October 2008 Archives

What do you have for breakfast? Chances are, like most people, you have either a simple carbohydrate 'meal' of toast or cereal, or you skip breakfast entirely (usually leading to mid-morning snacking).

Both of these approaches lead to rapid increases in blood sugar and insulin, carbohydrate cravings (snacking) and a drop in energy.

Carb-based breakfast...
In the morning, simple carbohydrates (sugary refined cereals, white bread, toast etc) cause an immediate surge in blood sugar, which results in a substantial release of insulin from our pancreas.

The insulin removes most of the sugar from our blood, turning any excess into fat. This decreased level of blood sugar results in further cravings for carbohydrates.

This vicious cycle constitutes one of the major reasons for diabetes, high blood pressure and extra weight.

Skipping breakfast...
When we skip breakfast, blood sugar drops below the normal level , leading to cravings and a drop in energy.

To deal with cravings, we usually revert to snacking on simple carbohydrates, causing a fast rise in blood sugar levels and a substantial insulin emission. The insulin removes most of the sugar from the blood and turns any excess into fat. Our body, now low in blood sugar, experiences further cravings and a drop in energy.

This vicious cycle constitutes one of the major reasons for diabetes, high blood pressure and extra weight

Balanced healthy breakfast
A balanced breakfast supplies our body with vital nutrients and energy without increasing    blood sugar and insulin levels, and helps to avoid dependence on carbs during the day. In this way, appetite stays under control, cravings for carbs diminish and our body uses its fat stores for energy.

Criteria of a good breakfast
A balanced healthy breakfast should do three things:

Rehydrate the body, to replace the fluids lost during sleep.
Provide the body with energy.
Provide the body with all vital nutrients while helping to maintain a normal blood sugar level.

Clinical Study Shows Increased Protein Leads to Improvement in Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors

   Obesity often goes hand-in-hand with the Metabolic Syndrome - a cluster of five factors that include high blood pressure, a large waist circumference, elevated blood sugar and triglycerides, and reduced blood levels of HDL cholesterol.

   Weight reduction is one of the first lines of defense in treating the syndrome, and researchers from the University of Ulm, Germany, have found that increased amounts of protein in the diet lead to greater improvement in metabolic syndrome risk factors when compared to a standard level of protein.

  The study, presented this weekend at the annual meeting of the Obesity Society in Phoenix, enrolled 110 overweight subjects with the metabolic syndrome who were randomly divided into two groups, and were followed for one year.

    For the first three months - the weight loss phase - those in the high protein group were instructed to follow a diet that supplied about twice the protein obtained from a typical diet; they also replaced two meals a day with  Herbalife's European Formula 1 a meal
replacement shake. The other group was instructed to eat a standard amount of protein from an all-food diet.