Diabetes Treatment Enters A New Phase

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New guidelines for treating Type 2 diabetes call for the use of one of the newer diabetes medicines rather than Metformin in order to help reduce weight and protect the heart and kidneys.  Many people suffer from hypertension, kidney disease and obesity along with Type 2 diabetes so this should be welcome news that these new drugs can help with that.  “It’s a fundamental departure from the classical approach of trying to fix the blood sugars, which is what we used to focus on because it’s all we could really do,†Dr. Marie McDonnell, director of the diabetes program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, told the Wall Street Journal.   The new drugs belong to two classes known by the acronyms SGLT-2 and GLP-1.  The changes are being made so doctors can tailor the drug to the patient, rather than have a one-size-fits-all strategy, according to Dr. Nuha Ali El Sayed, an endocrinologist at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.  He is also VP of healthcare improvement at the American Diabetes Association.

Scientists Discover Ways To Eat Healthier

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Researchers on the nutrition front are discovering that setting a couple of rules are more helpful than getting people to commit to more broader resolutions such as to eat healthier foods.  These can be simple things like eating with other people and remembering that grocery shopping online can be better than going to the store  Clearly something must be done.  One in 7 Americans has Type 2 Diabetes and nearly three quarters of Americans fit the official definition of being overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC.  Some recent surveys showed that obesity rates rose even faster during the pandemic than they have historically.  Making a grocery list of healthy foods and then ordering them online is a much better idea than in-store buying, which often results in impulse purchases of junk food, said the researchers.  Studies have also shown that when eating with friends or family, we tend to make more rounded meals including vegetables, dietitian Barbara Mayfield told the Wall Street Journal.  Also, make sure that you get at least six and a half hours of sleep.  The more hours you are awake the more time you have to eat and researchers found that people who didn’t sleep enough gained weight.

Diabetes A Huge Problem In The United States

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Despite numerous advances in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes over the past five decades, the disease has grown at an alarming rate.  One in seven Americans have the disease, up from one in 20 in the 1970’s.  Researchers have come to the sad conclusion that there is no drug powerful enough to counter the impact of poverty, pollution, stress, and a broken food system.  “Our entire society is perfectly designed to create Type 2 Diabetes,†Dr. Dean Schillinger, a professor of medicine at University of California, San Francisco, told The Wall Street Journal.  “We have to disrupt that,†he said.  He was part of a team of experts who gave Congress a road map of how to address the growing number of diabetics earlier this year, the first since 1975.  Hopefully, Congress will act on the report which was issued in January.

Reduce Weight And Cut Your Cardiovascular risk Factors

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Obesity is a huge problem in our country, and can lead to heart attack, stroke , high blood pressure and many other negative health impacts.  Lowering your cholesterol and limiting alcohol can also reduce your risk of a major cardiovascular event like a heart attack.  The odds of getting cardiovascular disease in our 60’s are high.  77.5% of males and 75.4% of females between the ages of 60 to 79 have it, according to the American Heart Association (AHA).  Common symptoms of a heart attack are chest pain or discomfort, shortness of breath, feeling faint or weak, and pain in your jaw, neck, back arms or shoulders.  Other signs include unexplained fatigue, nausea, vomiting and light-headedness.  “Even as little as a 5 to 10 percent decrease in your body weight can have a huge effect on your blood pressure and other risk factors,†Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones, president of the AHA, told AARP Bulletin (August-September Issue, page 51).

Monterey, CA Seniors Need To Stick To A Healthy Diet Or Risk Alzheimer’s, Dementia

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We all know that processed foods aren’t good for you.  More proof of this come from the Alzheimer’s Association, which did a presentation at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in San Diego to show the audience proof from various studies which showed that food like instant noodles, sugary drinks and frozen meals all play a role in cognitive decline.  “It’s no secret that physical and mental cognitive health are intimately involved with each other, so it’s no surprise that this latest research suggests brain impairment too,†Rafael Perez-Escamilla, a professor of public health at Yale University, told the audience.  “Just 100 calories of processed foods can affect your physical health.  So, that’s two cookies,†he continued.  Other research has linked ultra-processed food consumption to health problems such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancers.  Try the Mediterranean Diet, it’s great for your health and delicious.  Regular readers of my blog know that both my father and grandmother had this terrible disease when they passed away.  If you need information or just someone to talk to, there are some wonderful people at the Monterey branch of the Alzheimer’s Association in Ryan Ranch.  They also have a 24-hour hotline at 1-800-272-3900.

Monterey, CA Obesity A Big Problem In America

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Obesity is a huge problem for Americans, and some people are just accepting the condition rather than fighting it.   “We consider fat a part of human body diversity,†Tigress Osborn, chair of the nonprofit National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, told USA Today.

In 2005, the U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona declared obesity a bigger threat to America than terrorists, but our government has done very little to regulate food marketing, reduce demand by increasing taxes or adding the kind of nutrition labels to decrease junk food consumption.  Currently, 42% of Americans fit the medical definition of being obese (having a body mass index of 30 or greater).  Many types of cancer are linked to obesity.  So is heart, liver and kidney disease.  And people with obesity run an 80% higher risk of developing diabetes.  Many people swear by the Mediterranean Diet to lose weight.  It consists of delicious foods like lamb, chicken, beef, olive oil, fresh fruit, vegetables and nuts.  Montage or Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP) has some great information on their website about weight loss.

Seniors Tend To Eat Less, Gain Weight As They Age : AARP Explains

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As people get into their 50’s and 60’s they tend to eat less.   However, it is still difficult to lose weight.  AARP’s new book, “The Whole Body Reset,†shows that protein is the secret to better health and more energy.  Starting at the age of 60 or so, our metabolic rate begins to drop at a rate of 0.7 percent per year.  And studies show that if seniors fail to get 25-30 grams of protein in the morning are likely to stay in muscle-loss mode all day.  The AARP book recommends that women eat 25 grams of protein in the morning (and men 30) and have at least one daily snack with at least 7 grams of protein.

Obesity Is A Growing Problem In This Country

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Obesity can lead to a number of health problems including diabetes, heart disease and strokes.  One issue that can easily be tackled is to stop drinking sugary beverages.  A 20-ounce bottle of cola contains 65 grams of sugar—five times as much as a typical glazed donut.  Even things that you think are healthy might be a bad choice.  Store-bought orange juice has as much sugar as soda!  Try switching to sparkling water with lemon or making your own iced tea.

Colorful Fruits And Vegetables Can Ward Off Obesity And Even Dementia

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Each day should include at least one helping—a small side salad or a half-cup serving of cooked green vegetables–in order to ensure you get enough B vitamin folate.  Folate plays a crucial role in battling hearing loss and depression in mature adults.  In a study of postmenopausal women, those who were overweight averaged 12 percent less folate in their blood than normal-weight women; those who were obese had 22% less (AARP The Magazine, March/April 2022 Issue, page 36).

Weighing In At Doctor’s Visits Becoming Increasingly Rare

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For some doctors, gone are the days when one of the first things a patient had to do during a regular exam was to jump on the scale.  More doctors are de-emphasizing weight as a barometer of the health of a patient.  Health professionals say they are trying to avoid stigmatizing patients who may not want to come in for regular exams because they are embarrassed with being overweight.  “There’s a trend in healthcare to understand that weight isn’t the be-all and end-all,†Natasha Bhuyan, a primary care physician and regional medical director at One Medical, told the Wall Street Journal.