omega-3’s also have potent abilities in the fight against metabolic dysfunction, including blood sugar issues. In fact, research has revealed that these fatty acids improve insulin sensitivity by increasing adiponectin secretion, enhance glucose uptake through an increase in GLUT-4 content, and support pancreatic β-cell function, enhancing their insulin secretion capacities.

#5 – Liver Health

Fatty liver disease may also be no match for omega-3s. These fatty acids work to guard liver health by:

• Inhibiting the NF-κB pathway, leading to decreased transcription of pro-inflammatory cytokines and reduced liver inflammation
• Reducing neutrophil infiltration and enhancing the clearance of apoptotic cells to resolve liver inflammation
• Blocking NLRP3 inflammasome activation and the inflammation that comes with it and preventing the progression from simple steatosis (fat buildup) to steatohepatitis (with associated inflammation and liver damage)
• Inducing mitophagy of damaged liver mitochondria and reducing oxidative stress

A comprehensive cohort study even found that taking omega-3s regularly resulted in a 28% reduced risk of liver inflammatory disease, including alcoholic or non-alcoholic liver disease and liver failure.

#6 – Kidney Health

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is another downstream effect of obesity-mediated inflammation. Luckily, supplementation with omega-3s has been shown to increase the production of pro-resolving mediators, like RvE1 and RvD5, that result in an improvement in inflammatory markers and renal function.

Omega-3s also help improve renal hemodynamics and significantly reduce proteinuria in patients with CKD.

#7 – Autoimmunity

• Inflammatory bowel diseases – Omega-3s have been shown to reduce colitis-associated disease severity, colonic mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines and macrophage infiltration of the tissue.
• Psoriasis – In psoriatic skin, omega-3s work to reduce inflammatory cell infiltration and skin thickening, with improvements in redness, scaling and itching.
• Rheumatic diseases – Omega-3s also provide powerful joint support by inhibiting IL-1β, one of the most active cytokines that leads to cartilage destruction and loss of collagen.
• Multiple sclerosis – Because omega-3s can cross the blood–brain barrier, they have been shown to directly impair neuroinflammatory processes. Research also shows they may decrease the activity and production of matrix metalloproteinase-9, which is implicated in blood–brain barrier breakdown in MS, while upregulating the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to enhance neuronal survival and synaptic plasticity.

Research has even shown that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids alone can reduce autoimmune disease rate by 15%.

Putting omega-3s to work for your health

Clearly, whether you end up marooned on a desert island or just want to stay healthy and keep inflammatory and metabolic disease at bay, omega-3s are a must-have in your diet.

So, what’s the best way to ensure you’re getting enough?

One solution is to adopt the Mediterranean diet. Not only is this diet packed with polyphenol-rich fruits, vegetables, and olive oil, but it is also rich in seafood, providing you with those essential omega-3s.

However, if you’re not able to reach the recommended two to three servings of fatty fish weekly, go easy on yourself and reach for a safe, sustainably sourced omega-3 supplement.

Sources:

Beneficial Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Obesity and Related Metabolic and Chronic Inflammatory Diseases — MDPI

How do Omega-3 and Vitamin D Play a Role in Autoimmune Disease? — Omegaquant

The post The ONE nutrient to fight inflammatory and metabolic disorders appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Factors like exercise, stress levels and sleep quality can cause your brain to appear older or younger than your chronological years.

However, one of the most significant influences on brain aging could be a common condition half of Americans struggle with…

Recent findings from one of the largest Brain MRI intervention studies indicate that getting it under control is crucial for promoting a youthful brain…

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Long-term blood sugar and brain changes

As we age, the brain experiences structural changes — specifically, the hippocampus often shrinks while the lateral ventricles expand, signaling brain aging. A younger brain age is associated with improved cognitive health, while an older brain age may raise the risk of cognitive decline.

Previous research showed that following the Green Mediterranean diet can slow brain aging by an impressive 50% in just 18 months.

To understand why, researchers at Ben-Gurion University compared MRI scans of individuals with stable blood sugar levels to those with elevated levels, aiming to assess how blood sugar maintenance affects brain age.

The results were striking: declines in HbA1c, a marker of long-term blood sugar levels, were significantly linked to positive changes in specific brain regions often affected by age-related shrinkage.

Notably, individuals with better blood sugar control demonstrated a more youthful thalamus, caudate nucleus, and cerebellum — areas crucial for cognitive function, motor control, and sensory processing.

In other words, the current study further strengthened existing research that the Green-Med diet may not only support metabolic health but also exert protective effects on brain structure and function.

The Green Mediterranean diet is rich in polyphenols from plant-based foods, such as Mankai (a high-protein aquatic plant also known as duckweed) and green tea, and low in red and processed meats.

The study’s lead researcher, Prof. Iris Shai, from Ben-Gurion University, an adjunct professor at Harvard University, and an Honorary Professor at Leipzig University, explained, “Maintaining low blood sugar levels, even within the normal range, shows promise for preserving a younger brain, especially when combined with a healthy diet and regular physical activity. Specifically, polyphenols found in plant-based foods may cross the blood-brain barrier and help reduce brain inflammation, which is crucial for memory”.

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Blood sugar control helps preserve brain age and function

Considering that roughly half of the U.S. population struggles with either diabetes or prediabetes, it’s easy to see why rates of cognitive decline keep climbing.

This study is one of the first large-scale trials to directly link dietary changes, particularly those associated with the Green-Med diet, to improved glycemic control and slower brain aging.

But if you aren’t sure how to incorporate duckweed into your diet, berries could help you harness the power of polyphenols, and have a reputation for both brain and blood sugar health.

Here’s how:

• Polyphenols enhance the secretion of gastrointestinal hormones, thereby regulating blood glucose levels and improving glucose tolerance.
• They also regulate the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, improving mood and memory function.
• Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs), which form when sugars react with proteins and fats, contribute to cognitive decline. Polyphenols and antioxidants stop the formation of AGEs.

One berry in particular, the Aronia berry, is known as the “blood sugar berry.” In one study, blood sugar levels normalized in just three months with no other dietary changes among participants who drank aronia berry juice daily.

America’s favorite, the blueberry, has been shown to support healthy insulin levels and weight management. In a 12-week study, men and women who drank a daily serving of blueberry juice performed better on memory tests than the placebo group and showed improved blood flow.

The acai berry is considered to be the antioxidant “superstar.” When German scientists measured antioxidants in different fruits and vegetables, some acai levels ranked so high they were off the charts and could only be estimated. This is important because high levels of antioxidants have been shown to protect against free radicals and support normal blood sugar levels.

There are many more to choose from. And if keeping your brain from the aging effects of blood sugar problems is important to you, give them all a try.

Sources:

New study reveals blood sugar control is a key factor in slowing brain aging, highlighting the benefits of the Mediterranean diet – EurekAlert!

The post The common condition rapidly aging American’s brains appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

The biggest task of someone with type 2 diabetes is to keep their blood sugar under control. The simplest way to do this is through diet.

But don’t be misled by the word simple. All that means is that the task is straightforward and easy to understand.

But something that’s simple isn’t always easy. In fact, living with type 2 diabetes can feel overwhelming at times, especially when it comes to food choices and meal planning to manage blood sugar.

Many people with type 2 diabetes struggle with making meal choices that need to align with managing their blood sugar. It can be a frustrating part of every day, at least three times a day.

Maybe you’re one of them.

If so, you’ll be happy to know that there may be a better way.

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All the focus has been on diet

If you’ve been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, there are guidelines you’ve been given to help with planning your meals:

• Limit Refined Carbohydrates: Foods like cookies, white rice, and fruit juices can lead to spikes in blood glucose. Instead opt for whole, unprocessed foods whenever possible.
• Incorporate Heart-Healthy Fats. Adding foods such as avocados, nuts, olive oil, and fatty fish to your diet can help support your heart and overall well-being. The important thing to know is that there’s no one-size-fits-all eating plan for someone living with type 2 diabetes.

Experts often recommend a low-carb diet as a first step because it can reliably reduce blood sugar.

For managing blood sugar, some people find it helpful to follow the Mediterranean or DASH diet. These eating patterns are rich in whole grains, legumes, and other complex carbohydrates, and can help keep blood sugar under control

A registered dietitian can help you develop an eating plan tailored to your needs. However, while it may not always be practical to work with a dietitian, it’s essential to recognize that developing meal plans and selecting the right foods can be daunting.

Now for some good news — research suggests that when you eat could be more significant than what you eat.

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Time-restricted eating works as well as a personalized diet

Recently, researchers at several major Australian universities have demonstrated that time-restricted eating can be just as effective at controlling blood glucose levels as individualized advice from a registered dietitian.

A group of 52 people who were managing their type 2 diabetes with oral medications was randomly divided into two groups. One started changing their diet, the other practiced time-restricted eating, where eating was limited to a nine-hour window between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

An HbA1c test was used to measure blood glucose every two months. At the end of six months, both groups had reduced blood sugar levels.

However, the difference was that people in the diet group were less likely to adhere to their plan, while those in the time-restricted group not only adjusted well to the restricted eating window but also experienced improved sleep quality and enjoyed mealtime more.

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Take the pressure off

If you’re living with type 2 diabetes, it’s still important to prioritize vegetables, fruit, wholegrains, lean meat and healthy fats and limit your intake of refined carbohydrates and saturated (trans) fats.

However, trying a time-restricted eating plan may help alleviate the worry about your next meal and introduce a sense of rhythm to your daily routine.

By limiting your eating to a nine-hour window that starts in the late morning, you could help maintain steady blood sugar levels.

While it’s important to be mindful about your food choices, remember that time-restricted eating can offer a simple yet effective approach to managing your blood sugar. You’re taking important steps toward better health, and every small change makes a difference.

If you’re under the care of a physician, let him know about your plans if you decide to try time-restricted eating.

Sources:

Time-Restricted Eating Helps Control Blood Sugar in Type 2 Diabetes — Science Alert

Comparing the effects of time-restricted eating on glycaemic control in people with type 2 diabetes with standard dietetic practice: A randomised controlled trial — Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice

Time-Restricted Eating as a Nutrition Strategy for Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes: A Feasibility Study — Nutrients

The post How to make managing blood sugar less stressful appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

That was a wake-up call. While I still have “normal” blood pressure, I can no longer take it for granted that I’ll never develop high blood pressure.

So, I’ve been looking into the risk factors of high blood pressure and how to best manage them. And it seems like I’m starting not a moment too soon — not only will I be controlling my blood pressure, but I may be reducing my risk of death as well….

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An early grave or risk factor management?

High blood pressure (or hypertension), defined as a systolic (top number) blood pressure of 130 mmHg or higher, is the leading preventable risk factor for early death worldwide.

A study led by researchers at Tulane University used data from the UK Biobank to track more than 70,000 people with hypertension and more than 224,000 without it. The researchers followed the participants for nearly 14 years to observe how managing certain risk factors for high blood pressure affected premature death, defined as dying before the age of 80.

The study evaluated the following eight risk factors:

• Blood pressure;
• Body mass index (BMI);
• Waist circumference;
• LDL (the “bad”) cholesterol;
• Blood sugar;
• Kidney function;
• Smoking status;
• and Physical activity

What the study discovered was astounding…

Addressing each additional risk factor was associated with a:

• 13% lower risk of early death from all causes;
• 12% lower risk of early death due to cancer;
• 21% lower risk of premature death due to cardiovascular disease;
• And a 10% lower risk of premature death from other causes.

And the more risk factors were under control, the lower the risk of death was. Controlling seven or more was considered optimal and was linked to:

• 40% less risk of premature death from all causes;
• 39% less risk of early death due to cancer;
• 53% less risk of premature death due to cardiovascular disease;
• and a 29% risk of death from other causes. 

But if you struggle to get all seven under control, the researchers also found that hypertensive patients who addressed at least four of the risk factors had no greater risk of an early death than those without high blood pressure.

In addition, the results suggest that hypertensive participants under the age of 60 and those who didn’t use antihypertensive medication may show reduced responsiveness to joint risk factor control.

“To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the association between controlling joint risk factors and premature mortality in patients with hypertension,” says corresponding author Dr. Lu Qi, a professor at Tulane University. “Importantly, we found that any hypertension-related excess risk of an early death could be entirely eliminated by addressing these risk factors.”

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How to manage high blood pressure factors

Interestingly, only 7.3% of hypertensive participants in the study had seven or more risk factors under control, emphasizing the opportunity for prevention.

Researchers say their findings underscore the importance of personalized, multifaceted care that extends beyond medication. The study found that the protective link was more pronounced in hypertensive participants taking antihypertensive medication, indicating that a broader range of health behaviors and conditions can still offer impactful benefits.

“Our study shows that controlling blood pressure is not the only way to treat hypertensive patients, because high blood pressure can affect these other factors,” Qi says. “By addressing the individual risk factors, we can help prevent early death for those with hypertension.”

It’s probably a good idea to manage the risk factors observed in the study, especially if you already have high blood pressure. Taking the following steps can help reduce your risk of dying early:

• Eat for better blood pressure. There are several diets research shows can take the numbers down. Check out these seven.
• Get moving. Make sure you get the recommended 150 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity every week (about 30 minutes 5 days a week).
• Maintain a healthy weight. Make sure your BMI and waist circumference are within the normal range for your height and age. Try the breakfast food that mimics how Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro work.
• Keep your LDL cholesterol down. Some natural ways to do so include raising your intake of fiber and plant sterols and adding prickly pear (or a prickly pear supplement) to your daily regimen.
• Manage your blood sugar. Avoid foods that make your blood sugar spike and consider timing your meals to lower your blood sugar and blood pressure.
• Watch your kidney function. Taking a CoQ10 supplement can help improve your kidney function (and support normal blood pressure).
• If you smoke, stop. Smoking can raise your blood pressure, as well as the risk of plaque buildup in your arteries.

Since each factor carries a percentage and stacks the odds in your favor, take it a step at a time if it seems overwhelming. But work towards the bigger goal and the long life you deserve.

Sources:

Controlling these 8 risk factors may eliminate early death risk for those with high blood pressure — ScienceDaily

Degree of joint risk factor control and premature mortality in hypertensive participants — Precision Clinical Medicine

Smoking and High Blood Pressure — American Heart Association

The post 8 factors for lower blood pressure appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But what happens if you become hard of hearing?

Your friend must knock harder for you to hear them at the door.

This is kind of what happens to your body as you develop insulin resistance.

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What is insulin resistance?

Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas that is crucial for converting food into energy or storing that energy for later use.

When your blood glucose levels rise after a meal, the pancreas responds by producing insulin. The insulin, in turn, helps sugar enter your cells so that the amount of sugar in your bloodstream falls back to a normal range.

The “knock at the door” is insulin telling your insulin-sensitive muscle, liver and fat cells that glucose needs to get in.

But changes in the body can cause those cells to become hard of hearing. They don’t respond as effectively as they should to take up or store glucose from your bloodstream.

What does the pancreas do? It produces even more insulin.

Your blood sugar level might be normal, but you need way more insulin to get it into a normal range because the cells have lost their sensitivity. At this point, you are insulin-resistant.

Eventually, the pancreas can’t make enough insulin to knock as loudly as it needs to, and blood sugar levels start to rise. At this point, if things are not corrected, prediabetes, then type 2 diabetes could be around the corner.

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Who is at risk for insulin resistance?

Genes and older age can make us more prone to insulin resistance, but two lifestyle factors — excess belly fat and physical inactivity — are considered the two main contributing factors.

Other factors that may increase the risk for insulin resistance include:

• A diet high in processed, high-carbohydrate and high-fat foods requires more insulin. These foods tend to be high glycemic index foods.
• A family history of type 2 diabetes.
• Having high triglycerides, high LDL cholesterol or low HDL cholesterol.

Some hormonal conditions are associated with insulin resistance, including:

Cushing’s syndrome: Cortisol, best known as the stress hormone, is necessary in the conversion of blood sugar to energy. However excess cortisol (which can occur due to chronic stress or Adrenal fatigue) can counteract insulin and cause insulin resistance.

Hypothyroidism (or low thyroid): The thyroid plays a big role in regulating your metabolism. When it doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormone, it slows glucose metabolism which can lead to insulin resistance.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): People with PCOS are more likely to be overweight and have metabolic syndrome. That sets a great many of them up for insulin resistance.

Hypertension, heart disease and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are also linked to insulin resistance.

Some drugs can set you up for insulin resistance, including glucocorticoids (prednisone is one), some antipsychotics and some HIV medicines.

What are the early signs of insulin resistance?

• A waistline over 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women
• Blood pressure readings of 130/80 or higher
• A fasting glucose level over 100 mg/dL
• A fasting triglyceride level over 150 mg/dL
• A HDL cholesterol level under 40 mg/dL in men and 50 mg/dL in women
• Skin tags
• Patches of dark, velvety skin called acanthosis nigricans
• Eye changes that can lead to diabetes-related retinopathy
• Feeling hungry or tired all the time
• Extreme thirst
• Irregular menstrual periods

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Get your insulin sensitivity back

Make no mistake: insulin resistance is a sign that your metabolism is seriously out of whack.

If your pancreas is showing signs of exhaustion, the sooner you start an all-out effort to get your metabolism back in line, the better. Starting here:

Lose a few pounds. Excess weight, especially belly fat, tops the list of causes of insulin resistance. If you need help finding the energy to exercise, enlist the help of the antioxidant, PQQ, found to go after visceral fat while delivering the energy the body needs to exercise.

Exercise more. Many studies have also found that resistance training can increase insulin sensitivity among men and women with or without diabetes.

Eat healthy foods.  Add more soluble fiber and colorful fruits (like berries) and vegetables to your diet. The more colorful the better, as these contain antioxidants that have been shown to help with weight loss and curb insulin resistance. Cut back on high glycemic foods like carbs (which stimulate excess insulin production), sugars and processed starches. Also, eat much less red meat.

Keep your vitamin D levels healthy. Several studies have connected low vitamin D levels to insulin sensitivity.

Boost CoQ10 levels. Research has also shown that low CoQ10 levels correlate to insulin resistance.

Get more sleep. Give up night owl habits, like staying up late and getting less sleep. Getting more sleep can help reverse its effects.

Reduce stress. Ongoing stress keeps your cortisol level high, which stimulates the breakdown of nutrients and increases blood sugar.

Sources:

What Is Insulin Resistance and How Do You Know if You Have It? — NY Times

Insulin Resistance — Cleveland Clinic

The post Insulin resistance: Early signs and ditching the diabetes danger appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

I can remember as a kid asking my mom over and over to buy strawberries at the grocery store all spring, only to be told they weren’t ripe enough yet and wouldn’t be sweet.

Well, I can tell you that the moment was certainly sweet when she did buy that first carton.

What’s even sweeter is the news that eating strawberries isn’t just enjoyable, it could be one of the healthiest things you can do for your heart and your blood sugar.

That’s because scientists from the Illinois Institute of Technology have found that strawberries not only have the power to improve glucose control, but they also could reduce your risk of heart disease by up to eight times.

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Improving dilation of the arteries and blood sugar issues

Their study focused on how eating different amounts of strawberries could affect blood sugar, as well as flow-mediated dilation or FMD, which impacts our arteries.

FMD is basically a measure of the dilation or widening of an artery when blood flow increases. It’s used to determine blood vessel health and endothelial function and offers a window into future heart disease risk.

So, how did strawberries stack up against heart and blood sugar problems?

In their study of overweight men and women, the scientists found that eating strawberries had a significantly positive impact on both FMD and blood glucose control.

And the more strawberries, the better the results!

According to the researchers, eating strawberries daily for four weeks supported healthy blood sugar levels and dose-dependently reduced cardiovascular disease risk by eight times compared to the control group.

“A diet low in fruit is among the top three risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes,” said co-researcher Britt Burton-Freeman, Ph.D. “Adding as little as one cup of strawberries a day to your diet may show beneficial effects on your cardiovascular health.”

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Strawberry power without the pesticide worries

Clearly, adding strawberries to your daily diet could help keep your heart and your blood sugar healthy.

And if that weren’t enough, research has shown there are even more reasons to reach for these sweet berries…

Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that strawberries reduced colon pain and inflammation.

And research from the University of Cincinnati found that daily strawberry consumption could help reduce the risk of dementia.

However, there is one warning to remember…

Strawberries are considered to be the king of the dirty fruits.

So be sure to check out these tips on eating this delicious but dirty fruit.

Finally, in addition to strawberries, don’t forget how powerful other berries can be when it comes to battling back heart disease and blood sugar problems.

Blueberries (and other purple fruits and veggies) are packed with acylated anthocyanins, which have been found to reduce the risk of diabetes by affecting energy metabolism and the gut microbiota.

And these anthocyanins can also help to keep cardiovascular disease and obesity at bay.

Sources:

New study shows strawberries may lower cardiovascular disease risk and improve glucose control – EurekAlert!

The post The strawberry solution to heart disease and diabetes appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

If you recognize the signs early enough, insulin resistance can be halted before you get labeled with a chronic disease. It usually precedes the onset of type 2 diabetes by 10 to 15 years, which is plenty of time to reverse that trajectory.

But that’s not your only risk. Insulin resistance is also linked to obesity, cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), metabolic syndrome and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Lifestyle modification is key to improving insulin resistance, with diet being a common starting point. But recent research indicates one food may be especially beneficial at controlling this modern-day scourge…

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Mangoes mangle insulin resistance

Researchers at the Illinois Institute of Technology studied 48 adults ages 20 to 60 to determine how eating fresh mangoes compared to a calorie-matched portion of Italian ice affected inflammation and insulin sensitivity in overweight and obese adults with chronic low-grade inflammation.

According to Wikipedia, Italian ice is a semi-frozen treat made of finely granulated ice and fruit concentrates, juices or purees. Sounds healthy enough, right?

One group of participants ate two cups of fresh mango, or about 100 calories worth, daily. In contrast, the other group ate 100 calories of Italian ice.

Beyond the mangoes or Italian ices, participants were instructed to follow their regular diet and lifestyle. Study tests and food pick-up occurred five times throughout the four-week study, and compliance was monitored through participants’ three-day food records.

What happened next was astonishing…

The participants who ate mangoes experienced significant reductions in HOMA-IR-measured insulin resistance. Not only that, they showed a substantial improvement in beta-cell function, the ability of the pancreas to produce and release insulin to manage normal glucose concentrations. Beta-cell function was measured using the disposition index (DI), a marker of how effectively the body regulates blood sugar levels.

After four weeks, the mango group also had significantly lower insulin concentrations in response to an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) compared to their levels at the beginning of the study. No changes were observed in the control group.

“Managing blood glucose isn’t just about monitoring blood sugar levels — it’s about improving insulin sensitivity,” says Dr. Indika Edirisinghe, a professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

“Our study suggests that adding fresh mangos to the diet can be a simple, enjoyable way for people who are overweight or have obesity to support better insulin function and reduce type 2 diabetes risk.”

Interestingly, despite eating foods with the same amount of calories, body composition remained stable in the mango group, while the control group experienced a slight but significant weight increase. The findings also show markers of inflammation and glucose levels weren’t significantly different between the two groups at the end of the study. This indicates that mangoes are a heart-healthy swap for calorically comparable sweet treats.

“The improvement in insulin sensitivity in the mango group, without changes in body weight, is noteworthy — which counters misconceptions about mangoes’ natural sugar content and impact on obesity and diabetes,” Edirisinghe says.

“These findings support previous research showing that eating mango does not lead to weight gain, and while the exact mechanism is still unknown, the role of improved antioxidant status from mango consumption may be the mediating factor on blood glucose control.”

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Enjoying mangoes and good health

The results of this study further reinforce the importance of fresh fruit, particularly mangoes, as part of a heart-healthy lifestyle that supports blood sugar control, weight management and overall wellness.

Previous research has delved into the differences between consuming sugars in whole fruit versus fruit juices, which is ultimately the comparison this study made by pitting Italian ice against mangoes.

In one such study, the researchers stated, “As well as being high in vitamins and minerals, fruits are a great source of phytochemicals which may increase insulin sensitivity, and fiber which helps regulate the release of sugar into the blood and also helps people feel fuller for longer.”

Additionally, most fruits typically have a low glycemic index, meaning the fruit’s sugar is digested and absorbed into the body slower.

If you want to swap out mangoes for less healthy sweet treats, the first step is to learn to tell when a mango is ripe. Here are some tips from Mango.org:

• Don’t focus on color. Because mango varieties come in several colors, shapes and sizes, color is not the best indicator of ripeness.
• A ripe mango will give slightly when you squeeze it gently. A medium-ripe mango will be somewhat firm, and an unripe mango will be very firm to the touch. You can enjoy unripe mangoes, but their flavor will be more sour-tart than sweet.
• Sometimes, you can tell a mango is ripe by smelling the stem. If there’s a fruity aroma, your mango is ready to enjoy.

Cutting up mangoes can be tricky. Follow this tutorial here for tips to make it easy. Enjoy your mango as-is or mix them in a fruit salad, smoothie or yogurt. They also make a delicious addition to fish or chicken dishes.

Sources:

New study: Eating mangos daily shown to improve insulin sensitivity and blood glucose control — EurekAlert!

Mango Consumption Is Associated with Increased Insulin Sensitivity in Participants with Overweight/Obesity and Chronic Low-Grade Inflammation — Nutrients

How To Choose A Mango — Mango.org

The post The fruity swap that beats back insulin resistance appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But the truth is, your immune system does a lot more than fight off viruses and bacteria.

In fact, research has proven that the immune system is involved in preventing depression, decreasing pain sensitivity, reducing fibromyalgia and even helping burn body fat.

Having exceptional immunity has even been tied to exceptional aging.

Yet, we are learning this is still just the tip of the iceberg…

According to a study published in the journal Science, our immune system is even tied to blood sugar control — potentially opening up new approaches for managing conditions like diabetes, obesity and cancer.

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The missing piece of the blood sugar puzzle

For decades, blood sugar regulation was tied primarily to the actions of two hormones produced in the pancreas: insulin and glucagon. While insulin lowers blood sugar by boosting the uptake of glucose into cells, glucagon elevates it by triggering the release of glucose from the liver.

Together, these two processes worked at keeping blood sugar at a healthy balance.

However, scientists at the Immunophysiology Lab at the Champalimaud Foundation suspected there was more to the story and that the immune system could hold the missing piece of the puzzle…

“For example,” says researcher Henrique Veiga-Fernandes, “some immune cells regulate how the body absorbs fat from food, and we’ve recently shown that brain-immune interactions help control fat metabolism and obesity. This got us thinking — could the nervous and immune systems collaborate to regulate other key processes, like blood sugar levels?”

The signal that stabilizes blood sugar

So they set out to test their theory in mice, where they discovered something very interesting…

The team found that mice genetically engineered without an immune cell known as ILC2 couldn’t produce enough glucagon — the hormone that raises blood sugar — and their glucose levels dropped too low.

This allowed the researchers to focus on that immune cell and tag it with a glow-in-the-dark marker so they could observe its function in healthy mice.

What they found was that, after fasting, these cells traveled to the pancreas.

Once there, the cells release cytokines — tiny chemical messengers — that send a signal to pancreatic cells to produce the hormone glucagon. The increase in glucagon then signals the liver to release glucose.

“This shows that immune cells aren’t just battle-hardened soldiers fighting off threats — they also act like emergency responders, stepping in to deliver critical energy supplies and maintain stability in times of need,” explains Veiga-Fernandes.

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Better blood sugar for better overall health

According to the researchers, this finding provides new options for preventing and treating diabetes and obesity (since balanced blood sugar is vital for maintaining a healthy body weight).

And they say it could even be key in cancer research.

That’s because certain cancers, including pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and liver cancer, grow by taking over the body’s metabolic processes to elevate glucagon production, raising blood sugar.

So, what should you do if you want to keep your immune system running strong to help support blood sugar balance?

First, be sure to exercise.

One study found that compared to inactive adults, older endurance cyclists (some in their 80s) were producing the same level of immune cells called T-cells as adults in their 20s!

T-cells are produced in your thymus, a gland in your chest, which usually shrinks in size into adulthood.

Additionally, be sure to avoid habits that hijack your immune system. These include:

• Over-exercising (While exercise is vital for immune health, moderation is key.)
• Too much alcohol
• Too much sugar
• Too much salt
• Nicotine consumption
• Overexposure to UV rays, both indoors and outdoors

Sources:

Eavesdropping on organs: Immune system controls blood sugar levels — EurekAlert!

6 habits that hijack your immune system — Easy Health Options

Is your immune system causing your depression? — Easy Health Options

The real reason fibromyalgia increases pain sensitivity — Easy Health Options

The surprising way your immune system helps burn fat — Easy Health Options

The post A strange connection: The immune system’s impact on blood sugar appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But what the marketers of these drugs aren’t telling you is that weight loss comes with a lot of drawbacks: weight loss plateaus, scary gastrointestinal side effects, a sobering black box warning and a hefty price tag.

Luckily, there are a couple of simple and inexpensive steps you can take to mimic the effects of these drugs.

For instance, berberine is a phytochemical found in several plants that lowers insulin and fasting glucose levels and reduces triglycerides, which can lead to lower cholesterol. These are similar to the effects triggered by GLP-1 agonists.

Or here’s one that’s even easier….

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Beta-glucan the fiber that mimics GLP-1 agonists

Previous research has touted the ability of fiber to nourish our gut microbiome in ways that help with weight loss.

One such fiber is inulin. It packs a powerful metabolic punch that’s reported to suppress appetite, lower blood sugar and promote healthy weight.

But a recent study has taken that a step further by identifying a specific type of fiber that mimics the effects of GLP-1 agonists.

Beta-glucan, a form of fiber found in oats and barley, was singled out in the study as being able to control blood sugar and assist in weight loss in mice fed a high-fat diet.

The researchers say beta-glucan is the only fiber supplement they tested that lowered a mouse’s fat content and body weight within 18 weeks. Other fibers considered, including wheat dextrin, pectin, resistant starch and cellulose, had no such impact, though they did shift the makeup of the microbiome compared to the mice fed no fiber supplements.

“We know that fiber is important and beneficial; the problem is that there are so many different types of fiber,” says University of Arizona biomedical scientist Frank Duca.

“We wanted to know what kind of fiber would be most beneficial for weight loss and improvements in glucose homeostasis so that we can inform the community, the consumer and then also inform the agricultural industry,” Duca adds.

Oats for weight loss, reduced fat, gut health and insulin sensitivity

Dietary fiber is the main energy source for gut bacteria, yet less than 5 percent of Americans consume the recommended 25 to 30 grams of fiber (between 0.9 and 1 ounce) of fiber per day.

Even when we do choose to consume fiber, it’s tough to know which type to pick. There are water-soluble fibers like oat beta-glucans and wheat dextrin that are easily fermentable by gut bacteria.

Then there are others that are less soluble or insoluble, meaning they pass through the gut and help form stool. Both are important from a health perspective.

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But if you’re looking to lose weight, beta-glucan may be the way to go…

The study found that only beta-glucan increased the number of Ileibacterium found in the mouse intestine. This bacterium has been linked to weight loss in other mouse studies.

Long before the 10-week mark, mice fed beta-glucan demonstrated reduced body weight and body fat content compared to mice fed other types of fiber.

The beta-glucan mice also showed increased concentrations of butyrate in their guts, a metabolite made when microbes break down fiber. Butyrate triggers the release of GLP-1, the same protein mimicked by drugs like Ozempic to stimulate insulin release.

And that’s not the only effect, Duca says. “We think that there are other beneficial things that butyrate could be doing that are not gut peptide related, such as improving gut barrier health and targeting peripheral organs like the liver,” he notes.

The researchers caution more study is needed before these results can be extended to humans. However, the findings do suggest some fiber may be better suited to weight loss and insulin control than others.

So if you’re looking to lose weight, boosting your intake of beta-glucan could benefit those efforts. Try eating a bowl of oatmeal (which contains both inulin and beta-glucans) for breakfast, or adding a helping of barley to your soup or salad. Not only will it support your weight loss efforts, but it will give you better gut health to boot.

Sources:

How your morning oats could help you manage your weight — The University of Arizona News

Impact of Plant-Based Dietary Fibers on Metabolic Homeostasis in High-Fat Diet Mice via Alterations in the Gut Microbiota and Metabolites — The Journal of Nutrition

The post The breakfast food that mimics how Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro work appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

The chatter is that drinking sparkling water, AKA fizzy water and, technically, carbonated water, can help level up a fat-burning metabolism

Sound too good to be true?

Could a bubbly beverage really possess weight loss powers? And if so, how?

A recent study published in the BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health journal has the answers…

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Four ways sparkling water impacts weight loss

Researchers set out to build on the results of previous studies on what happens when carbon dioxide (CO2) — the gas used to create the bubbly sensation in drinks like sparkling or carbonated water — is consumed and enters the blood.

Overall, the experts say that the effects of sparkling water could impact weight loss help in four distinct ways:

#1 – Improves feelings of satiety

The first impactful way sparkling water could help anyone on a weight loss journey is by simply promoting satiety. This doesn’t seem like rocket science at all. After all, when you sip a carbonated drink, and those fizzy bubbles reach your stomach, there’s a feeling of fullness. It’s easy to see how that would make you less hungry.

#2 – Supports gut motility

According to Dr. Tara Narula, those same bubbles that make us feel full might also “increase or change your gut motility or movement.” This is important since lack of gut motility (dysmotility) can lead to bloating and has been independently associated with weight gain.

#3 – Promotes healthier choices

Drinking sparkling water could be a great way to support healthy choices that reduce the amount of sugar and calories we consume each day.

Dr. Narula points out that “You may not be reaching for a sugary beverage or soda if you’re drinking carbonated water.”

Previous research saw people who swapped out one eight-ounce sugar-sweetened beverage for an eight-ounce glass of water per day could drop their daily calorie intake significantly.

#3 – Lowers blood sugar levels

And the final benefit of carbonated water is easily the most important…

When asked about how action could support weight loss, Dr. Narula explains, “When carbon dioxide gets into your bloodstream, your red blood cells, it changes the pH and makes the blood a little more alkaline  — and in that setting, the blood cells are able to absorb more sugar, or glucose, dropping your blood sugar level. In that respect, it might help your metabolism.”

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In other words, by alkalizing your body, carbonated water helps keep blood sugar on an even keel, so your metabolism works more effectively to burn fat between meals for energy.

Raise a glass of sparkling water to weight loss

Despite these benefits, the scientists say that the clinical results of the study were small.

However, if you’re like me, you’ve probably found that when it comes to weight loss, taking all of the help you can get is key— as long there are no side effects.

I don’t see any downsides to drinking sparkling water. The only thing you have to lose is those unwanted pounds.

And as an added benefit, by increasing your body’s alkalinity, you could also improve your overall health. Check out these four evidence-based benefits of an alkaline diet.

Sources:

Can carbonated water support weight loss? — BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health

What to know about sparkling water and weight loss, according to new study — ABC NEWS

What you should know about carbonated water and weight loss — CNN

Dysmotility Symptoms Are Independently Associated With Weight Change: A Population-based Study of Australian Adults — NIH

The post 4 ways sparkling water supports weight loss appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

In other words, it would only take a tiny push for 34% of us to move into full-blown blood sugar problems that can damage our hearts, take down our kidneys and lead to serious brain problems.

The good news is that making simple changes like staying active, reducing stress, and adjusting your diet to include more low-carb options can make a significant impact on the prediabetes problem.

And it turns out there’s one more thing you can do that’s even easier…

It’s as simple as adding one specific superfood to your daily diet and letting its natural compounds work to balance your blood sugar.

Here are the details…

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Lower fasting blood glucose

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have previously shown that a compound known as sulforaphane in broccoli works as an antidiabetic agent in people already living with type 2 diabetes.

However, sulforaphane had not yet been put to the test against prediabetes.

So the scientists got back to work following 89 people with elevated fasting blood sugar, an indicator of prediabetes. The participants were randomly assigned to take either sulforaphane or a placebo for twelve weeks.

And the results were clear…

Sulforaphane can take fasting blood sugar down!

In fact, the results showed that participants who took the broccoli superfood compound experienced a significantly higher than average reduction in fasting blood sugar than those taking the placebo.

The results were so impressive that the researchers even pointed out that the difference between those taking sulforaphane and those not was “considerable.”

Better and better blood sugar

The scientists also found that some people with prediabetes benefited from sulforaphane at an even greater level.

Those with the most significant improvement after taking sulforaphane had low insulin resistance and secretion, along with:

• Early signs of mild age-related diabetes
• A relatively low BMI in the context of the study
• A low incidence of fatty liver disease

The scientists even found why sulforaphane may be more impactful against blood sugar problems for some people…

In an additional stage of the research, they found differences in the gut microbiomes of those who responded well to sulforaphane compared to those who had a lesser response, indicating that bacteria may interact with sulforaphane, improving the efficacy of the broccoli compound.

While more research may be needed to identify the microbiome differences, the researchers did find that the most profound responders may have had more butyrate-producing bacteria.

Butyrate is a fatty acid that the gut creates when it digests certain foods. Previous research found that a decline in butyrate may trigger insulin resistance. Butyrate also contributes to gut health.

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Putting sulforaphane to work for you

“The treatment of prediabetes is currently lacking in many respects, but these new findings open the way for possible precision treatment using sulforaphane extracted from broccoli as a functional food. However, lifestyle factors remain the foundation of any treatment for prediabetes, including exercise, healthy eating, and weight loss,” says Professor Anders Rosengren.

“The results of the study also offer a general model of how pathophysiology and gut flora interact with and influence treatment responses. A model that could have broader implications.”

So, how can you use the results of this study to work?

The first step is to increase your intake of broccoli to get more sulforaphane in your diet.

Here’s the best way to eat broccoli to amplify the compound’s powers. (Hint: It’s not raw.)

Next, consider consuming more probiotics to support the healthy bacteria levels in your gut and, therefore, sulforaphane’s action.

You can get probiotics through dietary choices like yogurt, kefir and sauerkraut. But I also like to take a quality probiotic supplement to ensure optimal levels.

Sources:

Diabetes Statistics – NIH

Reduced prediabetes in people who ate broccoli compound – EurekAlert!

The post The superfood compound that beats back prediabetes appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

And that’s not even mentioning the number of diets out there. Mediterranean, green Mediterranean, keto, vegan, paleo, DASH… each has benefits and downsides. How am I supposed to choose?

I guess it all depends on what health impact I’m looking for. My goal is to choose a style of eating that minimizes my risk of chronic disease, so any diet that can help with that is one I’m interested in.

That’s why a recent study exploring a new eating style caught my attention. Yes, it’s yet another diet to add to the pile — but this one has some exciting benefits that can happen fast….

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The benefits of the NiMe diet

One thing most healthy diets have in common is their emphasis on avoiding “industrialized” or processed foods that are associated with bad health and early death.

Industrialized diets have contributed to a significant rise in chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes and heart disease in Westernized countries.

An international team of researchers decided to develop a diet based on the eating habits of non-industrialized societies. They focused on members of rural Papua New Guinea communities because they have a specific gut bacteria, L. reuteri, that people from industrialized societies lack.

In the study, participants followed the NiMe (Non-industrialised Microbiome Restore) diet and supplemented L. reuteri.

NiMe has a plant-based focus, primarily comprised of vegetables, legumes and other whole-plant foods. However, it is not vegetarian, as it includes one small serving of animal protein daily: salmon, chicken or pork. NiMe excludes dairy, beef and wheat because they aren’t part of the traditional foods consumed by rural Papua New Guineans.

NiMe was also very low in processed foods, which are high in sugar and saturated fat, and very high in fiber. In fact, fiber content was 22 grams per 1,000 calories, which exceeds current dietary recommendations.

The findings were impressive. In just three weeks, the diet slashed conditions you may recognize as symptoms of metabolic syndrome:

• Promoted weight loss;
• Lowered bad cholesterol by 17 percent;
• Reduced blood sugar by 6 percent;
• Slashed C-reactive protein by 14 percent (a marker of inflammation and heart disease).

These improvements were linked to beneficial changes in the gut microbiome. Specifically, the NiMe diet enhanced the short-term persistence of L. reuteri in the gut and reduced pro-inflammatory bacteria and bacterial genes that degrade the gut’s mucus layer.

Even though participants did not consume fewer calories on the NiMe diet, they still lost weight, and the diet alone led to considerable cardiometabolic benefits.

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“Industrialization has drastically impacted our gut microbiome, likely increasing the risk of chronic diseases,” says Jens Walter, a professor and leading scientist at University College Cork in Ireland. “To counter this, we developed a diet that mimics traditional, non-industrialized dietary habits and is compatible with our understanding on diet-microbiome interactions.”

In previous research, Walter’s team found that people in rural Papua New Guinea have a much more diverse microbiome rich in bacteria that thrive from dietary fiber and low in levels of pro-inflammatory bacteria linked to a Western diet. The researchers used this information to design the NiMe diet.

Recipes for a better gut microbiome

According to Paul Ross, a professor and director of APC Microbiome Ireland, the study illustrates how the gut microbiome can be targeted through specific diets to improve health and reduce disease risk. “These findings could shape future dietary guidelines and inspire the development of new food products and ingredients, as well as therapeutics, which target the microbiome,” Ross says.

The NiMe diet, with its plant-based focus, is surprisingly simple, and researchers have made recipes available on their Instagram (@nimediet) and Facebook pages. They also plan to make an online cookbook available as well. Most of the recipes use ingredients that are readily found in Western grocery stores.

If you’re looking to boost your gut levels of L. reuteri, consider adding probiotic supplements containing the bacterium to your diet. Combining that with the NiMe diet could be a powerful step towards protecting your body from chronic disease.

The post NiMe: The good gut diet that improves health fast appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But what good is a long life unless you’re healthy and independent enough to enjoy it?

A lot of focus for successful aging has focused on muscle strength, and rightly so. Without muscle strength, we lose mobility.

However, muscle loss is also the gateway to the routine metabolic decline associated with aging. Here’s why and how to stop it…

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The role of muscle loss in metabolic health

Imagine you’re in your middle age or beyond. It’s possible that your muscle mass is decreasing, and along with it, your strength and ability to perform daily tasks.

This shrinking of muscle mass is known as sarcopenia. It will lead to a loss of function and independence if it isn’t reversed. But what many don’t know is that muscle loss can increase your risk for type 2 diabetes.

That’s because muscle is a major contributor to resting metabolism. The muscle serves as a reservoir, taking glucose and lipids (fats) from the bloodstream and storing them where they can be used for energy.

There, it also acts as a buffer of amino acids during what are known as periods of catabolic stress, which is often associated with critical illness. This is why markers of muscle health can predict outcomes for patients admitted to intensive care units, including how long someone may be on a ventilator or their risk of surviving their hospitalization. In other words, mortality.

Understanding the significance of maintaining healthy muscle tissue is crucial for living a long and healthy life, for reasons many of us may not have considered.

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The best way to strengthen mature muscles

Beginning around age 50, we lose about one percent of our muscle mass per year. At the same time, we lose muscle strength at the rate of about three percent per year.

And if we become bedridden for any length of time due to illness or injury, our muscles will shrink even more…

For example, if you walk regularly, but then an injury or illness keeps you from getting your steps in for two or three weeks, changes can occur quickly enough to disrupt blood glucose control and impair the body’s ability to build muscle from dietary protein.

But life happens. Fortunately, researchers at McMaster University have found one exercise in particular can tap into the “plasticity” of our muscle tissue to work to our advantage…

Their research has shown that resistance exercise (strength training), even when performed sporadically and with lighter loads, can effectively offset muscle losses during periods of reduced activity in older people.

They also found that between 1.2 and 1.6 grams of daily protein consumption is ideal for improving muscle growth. This protein should come from a mixture of animal sources, like meat and dairy, and plant-based sources, like legumes.

If you’re a woman, consider taking an omega-3 supplement regularly. In research involving women, the nutrient was found to lessen muscle loss during periods of immobility and more than doubled the amount of strength women gained from exercise.

Now that you know how don’t let anything hold you back from living the long and healthy life you deserve.

Sources:

Protecting your muscle is vital for healthy aging here’s why — Science Alert

Healthspan vs lifespan the vital role of muscle in successful aging — The Conversation

Low-load resistance training during step-reduction attenuates declines in muscle mass and strnegth and enhances anabolic sensitivity in older men — The Physiological Society

The effects of whey, pea, and collagen protein supplementation beyond the recommended dietary allowance on integrated myofibrrillar protein synthetic rates in older males: a randomized controlled trial — The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

The post Why muscle loss sets off a cascade of unhealthy aging appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

There’s the bone density berry that beats back bone loss…

There’s the one that works for a better brain and blood pressure…

And the berry that improves heart and blood vessel function — in 30 days!

Then there’s the elderberry — best known as a natural flu remedy.

The secret to the elderberry’s anti-viral power lies in its high concentration of anthocyanins, a group of deep red, purple, and blue pigments that give berries their rich colors.

They also contain quite a lot of vitamin C — just one cup accounts for 57% of the recommended daily value.

The anthocyanins in elderberries work to fight free radical damage and boost your immune system in two ways:

• They shield your immune cells so that they can protect you
• They promote white blood cell production to fight off infection

And now a Washington State University-led study says elderberries have powerful benefits for weight management and metabolic health — thanks to those very same anthocyanins…

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Elderberries improve metabolism and burn fat

“Elderberry is an underappreciated berry, commercially and nutritionally,” said corresponding author Patrick Solverson, an assistant professor in the Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine’s Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology. “We’re now starting to recognize its value for human health, and the results are very exciting.”

In a clinical trial published in the journal Nutrients, Prof. Solverson and team found that drinking 12 ounces of elderberry juice daily for a week causes positive changes in the gut microbiome and improves glucose tolerance and fat oxidation.

A group of 18 overweight participants consumed either elderberry juice or a placebo with similar coloring and taste, specially designed by North Carolina State University’s Food Innovation Lab, while maintaining a standardized diet.

Those who drank the elderberry juice saw the following health benefits:

• Improved gut microbiome. There was a significant increase in the amounts of beneficial gut bacteria, including firmicutes and actinobacteria, and decreased amounts of harmful bacteria, such as Bacteroidetes.
• Improved metabolism. There was a reduction in blood glucose levels by an average of 24%, indicating a significantly improved ability to process sugars following carbohydrate consumption. Insulin levels also decreased by 9%.
• Enhanced fat burning. There was a significant increase in fat oxidation, or the breakdown of fatty acids, after a high carbohydrate meal and during exercise.

“Food is medicine, and science is catching up to that popular wisdom,” Prof. Solverson says. “This study contributes to a growing body of evidence that elderberry, which has been used as a folk remedy for centuries, has numerous benefits for metabolic as well as prebiotic health.”

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How to get your elderberries

Elderberries are easily found in various forms: juice, powder (which can be added to tea, smoothies, or oatmeal), lozenges and elderberry tea.

It’s important to note that you shouldn’t eat elderberries whole when raw since they contain the toxic compounds, lectin and cyanide (primarily found in the seeds, stems, and leaves), which can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

You can cook them or buy products with cooked berries instead, including elderberry juice, tea, lozenges, syrup, or powder that can be added to foods like oatmeal.

Because elderberry may stimulate the immune system, it could interfere with medications taken to suppress the immune system. These medications include corticosteroids (prednisone) and medications used to treat autoimmune diseases. People with organ transplants should also avoid elderberry.

Sources:

Elderberry juice shows benefits for weight management, metabolic health — Eureka Alert

A one-week elderberry juice intervention augments the fecal microbiota and suggests improvement in glucose tolerance and fat oxidation in a randomized controlled trial — Nutrients

Elderberry — mtsinai.org

The post The berry that boosts metabolism, burns fat and fights flu appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

We’re not necessarily talking about dementia here, but the brain ages along with all of your other parts and experiences changes that can lead to memory issues.

But research has zeroed in on one very important factor concerning how your blood vessels could be responsible for accelerating the age of your brain…

Here’s a summary of that research, along with a dozen ways to help slow down the rate at which your brain is aging…

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Blood vessel health is a must for a youthful brain

A group of researchers at Karolinska Institutet assessed MRI scans and AI tools to estimate the biological brain age in subjects who were 70 years old and had no cognitive impairment.

They also determined the “brain age gap” of each participant by subtracting their estimated biological brain age from their chronological age (according to birth date), while also cross-referencing their medical conditions and lifestyle habits.

From there they were able to determine among 739 participants that when it comes to keeping a young brain, vascular health is of the utmost importance.

In those with poor vascular health, brain aging was accelerated and was linked to a combination of conditions and factors including::

• Lack of physical activity
• Diabetes
• High cerebrovascular burden (conditions that impact blood flow in the brain)
• Stroke
• And inflammation

“A take-home from the study is that factors that adversely affect the blood vessels can also be related to older-looking brains, which shows how important it is to keep your blood vessels healthy, to protect your brain, by making sure, for instance, that your blood glucose level is kept stable,” says neurobiologist Anna Marseglia of the Karolinska Institute.

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A dozen ways to keep your brain young

Older brains tend to be at higher risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. And since there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, these findings, which suggest ways of protecting against cognitive decline, are hugely valuable.

The good folks at Harvard Health have put together a list of tried, true and researched ways to help keep a brain younger — and most of them will also have a positive impact on blood vessel health…

1. Mental stimulation. Mentally stimulating activities like reading, taking classes, or word and math puzzles develop neurological plasticity, building up a functional reserve that offers a hedge against future cell loss.
2. Physical exercise. Regular exercise adds to the number of tiny blood vessels that bring oxygen-rich blood to the brain region that’s responsible for thought. It also encourages development of new nerve cells and increases connections between them.
3. Diet. Studies have shown that the MIND diet can lower dementia risk as much as 20 percent. Similar to the Mediterranean diet, the MIND diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, unsaturated oils like olive oil, and plant-based protein sources.
4. Blood pressure. High blood pressure in midlife increases the risk of cognitive decline in your older years. Some of the other things on this list, like diet and exercise, will help keep your blood pressure under control. In fact, following this advice to get arteries like a 20-year-old, might make your brain almost as young.
5. Blood sugar. The Karolinska study found that managing blood glucose levels can help improve vascular health. Time-restricted eating (also called intermittent fasting) is successful for many people trying to control blood sugar. If your blood sugar is consistently high, consult your doctor.
6. Cholesterol. High levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol are associated with an increased risk of dementia. But diet, exercise, and weight control will go a long way toward improving cholesterol levels.
7. Tobacco … avoiding it, of course. Stay away from tobacco in all its forms to improve your vascular health.
8. Alcohol. Excessive drinking has long been linked to dementia. In fact, the Surgeon General has recently called for warning labels on alcohol, just like the ones on cigarettes. If you do drink, make it an occasional thing, not an everyday habit.
9. Emotional well-being. If you’re depressed or sleep-deprived, your cognitive performance will suffer. But anger is especially harmful to vascular health. It’s important to create habits that help manage strong emotions.
10. Social ties. Strong social ties have been associated with a lower risk of dementia, as well as lower blood pressure and longer life expectancy.
11. Avoid head injuries. One fall may not make you susceptible to cognitive decline, but repeated injuries can.
12. Low-dose aspirin. A study from researchers at Rush University Medical Center found that aspirin could help reduce brain plaques that contribute to Alzheimer’s. If you’re interested, check with your doctor to see if this would benefit you. If aspirin isn’t for you, consider supplementing phosphatidylserine.

Sources:

Poor vascular health accelerates brain aging — Science Daily

Biological brain age and resilience in cognitively unimpaired 70-year-old individuals — Alzheimer’s and Dementia

12 ways to keep your brain young — Harvard Medical School

The post How your blood vessels can accelerate your brain’s age appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

In fact, sleep is now officially recognized by the American Heart Association (AHA) as part of the Essential 8 — a set of lifestyle measures proven to enhance cardiovascular health. 

So how does sleep protect your heart? What happens to your body during sleep? And how can you make rest a priority in your daily life?

Sleep: A Cornerstone of the Essential 8

The AHA added sleep to its list of Essential 8 because research has confirmed that good-quality rest is critical to overall health, including the health of your heart.  During sleep is when your body performs vital functions: repairing tissues, regulating hormones, and giving your heart and blood vessels a much-needed break. Without enough rest, these critical processes are interrupted, increasing your risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, and even heart attacks.

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What Happens During Sleep

Sleep is more than just downtime for your body. When you sleep, especially during deeper stages, your heart rate and blood pressure drop, reducing the workload on your cardiovascular system. This nightly “reset” allows your heart to recover and prepare for the day ahead. Additionally, your body regulates essential hormones during sleep, such as:

• Stress hormones: Levels of cortisol, which can raise blood pressure, naturally decrease during sleep.
• Hunger hormones: Sleep balances ghrelin and leptin, the hormones that control hunger and fullness. 

What Happens When You Don’t Get Enough Sleep

Skipping sleep, or even regularly getting less than seven hours a night, puts your heart at risk. Here’s how:

• Higher Blood Pressure: Without the nighttime drop in blood pressure that occurs during sleep, your heart and blood vessels remain under constant stress.  Sleep apnea, specifically, can be the sole reason someone has hypertension.  So if you snore and have high blood pressure, discuss sleep apnea screening with your physician.
• Increased Inflammation: Poor sleep is linked to higher levels of C-reactive protein, an inflammatory marker tied to heart disease.
• Elevated Stress Hormones: A lack of sleep can raise cortisol levels, contributing to higher heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar.
• Weight Gain: Sleep deprivation alters hunger-regulating hormones, making overeating more likely. 

Over time, these factors can lead to conditions like hypertension, obesity, and diabetes — all of which strain your heart and increase your risk of heart disease and stroke.

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How to Prioritize Sleep

The good news? Sleep is something you can control. Here are steps to help you get the quality rest your heart needs:

1. Stick to a Sleep Schedule: Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. A consistent schedule reinforces your body’s circadian rhythm, helping you fall asleep and wake up more easily.
2. Create a Relaxing Bedtime Routine: Ease into sleep with calming activities like reading, meditating, or taking a warm bath. This signals your body that it’s time to wind down.
3. Limit Stimulants: Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and heavy meals in the hours leading up to bedtime. These can disrupt your ability to fall or stay asleep.
4. Turn Off Screens: Blue light from phones, tablets, and TVs can interfere with your body’s melatonin production, making it harder to fall asleep — power down at least an hour before bed.

If You’re Still Struggling

Poor and non-restorative sleep has wide-ranging health effects. This blog has focused on cardiometabolic health, but not getting enough nightly rest can contribute to cognitive decline and even cancer risk. 

So if you’ve tried everything and are still struggling, talk to your doctor.  For perimenopausal women, hormone replacement may be the answer.  For others, sleep apnea evaluation may be appropriate.

In some circumstances, a formal referral to a Sleep Medicine specialist is required. The one thing NOT to do? Ignore your sleepless nights. 

The post What happens to your body and heart during sleep appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But for thousands of years, medicinal mushrooms have been used for tumor therapy in traditional Chinese medicine.

It’s a process that modern science calls fungotherapy.

One of the most important of acinal mushrooms is the Ganoderma lucidum — more commonly known as the reishi mushroom.

Over the years, it’s demonstrated health benefits ranging from fending off fatigue and restoring gut health to guarding against diabetes and improving autoimmune disorders.

Perhaps most importantly, studies have shown that reishi mushrooms can block both cancer spread and invasion of healthy tissues.

But researchers didn’t know exactly what was behind its powerful effect.

That’s all changed thanks to researchers at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, who have found the missing link in how acids in the mushroom alter cancer’s ability to satisfy its sweet tooth…

Cutting off cancer’s fuel halts its growth

The scientists specifically looked at the action of Ganoderic acid A (GAA), a bioactive compound extracted from reishi known for its potential anticancer and antidiabetic effects.

They wanted to see how it might impact two glucose transporters, GLUT1 and GLUT3, which are produced in higher amounts by cancer cells that rely on them to provide the “sugar fuel” fix they need to grow.

They found that GAA binds to the glucose transporters, ultimately blocking the uptake of sugar. In a subsequent experiment, they saw GAA significantly reduced glucose uptake in human lung cancer cells.

That’s not entirely surprising since previous research indicates reishi mushrooms reduce blood sugar by increasing insulin release.

According to the researchers, this discovery suggests that GAA could be used to ‘starve’ cancer cells by cutting off their sugar supply, offering a new way to slow cancer growth without being toxic to healthy cells. It also indicates that GAA could be developed into a novel therapeutic option, particularly for cancers with high GLUT expression.

Medicinal mushrooms in cancer therapy

Mushrooms, and especially mushroom powders, have become very popular. You can even find coffee blends that include mushrooms.

And of course, if you like mushrooms, you’ve probably enjoyed them in a stir fry or cooked up in olive oil or butter. Anyone, even cancer patients, can enjoy eating mushrooms.

But according to the experts at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, if you’re being treated for cancer, there are some things you need to know…

As they point out, medicinal mushrooms are not ordinary mushrooms. They can strengthen the immune system and decrease inflammatory compounds which is very helpful to cancer patients. Some studies have shown that they can help cancer patients live longer.

According to Santhosshi Narayanan, M.D., a physician in MD Anderson’s Integrative Medicine Center, “One study showed that when people took mushrooms, they were able to tolerate more rounds chemotherapy treatment, probably because they have fewer side effects, and thereby it might have indirectly improved their survival.”

A few other fungi considered to be medicinal mushrooms include:

• Cordyceps mushrooms – These mushrooms demonstrate the power to enhance the activities of macrophages, phagocytes and natural killer cells, acting as anti-tumor agents.
• Lion’s mane – According to the Cleveland Clinic, the unique nutrients in lion’s mane mushrooms “may help fight off cancer cells and slow the spread of certain types of cancer.”
• Chaga mushroom – The results of one study showed that using a chaga supplement reduced tumor size by 60%. Additional research pointed to the mushroom’s ability to help prevent the growth of cancer cells in the liver.

Finally, it’s important to note that using mushrooms in addition to cancer treatment may be advantageous but should be approached with guidance.

“Mushrooms contain potent biological compounds and will behave like drugs, so treat them like a medication,” says Dr. Narayanan. “Have an open conversation with your care team about the pros and cons, as well as the limitations of the research we have.”

Sources:

Starving cancer cells: Researchers unveil new function of ganoderic acid — EurekAlert!

Can mushrooms help during cancer treatment? — MD Anderson Cancer Center

Anti-diabetic effects of Ganoderma lucidum — Phytochemistry

Chaga Mushroom Health Benefits — Cleveland Clinic

Health Benefits of Lion’s Mane Mushrooms — Cleveland Clinic

The post How a mushroom with anti-diabetic properties starves cancer appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But recently, this sour, fermented apple liquid has found itself in the spotlight — and not just for its cleaning power. ACV is now being touted as a health elixir, with claims that it can aid in weight loss, control diabetes, improve cardiovascular health, and more. 

But how much of this is hype, and how much is backed by science?

Let’s dive into what the research says about apple cider vinegar’s health benefits…

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What the Science Shows

Lowering Blood Glucose Levels

One of the best-supported claims about ACV is its potential to help manage blood sugar.

Several studies have found that consuming apple cider vinegar daily may slightly reduce fasting blood glucose and A1C levels in people with Type 2 diabetes. 

A 2021 meta-analysis of 9 studies showed a reduction in fasting blood glucose by about 8 mg/dL for those with Type 2 diabetes. In a more recent intervention trial, people who consumed 2 tablespoons of ACV daily for eight weeks saw a reduction in their A1C, provided they also followed a healthy diet.

While these results are promising, it’s important to note that all of these studies were relatively small and more research is needed before we can call ACV a game-changer for diabetes management — especially since the blood sugar reductions were relatively minor.

Still, the possibility that incorporating ACV could be helpful as part of a comprehensive approach for managing blood sugar elevations cannot be excluded.

Lowering Cholesterol Levels

Another area where ACV has been touted as a solution is in cholesterol management. The same 2021 meta-analysis also suggested that ACV consumption could help reduce total cholesterol, particularly in people with Type 2 diabetes.

The intervention trial found that diabetic individuals who drank ACV while also adhering to a healthy diet saw improvements in both LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and total cholesterol.

However, we should view all these findings cautiously given that they were seen in the setting of Type 2 diabetes and in combination with dietary modification.  Whether the cholesterol improvement was related to better blood sugar control, a direct effect on cholesterol metabolism, or the dietary changes themselves is unknown.

My best advice would be that if you’re going to try apple cider vinegar as a cholesterol-lowering intervention, don’t just accept it on faith that it’s going to work.

Objectively test your response with a repeat lipid profile evaluation after at least 30 days of consistent use — ideally without changing anything else about your diet or exercise routine.  

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Weight Loss and Appetite Control

There are also claims that ACV can promote weight loss by reducing appetite, slowing gastric emptying, and curbing cravings. However, the studies behind these claims have been small and short-term.

Real, sustained weight loss comes from consistent healthy habits — like eating a nutrient-dense diet, incorporating physical activity, and lowering overall calorie intake. It won’t come from consuming ACV alone.

Supporting Gut Health

Because apple cider vinegar is a fermented product, so long as it is not pasteurized it will contain natural probiotics that can help support a healthy gut microbiome.

Probiotics boost the amount of beneficial bacteria in your gut, which in turn can promote better immunity, digestive health, and even mental well-being.

Including ACV in your diet, whether as part of a salad dressing or marinade, can be one way to add a probiotic boost. 

Downsides of Apple Cider Vinegar

If the above discussion has you thinking – “What do I have to lose?” — just remember that ACV is VINEGAR. That means it can irritate your stomach, worsen gastric reflux, and even strip tooth enamel. “Miracle” cures are often not entirely miraculous. At the very least, in the case of ACV, please never drink it undiluted.  

At Step One Foods, we believe in a holistic approach to health with an emphasis on sustainable, balanced choices—like consuming real, wholesome foods every day. With Step One Foods, you get scientifically formulated products designed and proven to support heart health without any downsides. No miracles required.

The post A cardiologist answers: What can apple cider vinegar really do? appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

So it’s not surprising that these foods, which make up a chunk of the standard American diet, are fueling the growing diabetes epidemic.

However, what may surprise you is just how little of them you can consume to dramatically raise your risk of blood sugar problems.

Luckily, the same research reveals you can beat back this risk without completely overhauling your diet…

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Ultra-processed: a recipe for blood sugar problems

After University College London researchers compared the consumption of UPF to the health outcomes of close to 312,000 people over nearly 11 years, the results were clear…

Every 10 percent increase in the amount of UPF in a person’s diet is linked with a 17 percent increase in type 2 diabetes risk.

And four types of ultra-processed foods were found to be the worst contributors. They include:

• Savory snacks (think salty chips, cheese-filled pretzels, etc)
• Animal-based products like processed meats (includes luncheon meats)
• Ready meals (especially the kind you don’t refrigerate. Imaging the additives to make that possible!)
• Sugar-sweetened and artificially-sweetened beverages (this includes juices)

These foods undergo extensive “manufacturing.” In that process, any ingredients that start as recognizable foods are processed to such a state they become unrecognizable. Nutrition gets tossed in the process and additives (emulsifiers, stabilizers and gelling agents) specifically designed to change taste and texture and increase shelf life take their place.

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Take it down a notch and reduce your risks

The researchers say that while eating UPFs increases the risk of blood sugar problems, this risk can be lowered simply by eating foods that take the level of processing down a notch.

Foods designated as “processed foods” (PF) fit that bill. They undergo a minimum amount of processing and include foods like canned fruits and vegetables, packaged bread, cheese slices or cheese spreads. The researchers believe substituting just 10 percent of UPFs with 10 percent of PFs reduced diabetes risk by 18 percent.

Even better, you can ease into it. While you work on ditching the 4 worst UPF offenders, enjoying a breakfast biscuit and jelly or bowl of cereal is OK and may even be beneficial.

Even though also considered UPFs, breads, biscuits and breakfast cereals, sweets and desserts and, of course, plant-based alternatives, were all associated with a lower incidence of type 2 diabetes.

There was another surprise in the study, this time in the processed foods category, that also may have lowered diabetes risk: consumption of beer and wine.

This isn’t an endorsement (alcohol has links to other diseases), but an explanation…

In their study data, which was gathered from individuals from eight European countries, 30-50 percent of the processed food intake in the study came from beer and wine, which has been associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes in previous research.

Also included on the healthier end of the spectrum are artisanal breads, preserved fruits and vegetables and salted nuts.

So if your focus is keeping your blood sugar in check, this research has now given you a powerful way to make that happen — without feeling like you have to deprive yourself or start growing your own food.

Sources:

Replacing ultra-processed foods in diet reduces type 2 diabetes risk – Science Daily

The post How to eat processed food and not get diabetes appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But often, these issues are caused by something physical within our bodies. For instance, raised levels of the hormone cortisol can lead to anxiety, stress and/or depression.

Then there are other physical conditions that on the surface may not seem connected to mood but have a definite link. Take blood sugar, for instance…

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Blood sugar impacts cortisol levels and leads to mood swings

You’ve probably heard the term “hangry” before. More than just a catchphrase made famous by advertisements for a popular candy bar, this term describes something very real: A link experts have found between blood sugar fluctuations, cortisol and mood and stress levels.

In fact, Everest Goldstein, a functional psychiatric nurse practitioner in Dallas, told Integrative Health Practitioner that spikes or drops in blood sugar, can lead directly to corresponding changes in cortisol levels.

A jump in blood sugar can make us feel jittery and anxious, and when cortisol levels change too, it exacerbates anxiety, disrupts sleep, and makes us feel irritable and overall, stressed.

Unstable blood sugar levels can also cause brain fog, affecting concentration. These symptoms can often appear similar to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Interestingly, stabilizing blood sugar levels in children with ADHD, autism, mood disorders or behavioral issues often alleviates these symptoms, Goldstein said.

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Healthy ways to balance blood sugar and your mood

One of the biggest mistakes Goldstein said some practitioners make is to order their patients to cut out all sugar in an attempt to stabilize blood sugar levels. She recommends an approach that includes balanced meals and snacks, exercise and a limit on caffeine consumption.

For a blood sugar-balanced diet, Goldstein suggests including the following:

• Protein: mainly from meats, beans, tofu and eggs
• Healthy fats: mainly from avocado, olive oil, salmon, nuts and seeds
• Fiber: mainly from non-starchy vegetables.

Eating these components in balance helps create a more stable blood sugar response, leading to fewer mood swings and energy crashes. For example, eating a banana with almond butter instead of a banana alone can help prevent a spike in blood sugar.

In addition, it’s probably a good idea to avoid foods that raise blood sugar, especially highly processed foods and those with added sugar like sodas, candy and packaged baked goods.

For exercise, Goldstein recommends walking for five to 10 minutes after consuming big meals or sugary foods. This helps the muscles move glucose out of the bloodstream and into cells.

If you are going to consume caffeine, Goldstein advises against doing it on an empty stomach, since caffeine can raise cortisol and blood sugar levels. To moderate this effect, drink your coffee while consuming a meal high in protein and fat.

Sources:

Key to Managing Mood Swings: Blood Sugar Regulation — Integrative Practitioner

What’s Causing My Mood Swings? — WebMD

The post What ‘hangry’ says about your cortisol and blood sugar appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But if you have diabetes, you should know there’s something else that may be soaring along with your stress…

Your blood sugar.

In fact, according to a study from researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and The Ohio State University College of Medicine, there is a clear link between the stress hormone cortisol and higher blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

That’s why we’re not only looking at just what the study found and why, but also what you can do to knock your stress and your blood sugar down a few notches in order to live healthier.

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Flattened cortisol

So, what did the Ohio researchers discover in their study that has us calling out stress as a problem for blood sugar management?

“In healthy people, cortisol fluctuates naturally throughout the day, spiking in the morning and falling at night,” said Dr. Joshua J. Joseph, lead author of the study and an endocrinologist and researcher at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center’s Diabetes and Metabolism Research Center. “But in participants with type 2 diabetes, cortisol profiles that were flatter throughout the day had higher glucose levels.”

In other words, if your cortisol doesn’t do that downward fall, your blood sugar levels go up due to sustained levels of cortisol, making it harder for you to control your levels and manage your diabetes.

Previous research has shown that stress and depression are two of the major causes of a flatter cortisol profile. These sustained levels of cortisol make it much more difficult to control blood sugar and manage the disease, which is why it is so essential for those with type 2 diabetes to find ways to reduce stress.

Dr. Joseph added, “Most people with Type 2 diabetes know the importance of exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet and getting plenty of rest. But stress relief is a crucial and often forgotten component of diabetes management.”

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Lowering your cortisol levels

The relationship of cortisol with glucose levels was only observed in those with diabetes.

So, what would the researchers advise?

“It’s important to find something you enjoy and make it a part of your everyday routine.”

Since stress relief is crucial for diabetes management, the key is to find ways to lower your stress levels, like:

• Yoga
• Taking a walk
• Reading a book
• Relaxing in a nightly bath
• Getting regular exercise

You might also consider taking supplements to combat stress…

• Rhodiola — A tonic herb to reduce stress and boost energy
• Ashwagandha (Indian Ginseng) — A common Ayurvedic remedy to help you adapt to stress
• Theanine — A natural compound in green and black tea to help relax the mind
• Phosphatidylserine (PS) and taurine — A supplement combo to enhance dopamine levels and calm the central nervous system.

Remember, stress and skyrocketing blood sugar goes hand-in-hand, especially if you’re already living with diabetes. So, use the tips above to ease anxiety, take back your calm and control your blood sugar.

Sources:

1. Study links stress hormone with higher blood sugar in Type 2 diabetes — EurekAlert!
2. 9 ways to tame anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic — Mayo Clinic
3. Supplements That Fight Stress — Doctor Oz

The post Cortisol: The forgotten blood sugar trigger appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But the mechanism behind the connection has been hard to figure out. After years of research, however, researchers believe they can answer why blood sugar problems and dementia are intertwined, and why people with diabetes may have a harder time escaping the buildup of beta-amyloid plaques — key hallmarks of Alzheimer’s.

Here’s what you need to know…

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Leaving beta-amyloid to be stored in the brain

A study led by researchers at Umeå University, Sweden, measured blood concentrations of beta-amyloids (known as Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42) and an enzyme that breaks down those plaque proteins, in a test group of people with type 2 diabetes versus a healthy control group.

To determine why diabetics are so much more likely to end up with plaques in the brain, the researchers gave both groups an infusion of glucose for four hours, to induce acute high blood sugar levels.

And as it turns out, while the bodies of the healthy control subjects began to immediately pump out that plaque-busting enzyme and break down the beta-amyloids — those with blood sugar problems weren’t so lucky.

In fact, the results showed that among the group with type 2 diabetes, there were no changes whatsoever. This means there was no increase in output of the enzyme needed to break down the plaque-forming proteins so the levels of beta-amyloid did not decrease.

In other words, when a healthy person experiences high blood sugar, their body goes into overdrive to prevent dementia.

But when people with type 2 diabetes have blood sugar spikes, beta-amyloid is allowed to form — without check — leaving it to be then stored in the brain where it could lead to cognitive decline, such as is seen in Alzheimer’s.

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Saving your brain from blood sugar dangers

So, if you’re living with blood sugar problems and want to keep your brain at its best, managing your blood sugar in check is a must. You may be under a doctor’s care, but there’s more you can do to improve your condition. Some people are even able to put type 2 diabetes in remission with lifestyle changes.

Here are some that can help:

1. Exercise – Physical activity helps to boost your insulin sensitivity and can help you shed a few pounds — an added bonus that can lead to better blood sugar maintenance.
2. Add more fiber and whole grains – Fiber is a disease-fighting must-have and great for improving blood sugar control. Choose whole grains to help reduce diabetes risk.
3. Take vitamin D – Vitamin D helps regulate insulin and insulin sensitivity. This, in turn, regulates blood sugar. So that means that having adequate vitamin D levels is very important.
4. Eat Mediterranean – The Mediterranean diet was voted the best diet for diabetes by U.S. News & World Report in 2019. Even better, research has shown it could have the power to prevent the buildup of those amyloid and tau proteins in the brain.
5. Snack on berries – Anthocyanins and rich levels of fiber are why berries have a powerful effect on blood sugar metabolism. Some of the best for promoting healthy blood sugar levels are aronia berries, blueberries and acai berries.

Sources:

Possible explanation for link between diabetes and Alzheimer’s – EurekAlert!

Mayo Clinic Minute: Is Alzheimer’s Type 3 diabetes? – Mayo Clinic

The post The Alzheimer’s-diabetes connection that may be hard to escape appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

It increases the risk of joint issues like osteoarthritis, breathing problems like asthma and sleep apnea, gallstones and gallbladder disease.

Obesity can also lead to heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, more than a dozen types of cancer and premature death.

Diet and exercise (or lack thereof) play a role in weight gain. But so do hormones, so any tip to make things just a little easier is golden, right?

Well, I have one for you that could help make fighting obesity as simple as adding this newly designated superfood to your diet…

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Pecans slay pesky pounds

A team of researchers from the United States and Mexico applied whole pecans, a pecan polyphenol extract and high-fat diets to mice models to see what impact they might have on the development of metabolic abnormalities.

According to the results, supplementing a high-fat diet with whole pecans or a pecan polyphenol extract

• Reduced fat mass by 44 percent and serum cholesterol by 40 percent;
• Enhanced glucose tolerance by 37 percent, prevented the enlargement of pancreatic islet cells;
• And increased oxygen consumption by 27 percent!

How do pecans work their magic?

The researchers found these beneficial effects were connected with increased activity of brown adipose tissue, a type of fat that actually burns calories, as well as mitochondrial oxidative metabolism in the liver and skeletal muscle.

And there’s more…

The researchers also observed anti-inflammatory properties in pecans. The mice fed pecans or pecan polyphenol extract showed a reduction in low-grade inflammation, which can lead to chronic inflammation and subsequent inflammation-related diseases.

Dr. Luis Cisneros-Zevallos, a professor at the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and affiliate scientist in the Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture, says the results show pecans maintain body weight and prevent diabetes despite consuming a high-fat diet.

“Obesity and diabetes numbers are increasing in modern society worldwide, and the trend in high fat diet consumption is one of the main reasons besides lifestyle and genetic predisposition,” Cisneros-Zevallos says. “People are searching for healthier options, and we have now shown pecans are a healthy tool consumers have in their hands.”

Due to this new functionality, the researchers indicate pecans can be designated a superfood that can be consumed directly or utilized as a functional food or dietary supplement.

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The superfood reputation stacks up

We often think of pecans as a holiday food. But given how healthy they are, they should be seen as a year-round treat.

For one thing, they’re loaded with monounsaturated fats, which help reduce the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. A previous study found that eating pecans lowered levels of both total cholesterol and LDL (the “bad” type of cholesterol) 10 percent more than a diet specifically designed to reduce cholesterol. And a second study showed that adding pecans to participants’ daily diet lowered cholesterol more effectively than exercise.

The minerals found in pecans help maintain and improve cognitive function. Pecans also contain antioxidants like flavonoids that help control the free radical damage that can lead to inflammation. And they’re a great source of copper and manganese, two hard-to-get trace minerals essential for bone health.

Pecans contain fiber, which contributes to good digestion, a healthy weight and improved blood sugar levels. Plus, pecans contain vitamin A, which protects the skin from premature aging, and zinc and vitamin E, which help keep skin clear.

Given all these benefits, plus their potential to combat obesity, it makes sense to add this superfood nut to your daily diet. But be careful — because of their high fat and carbohydrate content, pecans have a lot of calories. A one-ounce serving of pecans (roughly ¼ cup) contains about 201 calories.

To maintain a healthy diet, you’ll want to limit your intake to a small handful or two of plain, unsalted pecans a day. Even better, use that small handful or two to replace any less-healthy calorie-heavy snacks you find yourself eating too often.

Sources:

Pecans give obesity and diabetes a slim chance — EurekAlert!

Pecans and Its Polyphenols Prevent Obesity, Hepatic Steatosis and Diabetes by Reducing Dysbiosis, Inflammation, and Increasing Energy Expenditure in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet — Nutrients

Childhood Obesity Facts — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Nuts and your heart: Eating nuts for heart health — Mayo Clinic

The post The nut that slays pesky pounds, diabetes and high cholesterol appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

That’s because according to research at the University of British Columbia, carbohydrates aren’t the only macronutrient with an impact on insulin.

In fact, the proteins and fats in your diet can impact blood sugar in ways science has never characterized before.

Here’s everything you need to know about what they discovered, as well as a secret tip they found on how to use one of those nutrients to lower insulin if you’re living with diabetes.

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The truth about insulin

When most of us hear the term “insulin,” of course associate it with diabetes.

However, the truth is that this little hormone, which is produced by cells in our pancreas, plays an important role in our health that goes far beyond our blood sugar alone.

In fact, while insulin that is too low is a hallmark of diabetes, if it gets too high, it can lead to everything from obesity and metabolic syndrome to high triglycerides, hardening of the arteries and high blood pressure.

This means that in order to be at your best, you have to maintain a delicate balance when it comes to your insulin. And that’s where knowing how foods can affect insulin production can help…

Protein and fats can drive insulin

In the first large-scale comparison ever, British Columbia researchers looked at how different people produce insulin in response to each of the three macronutrients: carbohydrates (glucose), proteins (amino acids) and fats (fatty acids).

They conducted tests on pancreatic islets from 140 male and female donors across. As the islets were exposed to each of the three macronutrients, the researchers measured the insulin response along with 8,000 other proteins.

And as you would expect if you’re a carb-cutter, most donors’ islet cells had the strongest insulin response to carbohydrates — although many were also affected by proteins and fats as well.

The team found that approximately nine percent responded strongly to proteins. And another eight percent of cells were more responsive to fats than any other nutrient, including the glucose from carbs.

“This research challenges the long-held belief that fats have negligible effects on insulin release in everyone,” says study first author Dr. Jelena Kolic. “With a better understanding of a person’s individual drivers of insulin production, we could potentially provide tailored dietary guidance that would help people better manage their blood sugar and insulin levels.”

Put simply, doctors shouldn’t be treating all people the same, expecting the same results.

For some whose insulin is too high, proteins and fats could be just as much of a problem as carbohydrates.

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Help for Type 2 diabetes

And here’s where we get to the discovery that could help those of us living with blood sugar problems…

The research team also examined a subset of islet cells from donors who had Type 2 diabetes — where insulin is too low.

As expected, these donor cells had a low insulin response to glucose. However, the researchers were surprised to see that their insulin response to proteins remained largely intact.

“This really bolsters the case that protein-rich diets could have therapeutic benefits for patients with Type 2 diabetes and highlights the need for further research into protein-stimulated insulin secretion,” said Dr. Kolic.

So if you’re living with problems associated with insulin — whether too high or too low — be sure to look at your diet, and your body’s reaction to it, as a whole. This will allow you to cut back on the foods that seem to accelerate your health issues while upping the ones that give you good results.

And if you have Type 2 diabetes, you can put that protein secret to work for you by downing this “shot” before meals to lower blood sugar.

Sources:

Hyperinsulinemia — Cleveland Clinic

Proteins and fats can drive insulin production for some, paving way for tailored nutrition — ScienceDaily

The post Carbs aren’t the only macronutrient with an impact on blood sugar appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Not much, you’d probably say. They’re two seemingly unrelated conditions, right?

Not so fast.

The human body is more complex than that, and conditions that appear to be unrelated can have connections just below the surface that might surprise you… and that you should be aware of.

Medical experts have known a connection exists between type 2 diabetes and increased risk for heart disease, but protecting yourself isn’t so cut and dry.

That’s because having diabetes makes you especially vulnerable to the most dangerous heart attack of all — one you may not even be aware of until the damage is done.

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The story of a ‘silent’ heart attack

A man in his 50s woke early one morning sweating and with a sharp pain in his left wrist. He went back to sleep, and upon reawakening the symptoms were gone and did not return. He went on with his day.

When the man went to his doctor to report the incident, an electrocardiogram revealed that the man had indeed suffered a heart attack and had a partial blockage of one of his coronary arteries.

Roughly half of “silent” heart attacks occur without causing any symptoms whatsoever.

The other half, as in this case, cause symptoms other than the typical pain in the chest and left arm. Instead, you might experience sweating, heartburn, fatigue or lightheadedness.

By some estimates, roughly 1 in 4 heart attacks is “silent.” This is likely an undercount because many of these heart attacks go unreported.

Why diabetics are more vulnerable

One of the common complications of Type 2 diabetes is nerve damage (neuropathy) caused by elevated blood sugar levels.

Some diabetics may be familiar with neuropathy causing a burning tingling sensation in their feet.

But autonomic neuropathy affects the nerves that control our internal organs, including the heart.

Someone with cardiac autonomic dysfunction (CAD) could be having a “silent” heart attack and not feel the typical sensations of chest pain or tightness, but be suffering heart damage nonetheless. And if you don’t know you’re having a heart attack, you may not get the medical help you need to limit the damage.

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How to protect yourself

There are warning signs of CAD that involve other organs:

• Orthostatic hypotension (sudden lightheadedness upon standing)
• Gastroparesis (slow stomach emptying) where you feel full and bloated even hours after a meal
• Erectile dysfunction

If you have diabetes and suddenly start experiencing any of these, tell your doctor. It could save you from a heart attack.

Of course, managing diabetes well includes following the right diet. A meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies reviewed the differences among various diets’ effects in preventing type 2 diabetes. The authors concluded the DASH & Mediterranean diets were associated with strong potential and a 20 percent decrease in type 2 diabetes risk.

These diets are also high in antioxidant-rich foods known to improve glucose metabolism, decrease insulin resistance and improve vascular functions.

The Dash diet also lowers cholesterol and helps reduce weight — and lowers blood pressure, which is what it was developed for originally.

Those benefits fall in line with what the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases recommend for managing your ABCs, which can keep your blood vessels healthy and substantially lower your chances of having a heart attack…

A is for the A1C test. This test shows your average blood glucose level over the past three months. High levels of blood glucose can harm your heart and blood vessels.

B is for blood pressure. If your blood pressure gets too high, it makes your heart work too hard. High blood pressure can cause a heart attack or stroke and damage your kidneys and eyes.

C is for cholesterol. A buildup of cholesterol in your blood can cause a heart attack or stroke. Ask your doctor what your cholesterol numbers should be for your age group.

S is for stop smoking. Quitting smoking is especially important for people with diabetes because both smoking and diabetes narrow blood vessels and cause circulation trouble, so your heart has to work harder. E-cigarettes aren’t a safe option either.

Sources:

What to Know About Diabetes and the Risk of Silent Heart Attacks — Time

People With Diabetes Are More Vulnerable to Heart Disease. How to Reduce the Risk — Time

Cardiovascular Autonomic Neuropathy: Overview and More — Very Well Health

Autonomic neuropathy — American Diabetes Association

Diabetes, Heart Disease, & Stroke — National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

The post The link between diabetes and silent heart attacks appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

I’d like to introduce you to resveratrol’s less famous, yet equally impressive, cousin: pterostilbene.

It’s found in a lot of the same foods, but it has some definite advantages when it comes to supporting your health you’ll want to know all about…

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Pterostilbene: resveratrol’s first cousin

Pterostilbene is an antioxidant produced by plants to protect themselves against viruses, bacteria and fungi.

Its molecular structure is very similar to resveratrol. In fact, they’re like first cousins.

However, the pterostilbene molecule has two more connecting points. In practical terms, this means that it is more easily absorbed through the stomach lining and cell membranes, so it’s more bioavailable. And that means it’s more accessible to your body — and stays in your system longer.

But the biggest jewel in its crown may be that it can pass easily across the blood-brain barrier.

7 health benefits of pterostilbene

1. Antioxidant effects. It’s been shown to help reduce damage from free radicals. Not surprisingly, many of the other six potential health benefits are related to its powerful antioxidant effects…
2. Anti-inflammatory activity. Heart disease, diabetes, and cancer are just a few of the conditions associated with chronic inflammation. Pterostilbene inhibits the action of the inflammatory signaling molecules cyclooxygenase (COX) and pro-inflammatory cytokines, preventing them from building to excess levels that trigger inflammation.
3. Pain-relieving effects. The potential for pain relief has been demonstrated mainly in animal studies. Researchers are working to determine the dosage that would be both safe and high enough to decrease pain in humans.
4. Blood sugar balancing effects. Animal studies offer powerful evidence of this potential benefit. For example, when lab animals had all their dietary carbohydrates replaced with fructose (found in high-fructose corn syrup), pterostilbene was able to prevent any diabetic changes. It may be beneficial against insulin resistance.
5. Anti-obesity effects. The obesity epidemic is for real, and it’s looking like pterostilbene can help. Animal studies show that it can make white fat (the kind that causes obesity) behave more like brown fat (the kind that burns calories). And it can make brown fat burn even more calories.
6. Brain protecting effects. There’s still no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. But pterostilbene is among the natural substances that hold promise. One trial showed that it was able to reverse age-related cognitive decline in aged rats, as well as improve their memory. It’s thought that pterostilbene reduced the breakdown of acetylcholine, a key neurotransmitter that’s lost as cognitive decline and dementia occur.
7. Heart health benefits. Preliminary human trials point to the potential blood pressure-lowering effects of pterostilbene. With more research, it could take its place alongside other natural compounds already known for their heart benefits, such as CoQ10.

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Where you can find it

You can find pterostilbene in some of the same foods that contain resveratrol: blueberries, grapes (and red wine), cranberries, peanuts, and cocoa powder.

It’s also available in supplement form. Be sure to follow manufacturer guidelines on dosing or talk to a healthcare practitioner if you have questions.

Pterostilbene doesn’t seem to have any negative side effects, other than upset stomach or headache — if you happen to be allergic to it. An analysis of safety from a human clinical trial found no adverse drug reactions, but if you’re on medications and want to be sure, your pharmacist may be able to answer any questions.

Sources:

Pterostilbene: A Review on its Pharmacological Activities — Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology

Independent information about pterostilbene — Pterostilbene.com

Analysis of Safety from a Human Clinical Trial with Pterostilbene — Journal of Toxicology

The post 7 amazing benefits of pterostilbene appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

It can eventually lead to falls, infection and even amputation, and has a lifetime prevalence of more than 50 percent in people with diabetes.

A half a billion people globally have diabetes, which means at least 250 million people are suffering from DSPN.

And according to a recent study, many of them don’t even know, or know that they may have a syndrome that quadruples their risk for DSPN…

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Lack of diagnosis of neuropathy

“More than one-third of people with neuropathy experience sharp, prickling or shock-like pain, which increases their rates of depression and decreases quality of life,” says study author Dr. Melissa Elafros of the University of Michigan. “People with neuropathy also have an increased risk of earlier death, even when you take into account other conditions they have, so identifying and treating people with or at risk for neuropathy is essential.”

The study included 169 people from an outpatient internal medicine clinic serving mainly Medicaid patients in Flint, Michigan. The average age of the participants was 58, and 69 percent were Black. One-half of the participants had diabetes, and a total of 67 percent had metabolic syndrome.

The participants were tested for DSPN, and information about other health conditions was also collected.

According to the results:

• A total of 73 percent of the participants had neuropathy — and 75 percent of them had not been previously diagnosed, so were unaware they had the condition.
• Of those diagnosed with neuropathy, a whopping 74 percent had metabolic syndrome.
• Almost 60 percent of those with neuropathy were experiencing pain.
• Only 54 percent of those who did not have neuropathy had metabolic syndrome.

After adjusting for other factors that could affect neuropathy risk, the researchers found people with metabolic syndrome were more than four times more likely to have neuropathy than those who didn’t have the syndrome.

“The amount of people with neuropathy in this study, particularly undiagnosed neuropathy, was extraordinarily high with almost three-fourths of the study population,” Elafros says. “This highlights the urgent need for interventions that improve diagnosis and management of this condition, as well as the need for managing risk factors that can lead to this condition.”

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What to do about neuropathy

The treatment plan for peripheral neuropathy is usually to treat the condition that’s causing it, like diabetes. Your doctor may also prescribe pain medication if needed.

The results of this study also show the great impact metabolic syndrome has on neuropathy, and that managing these risk factors should be paramount.

Metabolic syndrome is defined as having excess belly fat plus two or more of the following risk factors:

• High blood pressure
• Higher than normal triglycerides
• High blood sugar
• Low HDL cholesterol (the “good” type)

A Mediterranean diet, rich in olive oil and fatty fish, has been shown to reverse the risk factors for metabolic syndrome.

And research indicates that fish oil may reduce neuropathic pain and can help lower high blood pressure and cholesterol and reduce insulin resistance.

There are also some natural ways to manage the pain caused by peripheral neuropathy, such as magnesium supplements. Magnesium decreases nerve pain by calming the neurotransmitter NMDA.

Finally, if you’re experiencing pain from diabetic neuropathy, you may want to add a vitamin D supplement to your daily regimen. Studies show people with painful diabetic neuropathy tend to have lower vitamin D levels than those without neuropathy, or whose neuropathy is painless.

If possible, get regular exercise. It can help relieve pain by releasing endorphins and reducing inflammation.

Click here for natural pain relievers and what the science says about them.

Sources:

Neuropathy very common, underdiagnosed — ScienceDaily

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Distal Symmetric Polyneuropathy Among Predominantly Non-Hispanic Black, Low-Income Patients — Neurology

Pathogenesis of Distal Symmetrical Polyneuropathy in Diabetes — Life

The post The syndrome that quadruples the risk of diabetic neuropathy appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

And that’s true…

After all, studies have shown that fat cells actually release hormones that fuel the growth of breast cancer. 

And they’ve determined that losing weight helps take the aggression out of breast cancer cells.

However, after doctors took a deep dive into data from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) randomized trial, it’s become clear that obesity alone does not drive breast cancer risk or the risk of death from the cancer.

In fact, the researchers say that there are actually four factors that work together to determine whether or not a breast cancer prognosis is poor, as well as mortality risk — and weight is only one of them.

The cancer dangers of metabolic syndrome

In addition to obesity, those factors include:

• High blood pressure
• Abnormal cholesterol
• Elevated blood sugar

And together, they make up a condition known as metabolic syndrome.

It’s a cluster of symptoms that have already been shown to boost your risk of heart-related problems and raise your kidney cancer risk by five times.

And now, it appears that the syndrome might just be behind a dangerous rise in breast cancer statistics.

A score of three or more signals danger

The study that discovered this link appeared in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

The analysis included 63,330 postmenopausal who were part of the WHI. All the women began the study with normal mammograms and zero history of breast cancer before being followed for an average of approximately 23 years.

At the beginning of the research, doctors assigned each woman a metabolic syndrome (MetS) score of 0-4 based on how many of the metabolic issues, such as high blood pressure or blood sugar issues they experienced.

And sure enough, more was definitely not better when it came to metabolic scoring, whether obesity was part of the picture or not.

The research showed that a higher MetS score (3–4), regardless of obesity, was associated with more poor-prognosis, estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, progesterone receptor (PR)-negative breast cancers. And those higher scores also came with a 44 percent higher risk of breast cancer mortality.

On the other hand, obesity, regardless of MetS score, was associated with more good-prognosis, ER-positive, and PR-positive cancers — except if the obesity was considered severe.

If a postmenopausal woman was about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, and weighing greater than 218 pounds, the risk of breast cancer mortality was higher.

In other words, MetS beats weight when it comes to increasing breast cancer and breast cancer mortality risks.

Screening for metabolic syndrome

The good news is that understanding your risk of breast cancer due to MetS is easy.

In fact , as study lead author Rowan T. Chlebowski, MD, PhD points out, “Determination of MetS scores in the clinic requires only three questions regarding cholesterol, diabetes, and hypertension history as well as waist circumference and blood pressure measurements, which are commonly determined during routine visits.”

There are even three simple diagnostics you can do at home to help determine whether you have the syndrome.

And there’s even more to feel good about since negative metabolic factors are completely treatable and even reversible with lifestyle factors…

A few easy tips for fighting MetS include:

• Boosting vitamin D – The sunshine vitamin helps your body make defensins, an internal antibiotic that keeps bad bacteria in your gut in check. And when your gut is healthy, metabolic syndrome has a hard time getting a foothold in your body.
• Sipping away metabolic problems – Green tea is full of an antioxidant called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) that has anti-inflammatory effects, protecting the heart and brain, promoting weight loss, and controlling blood pressure.
• Doing a diet DASH – The DASH diet has been shown to dramatically lower diabetes risk, reduce cholesterol and blood pressure and help with weight loss — the four factors that makeup MetS.
• Exercise – Previous research has shown that if fat cells are releasing cancer-causing hormones into your body, your first priority should be to get rid of some of those fat cells, and exercise works when it comes to fighting breast cancer. Here are 5 scientifically backed ways it offers protection. And more research has shown that exercise is the single best habit for a breast cancer-free future.

Remember, to reduce breast cancer risk, it takes more than weight loss. Focus on all four of the MetS factors — including blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and obesity — for better overall health, breast health and cancer prevention.

Sources:

How do obesity and metabolic syndrome affect women’s risks of breast cancer and cancer-related death? — EurekAlert!

The post 4 factors that weigh heavy on breast cancer risk and death appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But what if your doctor tells you that your cholesterol is “borderline high”?  Can you just simply “watch” your readings?

First a bit of background: The CDC defines high cholesterol as a total cholesterol of 240 mg/dL or higher.  Normal total cholesterol is defined as a number under 200 mg/dL. “Borderline” readings fall between 200 and 239 milligrams per deciliter. 

If you’ve been told your total cholesterol is “borderline high,” you’re not alone. Turns out, borderline high cholesterol is a common scenario, with about 85 million Americans clocking in between 200 and 239 mg/dL.

If you don’t know what your cholesterol levels are, you can ask for a blood test at your next primary care appointment. If you haven’t had one for a while, rechecking it is a good idea… 

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All about cholesterol readings

As a reasonable rule of thumb, you should have your cholesterol checked once in childhood, twice in your twenties, three times in your thirties, four times in your forties, at least five times in your 50s and yearly thereafter, assuming your cholesterol numbers are acceptable. If at any point they’re elevated or “borderline,” more frequent checks may be necessary.

Coming back to borderline readings: If your total cholesterol level falls between 200 and 239 mg/dL, here’s one important fact you need to know: The number that defines whether a cholesterol reading qualifies as “borderline elevated” or “high” is somewhat arbitrary. There’s nothing magical about the number 239 mg/dL that makes it radically different from 240 mg/dL. Cholesterol numbers fall on a continuum.

So it’s not a matter of absolutely needing to go on medications at 240 mg/dL and being in the clear at 239 mg/dL. It’s far more nuanced than that…

And this is where considering the fuller picture becomes important. For example:

• Do you have other risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar levels or smoking?
• Is there a strong family history of heart disease? 

The more non-cholesterol risk factors you have, the more significant ANY number over 200 mg/dL becomes. 

Simply “watching” your cholesterol numbers is therefore an unwise strategy as elevated cholesterol readings, whether watched or not, only add to your already elevated risk profile.

Next, look at your cholesterol test results a little more closely. The total cholesterol number is just that — a TOTAL.  This means it is made up of components, specifically good (HDL) cholesterol, bad (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides (TG, mostly fatty particles).  This means you can have various combinations of the three components and end up with the same total cholesterol reading. 

The formula for how these values relate to each other is as follows: Total cholesterol = LDL + HDL + TG/5

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Look at the big picture and relax

So if your total cholesterol is elevated, is it the HDL or LDL cholesterol that’s driving it?

If HDL is high while LDL is low (LDL falling at or below 100 mg/dL would be ideal) — and you don’t have other heart disease risk factors (or very high TGs) — relax:  Even though your total cholesterol is elevated, it does not represent a significant risk factor for developing heart disease.

Now, if it’s the LDL that’s high (regardless of HDL results), the scenario is different, and you need to really pay attention and try to get this number lower. The good news is that most people can see meaningful LDL reductions with a few simple lifestyle changes, thus avoiding the need for medications.

This list won’t come as any surprise to regular readers: If you smoke, quit. Get regular exercise. And eat a whole food, plant-based diet. Step One Foods makes it easier to eat this way.  In fact, our products are clinically proven to lower LDL cholesterol. They’re a great place to start if your cholesterol levels are abnormal but you’re not already following a full-on plant-based Mediterranean diet or if you find the idea of comprehensive dietary change a bit overwhelming.

If your cholesterol is in that murky middle range, your doctor may also advise you to get a coronary artery calcium scan, which is an imaging test of your heart that can determine how much plaque may have built up in your arteries. (If you’re unsure about getting this scan, here’s everything you need to know.) 

In my own practice, I use this test quite frequently because it’s a great way to segment out people at very low risk of heart events that can safely defer going on medications.

Sometimes people have abnormal/borderline cholesterol readings that will not budge despite their best lifestyle efforts. If that’s you, please don’t despair! There’s so much more to heart disease risk — and to health maintenance in general — that goes far beyond a cholesterol result! 

Please know that if you’re living in a way that should help lower cholesterol (even if it doesn’t), you’re also living in a way that helps lower blood pressure, improve blood sugar control, prevent cancer and reduce your chances of developing dementia.

Regardless of whether your cholesterol levels are high, borderline or perfect, doing your best around lifestyle is NEVER a wasted effort.

The post What is borderline cholesterol, and what should I do about it? appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

And what’s even more amazing is how improving one shortfall can make a huge difference — even a lifesaving one.

That’s the story I’m going to tell you today.

It’s a twisted tale of how bad sleep can trump a healthy diet and set the stage for type 2 diabetes…

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Poor sleep, poor blood sugar

While you’re asleep, restorative processes take place. If your sleep is interrupted or cut short, so are these important processes.

If you regularly get less than 7.5 hours of restorative sleep per night, you’re facing the likelihood of developing chronic conditions such as heart disease, kidney disease and hypertension — and diabetes.

Research has already proven that the brain waves produced in deep sleep actually predict glucose control for the next day!

Now a new study has succeeded in pinpointing an association between how long you sleep and your likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes, even when following a healthy diet…

Using data from the UK Biobank, a large biomedical database that serves as a global resource for health and medical research, an international research team followed the health outcomes of 247,867 adults for more than a decade.

They found that although healthy eating habits were associated with a lower overall risk of diabetes, in people who slept less than six hours a day, the risk of type 2 diabetes increased compared to people in the normal sleep category (getting at least 7.5 hours of sleep).

And the lower the sleep duration, the higher those risks went:

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How are sleep and blood sugar connected?

The researchers believe two main factors that could explain their findings…

First, sleep deprivation often leads to an increase in inflammatory markers and free fatty acids in the blood, both of which make the body less responsive to insulin, leading to insulin resistance.

Second, people whose sleep is interrupted, including shift workers, experience disruptions to their body’s natural circadian rhythm.

This can interfere with the release of hormones that meet the body’s energy needs and help keep blood glucose balanced throughout the day. These include glucagon and cortisol.

The daytime secret to better sleep

If you’re concerned about type 2 diabetes, or if you already have pre-diabetes and sleep trouble — this is a wake-up call to work on better sleep.

Exercise may be the help you need — in more ways than one. Recent research has found moderate to vigorous daytime activity can help you feel less tired, have less troubled sleep and better-quality sleep. But that’s not all…

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that some simple lifestyle changes resulted in a 58 percent reduction in the development of type 2 diabetes, compared with the use of the drug metformin.

Those lifestyle changes included:

• Exercise! Walking, biking or swimming are all great low-impact exercises that can help control blood sugar.
• Reducing weight.
• Eating healthier. Choose minimally processed foods, healthy fats, and plant-based proteins.
• And reducing alcohol intake.

Sources:

Scientists Identify a Link Between Sleep And Type 2 Diabetes Risk — Science Alert

Habitual Short Sleep Duration, Diet, and Development of Type 2 Diabetes in Adults — JAMA Network Open

Does Insufficient Sleep Increase the Risk of Developing Insulin Resistance: A Systematic Review —California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences and Psychology

The post Why sleep trouble can lead to blood sugar trouble appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

In fact, according to Professor Ashok Venkitaraman, cancer researcher and Director of CSI Singapore, “Cancer is caused by the interaction between our genes and factors in our environment, such as diet, exercise, and pollution. How such environmental factors increase cancer risk is not yet very clear, but it is vital to understand the connection if we are to take preventive measures that help us stay healthy longer.”

Now, his latest research may have delivered just such an understanding — showing exactly how the diet we eat can drive cancer development, whether we are genetically predisposed to it, or not.

A chemical product of glucose breakdown

To find the common link between poor diet, diseases like diabetes and cancer, scientists recruited participants at high risk of breast and ovarian cancers, due to the inheritance of a faulty cancer gene known as BRCA2.

They saw that the cells of these patients were highly sensitive to a chemical called methylglyoxal that’s produced by our cells when they break down glucose (sugar) from the foods we eat to create energy.

They also saw that when methylglyoxal comes into contact with our DNA, it causes faults, or errors, in our genes that are early warning signs that cancer is on its way.

Now before you say, “Okay, but those people were genetically predisposed to cancer” there’s more…

The team then tested this newly discovered link in people who had not inherited that faulty BRCA2 gene.

And once again, they found a problem when methylglyoxal from glucose came into play…

These patients (without a genetic cancer risk) could experience higher-than-normal levels of methylglyoxal — especially if they had diabetes or pre-diabetes, which are connected with obesity or poor diet — and accumulate similar warning signs indicating a higher risk of developing cancer.

According to Dr. Li Ren Kong, “We started the study aiming to understand what factors elevate risk in families susceptible to cancer but ended up discovering a deeper mechanism linking an essential energy consumption pathway to cancer development. These findings raise awareness of the impact of diet and weight control in the management of cancer risks.”

Breaking the sugar/cancer connection

This means that if you want to reduce your risk of cancer (whether or not you’re at a genetic risk for the disease) changing your diet and reducing sugar is a must!

In fact, past studies have even found that highly energy-dense foods — like those packed with sugar – can raise cancer risk in post-menopausal women by 10%.

It’s why scientists have been exploring the anti-cancer potential of the keto diet, which is very low in sugar, with extremely positive results.

And it’s why the fast-mimicking diet, which puts your body into a fasting state while being able to eat, has been shown to shrink tumors and reduce the damage of chemo.

So remember, cancer isn’t just in your genes, it’s tied to sugar and its disease effects on the body.

A recent study found that people with diabetes can reduce nine cancer-related proteins through diet and weight loss.

Sources:

Scientists uncover a missing link between poor diet and higher cancer risk — ScienceDaily

The post The chemical connection between diet, diabetes and cancer appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

Every other time you test, your levels seem to be within range…

But those morning levels, sometimes they are sky high and it puts you in a panic, questioning what on earth you may be doing wrong.

Firstly, stop panicking — morning rises are a common occurrence in diabetics. However, it is important to understand why it happens and what you can do about it…

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The dawn phenomenon

Logically you’d think that your blood sugar reading should be at its lowest in the morning. After all, you’ve eaten nothing and done nothing but sleep. But regardless of whether you eat, glucose production continues anyway…

The reason for this is your body’s cells need fuel for your heart to beat, your brain to work and your organs to keep functioning. When you don’t eat, or when you’re asleep, the body can break down stores of available glucose (glycogenolysis) or enter a process called gluconeogenesis — a process that can use non-carbohydrate stores such as amino acids to produce glucose.

Various hormones such as glucagon, growth hormone and cortisol, are also involved in raising glucose levels. To wake you up every morning, your body naturally activates these hormones from around 3 am onwards, which explains why it’s called the dawn phenomenon.

In people without diabetes, insulin would normally counteract these hormones to prevent excessive glucose production. But since the insulin response and insulin sensitivity are altered in diabetes, your body may not compensate effectively.

The Somogyi effect

There is another phenomenon called the “Somogyi effect” or “rebound hyperglycemia.” This is when your body’s glucose levels decrease during the night (nocturnal hypoglycemia), which activates your emergency system, sending messages to hormones, like cortisol and glucogen to stimulate glucose production.

This can result in quite dramatic increases to blood sugar levels and morning readings. The Somogyi effect is more common in those who are insulin-dependent.

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How to lower morning levels

Gaining tight control over your daily blood sugar levels by eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, stressing less and getting good quality sleep, will all help control your morning readings.

But there is one simple trick that may help even more… especially with the dawn phenomenon.

In patients with non-insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes, researchers managed to reduce morning glucose levels by 4 to 6 percent. That means if your morning glucose is around 130 mg/dl, it would decrease to about 122 mg/dl.

What did they do?

Before bed, they gave patients two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar mixed with water, along with one ounce of cheese, which is just one slice of cheese.

Apple cider vinegar contains acetic acid, which is what researchers believe causes most of the effect. Other studies have shown that acetic acid reduces post-meal glucose levels and A1c, along with improving insulin sensitivity and insulin response.

Give this simple bedtime trick a try yourself. It’s easy to do and you never know… tomorrow you might wake up with lower morning levels, too.

Sources:

1. White, et al. Vinegar Ingestion at Bedtime Moderates Waking Glucose Concentrations in Adults With Well-Controlled Type 2 Diabetes — Diabetes Care. 2007;30(11):2814-2815.
2. Johnston, et al. Preliminary evidence that regular vinegar ingestion favorably influences hemoglobin A1c values in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus — Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice. 2009;84:e15-e17.
3. Johnston, et al. Vinegar Improves Insulin Sensitivity to a High-Carbohydrate Meal in Subjects With Insulin Resistance or Type 2 Diabetes — Diabetes Care. 2004;27(1).
4. Mettler, et al. Additive postprandial blood glucose–attenuating and satiety-enhancing effect of cinnamon and acetic acid — Nutrition Research. 2009;29:723–727.

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