Worried About Diabetes? Focus on Diet

Mindfully managing diabetes means more than just monitoring blood sugar levels. It also means making prudent choices in your diet to address the risk factors of common diseases associated with diabetes, such as heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. November is Diabetes Awareness Month, making this a good time to work with your physician and a dietician to create a meal plan that best suits your needs if you are at risk for diabetes. Research has shown that several nutritional elements may be helpful in managing diabetes-related issues:

Eat more magnesium-rich foods such as spinach, tofu, almonds, broccoli, lentils, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds.

Are You Exercising? No Excuses

Want to add years to your life? Make regular, moderate exercise part of your healthy lifestyle routine. Physical activity is good for the body, mind and spirit, helps maintain and improve the health of your heart, reduces the risk of diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer's, promotes energy, quality rest and a healthy weight, helps manage unhealthy stress, and can address symptoms of mild to moderate depression.

So why isn't everyone exercising? People can always find excuses not to exercise, but really - there is no good reason. To reap all these benefits, all most people need is 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity at least four days a week, including at least two days of strength training, and a stretching routine.

Migraines Ruining Your Day? Life?

Approximately 28 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches. Migraines are more common in women than in men, and are likely hereditary, as almost half of those suffering have family members with a history of migraines.

Characterized by recurring, intense, throbbing pain that is usually limited to one side of the head, migraines begin suddenly in and around the eye or temple, spreading to one or both sides of the head. The pain may be accompanied by loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting or a visual aura. To help prevent migraines, I suggest:

Keeping a diary to help you identify your own triggers.

3 Healthy Breakfast Choices

Skipping breakfast is rarely a good idea, but starting the day with unhealthy choices won’t do your body any favors either. It’s easy to eat right: the ideal breakfast should provide one quarter to one third of your day's protein, a fair amount of fiber (as low-glycemic carbohydrates) and little fat. Here are some quick, healthful ideas:

A bowl of whole-grain cereal with calcium-fortified, carageenan free, soymilk and some fruit. Add a tablespoon of freshly ground flaxseed on top as a source of omega-3 fatty acids.

A soy shake (blend 1/2 cake silken tofu, 1/2 cup apple juice, 1 cup frozen organic strawberries and 1 banana).

Acupuncture Best for Low Back Pain?

Last Thursday's post discussed back pain and how it can be alleviated through yoga. Today we consider acupuncture.

According to a new study from a group of Seattle researchers, it even works when toothpicks are used instead of needles and the effects seem to be long-lasting. The investigators compared four different treatments on 638 adults with chronic low back pain. Over seven weeks 157 of the adults received 10 individually prescribed acupuncture treatments. A second group of 158 had a standardized course of acupuncture treatments considered effective by experts on low back pain. A third group of 162 patients had 10 sessions of simulated acupuncture - here, the patients didn’t know that toothpicks were used instead of needles. The fourth group of 161 patients received usual medical care. In telephone follow-ups, the patients reported on how they were doing at eight, 26 and 52 weeks after treatment. After a year, 59 to 65 percent of the patients in the acupuncture groups reported less pain and improved functioning compared to 50 percent of the usual care group. The study was published in the May 11, 2009 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Veterinary Acupuncture

Veterinary acupuncture is the veterinary medicine for the pets like cat, dog and horses. Acupuncture is the part of Chinese medicine to diagnosis and treatment. This treatment is known as the traditional Chinese medicine. This treatment is the holistic approach to cure the chronic diseases of patients. This treatment considers the patient as an organism having unified energetic parts rather than considering individual part for the treatment. In the veterinary acupuncture, animals are also considered as whole-unit consisting of body, mind, diet, spirit, and environment.

Generally, holistic approach of the medicine helps to explain this ancient medical approach. In the conventional medicine treatments, it tends to analyze the symptoms and according to the diagnosis, the physician addresses the problem by trying to cure the symptoms. On the contrary, holistic or acupuncture therapy looks at the symptoms and tries to find out the causes of the symptoms that are present.

Vegetarian Diet and Digestive Disease

New evidence from Britain suggests that vegetarians are one-third less likely to develop diverticular disease than are meat eaters. This disorder, affects the colon and has been associated with diets that are low in fiber. Symptoms include painful abdominal cramps, bloating, flatulence, constipation and diarrhea. A research team from the University of Oxford looked at more than 47,000 British adults participating in a European study of cancer and nutrition; more than 15,000 of them reported that they were vegetarians. After more than 11 years of follow up and adjusting for such factors as alcohol consumption, smoking and body mass index (BMI), the investigators found that the rate of diverticular disease among the vegetarians was one-third lower than that of other study participants. They also found that those whose consumption of dietary fiber was about 25 grams a day were at lower risk of being hospitalized or dying from diverticular disease than study participants who consumed less than 14 grams of fiber daily. Diverticular disease may also worsen into a condition known as diverticulitis. The findings were published online on July 19th on the British Medical Journal's website.