Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes Mellitus commonly referred to as Diabetes is a condition that affects your body’s ability to use the energy in your food.

‘Low Carb’ is More Effective than ‘Low Glycemic’ for Diabetes

Brown Rice is Not as Healthy as You Think Many patients will ask me if it’s OK for them to eat more carbs than I recommend (less than 100 grams per day) to control their diabetes as long as they are eating low-glycemic carbs (think whole wheat bread or pasta, brown rice, vegetables and fruit). The answer is no. …

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Treat Hypertension With Low Carb Diet

A reduction in carbohydrate consumption has been shown to be more effective in lowering blood pressure than eating a low fat diet. The study compared low carbohydrate diet with a low fat diet that was combined with a weight loss drug. The low carbohydrate diet group was much more effective than the low fat diet plus …

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Reduce Carbs to Lower Triglycerides

Excess Carbohydrates Cause Elevated Triglycerides Overweight patients commonly have elevations of their small LDL cholesterol and triglycerides as well as decreases of their HDL cholesterol; all of these changes  correlate with an increased risk of heart attacks.   This pattern is collectively known as atherogenic dyslipidemia and is associated with the narrowing of arteries called atherosclerosis. …

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What to Do About a Family History of Diabetes, High Blood Pressure or Heart Attacks

What Does A Family History of Diabetes, High Blood Pressure or Heart Attacks Really Mean? I’ve spoken with many patients who worry about their health and that of their children because there seems to be a strong family history of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or even heart attacks.   Their concerns are obvious but …

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Does Your Abdomen Stick Out Too Far?

If it does, don’t think you’re alone.  Many Americans are dealing with the same thing.  Patients complain about it to me all the time.  What you may be experiencing is an accumulation of fat within the abdominal cavity (called intra abdominal fat).  And your body may be abnormally storing fat there because the carbohydrates (sugar and starches) in your …

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Soda is as Dangerous as Cigarettes

Soda is Dangerous In a recently published study  in the November 2010 issue of Diabetes Care, Dr Vasanti S Malik (Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA)  reported that consumption of just one or two sugar-sweetened beverages per day is associated with a 26% greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes and a 20% increased risk …

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Low Carbohydrate Treats For Halloween

Poisoning Our Children’s Future The diabetes epidemic is growing so rapidly that presently 1 of every 10 adults in the U.S. has diabetes.  That number is anticipated to grow to 1 of every 3 adults by 2050.  That means that 1/3 of all those beautiful little kids in your child’s classroom, 1/3 of their soccer teammates and …

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Decreased Weight = Decreased Insurance Costs

Weight loss can significantly decrease your chances of developing diabetes, and also significantly decrease your health insurance premiums. One of the largest health insurers in the nation, UnitedHealth Group, has developed an approach to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and to increase the health of the American public. This program is predicted to …

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How To Prevent Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Attacks and Strokes

In a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers identified 4 factors tied to reduced disease risk: never smoking, having a body mass index (BMI) lower than 30, performing at least 3.5 hours per week of physical activity, and following a healthy diet. Participants with all 4 factors had a 78% lower …

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How Much Fish Oil Should I Take And Why?

Many patients I see  in my practice are taking fish oil supplements and don’t really understand why they are beneficial  but just that everyone seems to recommend taking them. Fish and certain plant and nut oils are common natural sources of omega-3 fatty acids.  Fatty acids are special molecules that have a wide array of …

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Does Insulin Resistance Have Any Symptoms and What Is Metabolic Syndrome?

What are the Symptoms of Insulin Resistance? People may have Insulin Resistance for several years without noticing anything.  But in many individuals, Insulin Resistance causes a wide variety of common symptoms we often attribute to other medical circumstances. These symptoms often occur because of an imbalance of your autonomic nervous system. Common symptoms from autonomic …

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If I Have Insulin Resistance or Metabolic Syndrome, How Can I Make It Go Away?

What Causes Insulin Resistance and Metabolic Syndrome? The last 20 years has seen an epidemic rise in Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes Mellitus in the United States.  Extensive research has helped us to understand that the combination of high carbohydrate diets, lack of exercise and increased portion sizes has lead to this problem. Prehistoric humans …

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Why Do We Crave Carbohydrates And How To Control It At A Party

Many of my patients who are working on the carbohydrate restriction to improve their blood pressure, blood sugars, triglycerdies and weight often tell me that if they “fall of the wagon” and start eating high carbohydrates foods, they can’t seem to stop.  There are scientific reasons for this. Eating a diet high in carbohydrates results …

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How Tortilla Chips Make Us Fat

The caloric density of foods that we’re exposed to has also changed dramatically in the last few decades.  The more manufacturers process the food, the greater the caloric density the food product often obtains. For example, let’s look at the number of calories per pound of corn and corn products: Fresh Corn – 490 calories …

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Weight Loss Surgery Reduces Diabetes-related Death Rate

Weight loss (bariatric) surgery has been shown to reduce diabetes-related mortality by 88%. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that weight loss surgery surgery reduced the overall death rate by 34%, disease-related deaths and cardiovascular deaths by 48%, cancer-related deaths by 59%, and diabetes-related deaths by 88% in patients with …

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Do You Have Autonomic Dysfunction?