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Healthy behaviors
It is important to diagnose and treat GDM as it can have serious short and long term health consequences for both you and your baby. Don’t worry needlessly, however, if you have been told you have gestational diabetes. There are a lot of things you and your doctor and/or health team can do to keep you and your baby healthy both during the pregnancy and afterwards.
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Filed Under:
Diabetes , Pregnancy and overweight/obesity, Weight loss (benefits), Overweight/obesity, Insulin resistance, Gestational diabetes, Hormones, Calorie counting, Portion control, Healthy eating, Carbohydrates, Complications of obesity, Serving size, Weight loss, Healthy behaviors
The hike started with a 2,000 foot climb to a saddle between two mountain peaks. We climbed and climbed. My attitude stunk. I kept thinking I should just admit it was too hard for me and pack it in before it was too late to turn around. We hit the half-way point of the climb and I was just about to say, “I’m going back,” when my husband said, “let me carry your pack—I can carry your pack under my pack.” Relieved of this weight on my back, I started to climb again. We had to cross three or four snow fields—carefully putting our feet in the footprints left by the guides. Two hours later, we hit the top of the saddle and before us lay a beautiful meadow gradually descending as far as the eye could see. We had another 5 hours of hiking in front of us, but it was all downhill from there.
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Exercise (benefits), Weight loss behaviors, Inspiration/motivation, Fitness, Healthy behaviors
The take home message. Don't just assume, if you are a diabetic, that you cannot or should not exercise. If your cardiovascular risk is low and you do not have diabetes complications, such as nerve or eye disease, physical activity can have many beneficial effects on your current and future health.
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Filed Under:
Exercise (benefits), Weight loss behaviors, Diabetes , Tools, Fitness, Weight loss (benefits), Pre-diabetes, Metabolic syndrome, Research on obesity/overweight, Healthy behaviors, Prevention of diabetes
This study adds to the growing body of evidence that suggests when it comes to LDL, lower is better. Although the authors point out further studies are needed to prove it definitively, I suspect we will see the major medical organizations, including the American Diabetes Association, coming out with stronger recommendations regarding attaining even lower targets of LDL (i.e., less than 70 mg/dl) for people with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. If you fall into this category, take some time to discuss these new findings with your doctor. When it comes to management of diabetes, it is important to “know your numbers and know your target.”
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Filed Under:
Diabetes , Lipids, Medications (diabetes and pre-diabetes), Cholesterol, Healthy behaviors
Fiber, sometimes called roughage, is an important dietary component that is often under-consumed in our modern “fast food” lifestyles. In ancient times, dietary fiber was commonly ingested as primitive man foraged for wild, fiber rich vegetables and fruits. Today, we forage for food at Mickey D’s, Jack-in-the-Box, and the frozen food section of the supermarket. Most of us ingest less than 20% of the amount of fiber that our early ancestors ate. Even as recently as the beginning of this century, fiber rich foods were commonplace in our eat-at-home meals. Today, all too frequently, our fiber consists of a limp, mayonnaise-slathered wisp of lettuce laying on top of a double cheeseburger.
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Filed Under:
Weight loss behaviors, Lipids, Benefits or hazards of certain foods, Food labels, Insulin resistance, Nutrition, Healthy eating, Carbohydrates, Weight loss, Healthy behaviors, Vegetables, Fiber
In the old days, say about 20 or 30 years ago, people went to the doctor to get their questions answered and their problems solved. The doctor “owned” the knowledge. We paid to get it. Seemed to work…or did it? We have come to understand that, even today, the answers you get and the treatments that are recommended may be based more on your doctor’s opinion or belief than on hard core evidence.
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Filed Under:
Diabetes , Public health, Tools, Heart disease, Weight loss, Healthy behaviors
There is debate in the medical literature about how frequently dieters should weigh themselves. Proponents of frequent weighing (e.g., daily) believe it an important behavior that helps keep dieters on track. Opponents fret about the negative impact of frequent weigh-ins on mood and body image. What is the evidence?
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Filed Under:
Weight loss behaviors, Overweight/obesity, Research on obesity/overweight, Weight loss, Healthy behaviors
But, hey, if I have to pay for it out of my pocket, I am going to get what I want, how I want it and when I want it. If I can get it for free on the net in the middle of the night, I say, bring it on. “Health On Demand,” now this will usher in the age of real consumer directed health care
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Public health, Tools, Health insurance, Social commentary, Healthy behaviors
Steve decided to do the walk after his weight peaked at 410 pounds and he found himself unable to walk across a department store. He was only 40 years old. He, like many of us struggling with weight, had a personal story behind his weight gain. He had accidently killed two elderly pedestrians a number of years ago. He was swamped with guilty feelings that he tried to drown with food. He gained 150 pounds in the year or so after the accident. It was a "tipping point" in his life. He decided to walk across America...all 3,000 + miles.
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Filed Under:
Exercise (benefits), Weight loss behaviors, Inspiration/motivation, Overweight/obesity, Weight loss, Healthy behaviors
Since obesity and insulin resistance are both associated with high uric acid levels, it follows that weight loss may be helpful in reducing gout attacks. Indeed, the results of small study suggests that weight reduction may decrease uric acid levels and the risk of gout.
So, once again, the medical literature points out that attaining and maintaining a healthy weight has benefits beyond getting into our skinny jeans. For anyone who has lived through a gout attack, the prospect of preventing another is added impetus to shed the pounds.
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Filed Under:
Diabetes , Benefits or hazards of certain foods, Weight loss (benefits), Overweight/obesity, Insulin resistance, Complications of obesity, Weight loss, Healthy behaviors
Have you ever finished a day at the computer (coffee and donut at hand) and felt like the only part of you that moved all day was your fingers? If so, you aren’t alone. It is estimated that at least 70% of the US population experiences less than 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per day. And, although, we likely consume fewer calories than in the distant past, our energy balance is out of whack and the pounds pile on.
It is important to remember that the problem is not just consuming too many calories, it is also about a physical activity deficiency. In fact, scientists have documented an independent effect of diet and exercise on weight loss.
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Filed Under:
Exercise (benefits), Weight loss behaviors, Genetics, Public health, Overweight/obesity, Research on obesity/overweight, Weight loss, Healthy behaviors
One reason for this is that obese people make cholesterol at higher rates than do lean people. So the contribution of dietary cholesterol is less important than that being produced internally. The report goes on to state that "the most effective way for obese people to normalize their blood lipids is to lose weight."
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Filed Under:
Lipids, Dietary Fat, Weight loss (benefits), Cholesterol, Healthy behaviors
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