April 16 - 30, 2016
HEALTH & WELLNESS
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY
It’s about health
By Roger Elmes
A simple explanation
In very basic terms your
body seeks to maintain your
blood sugar levels within a very
narrow and safe range. When
it rises, your pancreas excretes
insulin to bring the blood sugar
levels back to the safe range. If
your diet consistently gives you
too many of the wrong carbohydrates, you consistently spike
your insulin until eventually your
body becomes “insensitive” to
its own insulin and you develop
Metabolic Syndrome (Met Syn)
and then Type 2 Diabetes.1
So don’t spike your insulin
– it’s that simple. How do you
avoid this? Here is the thumbnail
sketch of preventing and managing diabetes. First, shop around
the outside of your supermarket
– this is where you typically find
the real, whole food, while the
“fake” processed food is found in
the interior aisles. It is truly amazing how much carbohydrates
and sugars that spike your blood
sugar are found in most processed foods. Second, keep carb
consumption to low or moderate
levels and understand which of
them spike your blood sugar to
unsafe levels. Third, eat a balanced diet at regular intervals.
Fourth, stay away from all junk
food. Fifth, maintain a healthy
weight and Body Mass Index
(BMI) by exercising regularly. Remember muscle burns fat.
Glycemic Index
The Human Nutrition Unit,
Preventing Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2
Diabetes; and Managing Diabetes
School of Molecular Bioscience,
University of Sydney in Australia
is responsible for creating the
Glycemic Index (GI), conducting
research on the GI of foods and
maintaining extensive databases.
www.glycemicindex.com They
define the GI as “a ranking of
carbohydrates on a scale from 0
to 100 according to the extent to
which they raise blood sugar levels after eating. Foods with a high
GI are those which are rapidly digested and absorbed and result
in marked fluctuations in blood
sugar levels. Low-GI foods, by
virtue of their slow digestion and
absorption, produce gradual rises in blood sugar and insulin levels, and have proven benefits for
health. Low GI diets have been
shown to improve both glucose
and lipid levels in people with diabetes (type 1 and type 2). They
have benefits for weight control
because they help control appetite and delay hunger. Low GI diets also reduce insulin levels and
insulin resistance”. 2
Why is this topic so important in relation to weight control
and insulin spiking? Leptin is a
hormone produced by fat cells.
It plays a role in indicating to
the brain the degree of hunger.
Lower levels of leptin signal the
brain that you have a decreased
sense of hunger. In a clinical
study it was determined that the
GI for Kellogg’s Corn Flakes is
125 and for General Mills Fiber
One it is 49. Ten young healthy
volunteers, after a 12 hour overnight fast, received randomly at
two separate times either the
Corn Flakes (high GI)or the Fiber One (low GI). Blood samples
were taken every 30 minutes for
2 hours. Leptin production was
dramatically reduced by the high
GI Corn Flakes compared to the
low GI Fiber One. This demonstrates that low GI foods can
create a sense of satiation while
high GI foods cannot.3 In other
words if you eat high GI foods
you feel hungrier and eat more
high GI foods and so on and so
on. Eat more high GI foods and
spike your insulin again … and
again … and again.
Know what you are putting
into your body.
This is not new information.
For example, between 1999 and
2009 I summarized over 50 studies on diabetes and metabolic
syndrome.4 But it is information
that a lot of people are ignoring
and we are seeing the word “epidemic” applied to diabetes.
The GI centre notes: “Recent studies from Harvard
School of Public Health indicate
that the risks of diseases such
as type 2 diabetes and coronary
heart disease are strongly related
to the GI of the
overall diet. In
1999, the World
Health Organisation (WHO)
and Food and
Agriculture Or-
ganisation (FAO) recommended
that people in industrialised
countries base their diets on lowGI foods in order to prevent the
most common diseases of affluence, such as coronary heart
disease, diabetes and obesity”.5
This is an excellent, reliable site,
based on solid research. On their
site you can find a handy low GI
shopping list, meal plans, recipes, and a brochure on the GI
index – go to www.gisymbol.com
click on “Resources” and then
on “Resources - Consumers”.
You can easily use the tools they
provide to choose carbohydrates
sensibly. And remember stay
away from those interior aisles of
your supermarket.
Know what you are putting
into your body.
Managing Diabetes
Consult your physician
about your care and diet. Switch
from high GI to low GI foods. For
example, eat only Basmati or
certified low GI white or brown
rice; eat sweet potatoes instead
of regular white potatoes. Keep
your carbohydrate portions low
to moderate. Eat regular low GI
meals on a good schedule so
that insulin spiking is minimized
and so that you avoid cravings
PROTECT YOUR CHILD:
FOLLOW THE BC RECOMMENDED
IMMUNIZATION SCHEDULE
SURREY
– Approximately one in three
children in Fraser Health have
not completed
the recommended immunizations by two years
of age. With that in mind,
Fraser Health reminds parents and caregivers about
the importance of following the recommended BC
immunization schedule.
“Receiving all immunizations according to the
recommended schedule is
the most effective way to
avoid contracting vaccinepreventable
infections,”
says Fraser Health medical
health officer Shovita Padhi.
“Make it a priority to review
your child’s immunization
record regularly to ensure
they are protected.”
B3
In British Columbia,
routine childhood immunizations are free, safe and
recommended to be given
at two, four, six, 12 and
18 months. A follow-up
immunization known as a
‘booster’ is provided at four
years of age.
Children are not
considered to be fully protected against vaccinepreventable diseases until
they have completed the
recommended immunizations. To make an immunization appointment, call
your family physician or local Public Health Unit.
For more information
on vaccinations and wher