SKIPPING BREAKFAST CAN INCREASE RISK OF
DIABETES 30+%
No time
for breakfast and too
much TV time can trigger
diabetes. Fitness
magazine, in its April
edition, reports on
nine, surprising
diabetes risk factors.
The disease affects 21
million people in the
United States. Skipping
breakfast increases our
risk 30-50 percent and
watching TV for two or
more hours per day
boosts it 14 percent,
according to Fitness.
Pam O'Brien, the
magazine's article
director, says the main
reason for the story was
to point out that people
can lower their risk in
about a month. As a
former no-breakfast
type, O'Brien began
forcing herself to eat
breakfast a few years
ago and has felt much
better since. ''So many
of us skip breakfast
because we're busy and
just grab a cup of
coffee,'' she says,
describing her own
former habit. ''It's one
of the worst things you
can do. People that eat
high-fiber cereals
respond better to
insulin.''
Diabetes,
according to the
American Diabetes
Association, is caused
when, ''– the body
doesn't produce or
properly use insulin.''
Insulin converts
starches and sugars into
fuel for the body. While
the exact cause is still
unknown, the ADA points
to studies that have
concluded genetics and
lifestyle factors like
obesity and lack of
exercise appear to be
linked to the disease.
O'Brien says her staff
based its conclusions
and risk factor
percentages on
university research and
other studies and then
crunched all the
numbers. While Fitness
magazine targets women,
the nine risks also
affect men. The two risk
factors that most
surprised O'Brien were a
large waist (risk
increases 330 percent)
and high stress (184
percent). ''All of them
were kind of surprising,
but how much the waist
thing raised your risk
surprised me most,''
says O'Brien. ''We're
talking the apple-shaped
body, fat in the
abdomen, fat that is
really dangerous.''
Using American Heart
Association
recommendations, she
says a woman's waistline
should be less than 35
inches. For men, it's
less than 40 inches.
''And somehow you don't
think of stress as being
a factor in diabetes.
When we think of stress,
we think of a headache
or you can't sleep.''
O'Brien's strategy to
tackle the nine risk
factors is to begin
addressing two or three
and gradually work in
more. ''You don't want
to feel like you have to
change your life all at
once,'' she says.
The 9
most surprising risks:
-
Watching two or more
hours of TV daily.
Raises your risk: 14
percent. How: More
TV equals less
activity.
The fix: Limit TV
time to 10 hours a
week, and exercise.
-
Drinking one soda a
day. Raises your
risk: 83 percent.
How: Soda adds extra
and empty calories,
which can easily
lead to weight gain.
The fix: Switch to
water, diet soda, or
even better,
unsweetened tea,
which may actually
protect against
disease.
-
Skipping breakfast.
Raises your risk: up
to 50 percent. How:
Not having that
morning meal
increases the
appetite-stimulating
hormone ghrelin,
making you hungrier
and likely to eat
more.
The fix: Eat
high-fiber cereal
with low-fat milk
and one-half cup of
fruit in the
morning. One study
of people with
pre-diabetes found
that eating
high-fiber cereals
made their cells
respond better to
insulin. Consuming
dairy products may
also cut the risk
for insulin
resistance by 72
percent.
-
A
bout of major
depression. Raises
your risk: 23
percent. How:
Depression may alter
body chemistry in a
way that makes us
more prone to
developing diabetes.
The fix: Take a
walk. Just 30
minutes, three times
a week, has been
shown to improve
symptoms of
depression.
-
A
large waist -- even
if you're at a
normal weight.
Raises your risk:
330 percent. How:
Fat in the abdomen
(visceral fat)
produces compounds
that make cells
insulin-resistant.
Women should keep
their waist size
below 35 inches (40
inches for men). The
fix: A half-hour to
one hour of cardio,
three to five times
a week.
-
Waking up in the
middle of the night.
Raises your risk: 98
percent. How: Not
being able to stay
asleep means you're
not getting enough
sleep, making you
more prone to
developing insulin
resistance and
leading to diabetes.
The fix: No caffeine
in the late
afternoon and
evening, and no TV
and alcohol right
before bed. Try
yoga, too.
-
Eating fast food
more than twice a
week. Raises your
risk: 100 percent.
How: People who ate
burgers, fries and
soda more than twice
a week put on 10
extra pounds and
were twice as likely
to become resistant
to insulin.
The fix: Satisfy
cravings with
smaller portions.
-
High
stress. Raises your
risk: 184 percent.
How: Stress can
interfere with your
ability to make
insulin and process
glucose.
The fix: Allow 10-15
minutes a day to
relax.
-
Consuming lots of
processed meat.
Raises your risk: 43
percent. How: These
meats (such as hot
dogs and bacon) are
loaded with
preservatives that
may destroy
insulin-producing
cells in your
pancreas. Harvard
study found that
women who had these
meats less often
than once a week had
the lowest risk
The fix: Cut back. A
Source: http://www.diabetesnews.com/
