Diabetic Digest - Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Readers: Most people know that diabetes affects the blood sugar. But few are aware of the disease's effects on the feet! If you're diabetic, and even if you're not, here's why you'll want to keep tabs on your toes. Take care of it all, especially now that the cold winter weather is well on its way.
Here's an interesting and informative video clip about the importance of foot care and diabetes.
Watch It Now: Foot Care for DiabetesDon't neglect the health of your feet!
Now, enjoy today's edition of the Diabetic Digest.
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Email Steve*-- Diabetic News --*Low-cal diet improves heart function in obese diabeticsBy: ANI
Washington - A low-calorie diet eliminates insulin dependence and leads to improved heart function in obese patients with type 2 diabetes, a new study has claimed.
Diabetes is a chronic illness in which there are high levels of glucose in the blood, and type 2 is the most common form of diabetes, representing 90 to 95 percent of diagnosed cases among adults.
"Lifestyle interventions may have more powerful beneficial cardiac effects than medication in these patients," Sebastiaan Hammer, the lead author, said.
"It is striking to see how a relatively simple intervention of a very low calorie diet effectively cures type 2 diabetes mellitus. Moreover, these effects are long term, illustrating the potential of this method," he said.
Pericardial fat is a visceral fat compartment around the heart that can be detrimental to cardiac function, especially in people with metabolic disease.
Hammer and his colleagues set out to determine the long-term effects of initial weight loss induced by caloric restriction on pericardial fat and cardiac function in obese patients with type 2 diabetes.
Using cardiac MRI, the researchers analysed cardiac function and pericardial fat in 15 patients, including seven men and eight women, with type 2 diabetes before and after four months of a diet consisting of 500 calories daily.
Changes in the body mass index (BMI) were also measured for the study.
The results showed that caloric restriction resulted in a decrease in BMI from 35.3 to 27.5 over four months. Pericardial fat decreased from 39 milliliters (ml) to 31 ml, and E/A ratio, a measure of diastolic heart function, improved from 0.96 to 1.2.
After an additional 14 months of follow-up on a regular diet, BMI increased to 31.7, but pericardial fat only increased slightly to 32 ml. E/A ratio after follow-up was 1.06.
"Our results show that 16 weeks of caloric restriction improved heart function in these patients.
"More importantly, despite regain of weight, these beneficial cardiovascular effects were persistent over the long term," he said.
The study has been recently presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). (ANI)
Original Article: Low-cal diet improves heart function in obese diabetics*-- Diabetic Recipe --*3-Alarm ChiliServings: 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients1 pound top sirloin, coarsely ground
1 medium white onion, 6 ounces, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 medium red bell pepper, 6 ounces, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon crushed dried oregano
1 14 1/2-ounce no salt added crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup low-sodium canned beef broth
1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt (to taste)
freshly ground pepper (to taste)
Directions1. Put the ground sirloin in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until beef is no longer pink. Drain off any fat or juices.
2. Measure 2 tablespoons of the onion; set aside.
3. Put remaining onion, garlic, and bell pepper into the pot and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano, tomatoes with their liquid, and beef broth.
4. Lower heat to simmer and cook, covered, until meat and vegetables are tender, about 35 to 45 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, finely mince the reserved onion. Place in a small bowl and stir in remaining topping ingredients. Set aside.
6. When chili is done, ladle into bowl and offer topping to spoon onto each serving.
Nutrition InformationPer serving: 252 calories (26% calories from fat), 31 g protein, 8 g total fat (3.0 g saturated fat), 17 g carbohydrate, 4 g dietary fiber, 75 mg cholesterol, 147 mg sodium
Diabetic exchanges: 3 1/2 lean protein, 1 carbohydrate (3 vegetable)
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