Insulin--What Is It and How Does It Affect Your Health and Body Weight?

When people hear the word ‘insulin’ they mostly associate it with diabetes and don’t pay much attention to what it means to their own body. Insulin gets a ‘bad rap’ because of its direct association with diabetes, but insulin plays a BIG role in EVERY body!  Insulin is responsible for determining whether you are storing or burning fat, your energy levels, your mental awareness, athletic performance, and even the possibility of chronic disease!  So understanding how insulin works is very important to your health!

What is insulin anyway?  Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreaswhen you eat carbohydrates.  Have you ever eaten a big pasta meal, and wanted to take a nap a few hours later?  Have you ever started eating chips or crackers and you just couldn’t stop?  If you have experienced one or both of these situations, you have EXPERIENCED what an insulin spike can do to you.  

So what does insulin do? In simple terms, when you eat carbohydrates, they are absorbed into the blood stream (as glucose or sugar) which in turn elevates your blood sugar levels. The pancreas secretes insulin to help your body process the increased blood sugar (glucose) and store it as glycogen in your muscles and liver.  If the glycogen stores in your muscles and liver are full, then the ‘excess’ blood sugar is stored as body fat!  If your body is secreting insulin, it is in a ‘storing’ process, and NO body fat will be burned.

Back to our big pasta meal-- when we ate that meal, we had a large flood of carbohydrates which led to a big spike in insulin secretion.  Since insulin’s job is to ‘lower’ blood sugar, it does just that.  But because of the huge insulin spike, it can lower blood sugar a bit too much, and that is when you feel drowsy, tired, and generally like you need a nap!

Along those same lines, when you nibble on crackers, chips, or other carbohydrate rich ‘snack’ food, you get a steady release of insulin.  This steady release of insulin keeps lowering your blood sugar, which in turn tells YOU to keep eating to get it back up!  Now you know WHY you just couldn’t put those ‘fat free’ crackers, chips, and crisps down!

What does fat have to do with insulin? Carbohydrates are directly tied to your insulin levels, but fats have a role in this as well.  If you are eating healthy fats with your meals, these fats will S-L-O-W the digestion of carbohydrates which will slow the rise in blood sugar which will keep those insulin spikes at bay.

What is a healthy fat? A balance between Omega 3 (from fish oil) and Omega 6 fats (found in vegetable oils such as corn, sesame, safflower, peanut etc…). We naturally get enough, often too much Omega 6 fats in our diet.  To have a proper balance, you have to be conscious of and increase your Omega 3 intake which can be found in fish, wild meats, and grass fed beef. An easy way to get these is from fish oil supplements. If you are eating “bad” fats (trans-fats) or you are not eating the proper balance of omega 3 and omega 6 fats, your cells won’t be able to convert the blood sugar easily, leading to insulin resistance.

What is insulin resistance?Insulin resistance is when your cells are less affected by insulin and your blood sugar (from carbs you have eaten) can’t move freely into your body’s cells to be either burned or stored. As a reaction your pancreas secretes more insulin and you have both high levels of glucose (blood sugar) and insulin circulating in your body with neither of them going to where they are supposedto be. High levels of insulin trigger the production of stress hormone; cortisol along with blood sugar will be turned into body FAT. Insulin resistance negatively effects body fat (especially belly fat) increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, hormone health, including testosterone.Insulin resistance ultimately will turn into Type 2 Diabetes. However, insulin resistance is NOT a constant and can be improved with nutrition and exercise!

What you can do to improve your insulin health:

·     Improve your diet by eating more protein, less starchy-carbohydrate foods, and healthy fats at each meal.  Protein is VERY important because protein secretes a hormone that is basically the opposite of insulin, and its job is to raise blood glucose levels.  The hormone is glucagon, and it raises glucose levels by RELEASING stored energy.  This releasing of energy into the blood stream is how body fat is burned.  If insulin is being secreted, you are storing energy.  If glucagon is secreted, you are releasing energy.  So, if you want to keep insulin at bay, make sure you are consuming protein and healthy fats at every meal.

·         Eat low glycemic carbohydrates such as:

o   Vegetables such as kale, broccoli, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, mushrooms, green beans, asparagus, cucumbers, spinach, peppers, zucchini

o   Fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, blackberries, nectarines, avocado, grapefruit, tomatoes

o   Grains such as steel cut oats, whole grain breads

·     Increase physical activity – Make sure you are doing cardio and strength trainingexercises.  On a daily basis, make sure you are lifting weights, doing interval training, speed walking, jogging, running, elliptical, cycling, stair climbing, or whatever gets your heart racing and sweat going!

There you have it – Hopefully you have a better understanding of insulin and the role it plays in your life!  I know things might have gotten a bit complex there, but trust me, it is really easy.  Just make sure you are eating healthy fats and protein with your carbohydrates, and you should FEEL a difference!

If you have any questions, feel free to stop by and see Jessy or contact her at 689-1400.

How Many Sodas HaveYou Have Today?

How many sodas have you had today? How about your kids? 

The average American drinks an estimated 56 gallons of soft drinks each year, nearly a gallonof soda every week.  Before you grab the next can of soda, consider this: one can of soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, and is loaded with artificial coloring and sulphites. All of that amount of sugar, calories and harmful additives in a product that has absolutely no nutritional value. Studies also have linked soda to osteoporosis, obesity, tooth decay, and heart disease.

Soft drinks are being marketed toward children and teenagers who are among the largest consumers. Marketers spend close to $500 million dollars a year to reach children and adolescents with messages about sugar-sweetened drinks, more than they spend on any other category. Teenage boys drink, on average, three or more cans of soda per day, and 10 percent drink seven or more cans a day. The average for teenage girls is more than two cans a day, and 10 percent drink more than five cans a day. A child’s risk for obesity increases an average of 60 percent with every additional daily serving of soda.

Schools and Soda Consumption

While these numbers may sound high, they’re not surprising considering that most school hallways are lined with vending machines that sell, of course, soft drinks. It’s not uncommon for schools to make marketing deals with leading soft drink companies from which they receive commissions, based on a percentage of sales at each school.

Getting rid of vending machines in schools--or replacing their contents with pure water and healthy snacks--could make a big difference, as vending machines can increase the consumption of sweetened beverages by up to 50 or more cans of soda per student per year.

Let’s take a look at some of the major components of a can of soda.

In one can of Soda, you will find:

• Sugar. Soft drink manufacturers are the largest single user of refined sugar in the United States. It is a proven fact that sugar increases insulin levels, which can lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, premature aging, and many more negative side effects. Most sodas include over 100 percent of the recommended daily amount (RDA) of sugar.

• Aspartame. This chemical is used as a sugar substitute in diet sodas. There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption which include but not limited to brain tumors, diabetes, emotional disorders, and epilepsy/seizures. When aspartame is stored for long periods of time or kept in warm areas it changes to methanol, an alcohol that converts to formaldehyde and formic acid, which are known carcinogens.

• Caffeine.Caffeinated drinks cause jitters, insomnia, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, elevated blood cholesterol levels, vitamin and mineral depletion, breast lumps, and perhaps some forms of cancer.

• Tap Water. Tap water is the main ingredient in bottled soft drinks. Everyone needs to avoid drinking tap water because it can carry any number of chemicals including chlorine, trihalomethanes, lead, cadmium, and various pollutants. 

Soda is one of the main reasons, nutritionally speaking, why many people suffer health problems. Aside from the negative effects of the soda itself, drinking a lot of soda is likely to leave you with little appetite for vegetables, protein, and other food that your body needs. If you are still drinking soda, stopping the habit is an easy way to start improving your health.

Hidden Fat Content in Your Diet

Do you obsess over every calorie you consume, but do you worry about the fat content? Fat grams are just as important to consider as calories, and you may be surprised at which foods have a shockingly high fat content. It's probably no surprise that greasy cheeseburgers, French fries, and pizza are loaded with fat. But did you know that even certain vegetables and healthy fish can have a high fat content? Keep in mind that fat is an important part of a healthy diet and not all fats are bad. The fat content of a given meal should be evaluated just as closely as its calories.


Fat Content in Your Diet: How Much Fat Is Okay?
It's important to pay attention to how many fat grams you eat each day to make sure you're getting just the right amount of fat in your diet and no more. The AHA recommends that no more than 30 percent of your daily calories should come from fat. Based on the average daily total intake of 2,000 calories, this means we should eat less than 65 grams of fat each day.
There are two kinds of fats, commonly considered "good" and "bad" fats. Saturated and trans fats are bad, as they contribute to a number of health problems, like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Unsaturated fats can actually protect your body from some of these conditions. Still, that doesn't mean you can eat them without limit because too much of any fat, or of any food for that matter, can lead to weight gain.
When tracking the fat content of your meals, make sure that most of your fat intake is in the form of unsaturated fats, that less than 20 grams are coming from saturated fats, and that hardly any are from trans fat.
 
Fat in your Everyday Foods

Think of the foods that frequently make up your daily meals. Have you ever considered their fat content? Here are some commonly eaten foods:

• Average fast-food hamburger: 36 grams
• Average fast-food fish sandwich: 24 grams
• 10 French fries: 8 grams
• One ounce of potato chips: 10 grams
• One slice of cheese pizza: 8 grams
• Two ounces of bologna: 16 grams
• One hot dog: 14 grams
• Three slices of cooked bacon: 10 grams
• One ounce cheddar cheese: 8 grams
• One cup whole milk: 7 grams
• Two tablespoons of peanut butter: 14 grams
• One teaspoon of butter or margarine: 4 grams
• One serving of most breads, bagels, and cereals: about 1 gram

If some of those numbers don't look that bad to you, pay attention to the amounts and serving sizes of each of them. When was the last time you ate only one ounce of potato chips, just 10 fries, or a single slice of pizza? So think about the fat content before indulging.
 
Surprisingly High-Fat Foods
While the high fat content of certain foods is no surprise, you may not realize that many other foods are loaded with hidden fat:

• Movie theater popcorn (because of the way it's processed)
• Packaged meals with added sauces, butter, or oil
• Highly marbled red meats, including some cuts of beef and lamb
• Chicken and other poultry if the skin is eaten
• Salad dressings

Perhaps the biggest hidden sources of fats to watch out for are prepackaged snack foods and meals. They often contain dangerous trans fats - frequently listed as partially hydrogenated oil or vegetable shortening in the ingredients - because they give these foods a longer shelf life. Trans fats are particularly unhealthy for your heart and cholesterol levels and should be avoided as much as possible.

Article written by the Club Fitness Nutritionist and Personal Trainer Jessy Hamawi

 

ARE YOU “DYING” FOR THAT STEAK??

Well, if you have seen the latest research…you just may be.

 I must admit, I enjoy immensely writing this particular article.  I have sung the praises of a no/low red meat diet for quite a while.  Several years ago, I read a classic book entitled “Diet For A Small Planet”.  I’m sure it was extremely controversial, but I adopted it’s teachings & feel that my health has improved because of those changes.  This book basically professes the benefits of a more vegetarian based diet, not only for better overall health but, also for environmental benefits.

Even though I adopted many of the strategies from this book, very rarely eating red meat and eating a diet higher in fish, poultry & fruits and vegetables, I feel my reasons for continuing this lifestyle has been based more on personal observations.  I remember years ago, when I was completely vegan.  I would have dinner with friends.   These friend’s dinners would consist of red meat & high fat side dishes such as baked potatoes decorated in butter and sour cream.  As the evening progressed, my friends would feel tired and lethargic….much more so than myself.  I couldn’t help, when witnessing this several times, coming to the conclusion that this was in part due to the meal choices that evening.

I also questioned the effects with relation to colon issues.  We know red meat takes much longer to digest than fruits, vegetables, fish & poultry.  I could imagine this meat setting in the intestines for an extended period of time….we all have seen what rotten meat looks like…It would HAVE  to have some sort of effect on the intestinal tract.

Well, now…officially red meat is being directly linked to cancer, heart disease and diabetes.  But, hold on!  I know, I know…many of you are NOT going to give up that steak.  Well, the good news is you can go from eating red meat twice a day to once a week and eliminate most of the risk…sound fair?  Well, let’s take a look at the evidence on red meat.

Probably the biggest news lately was the study  of a million (a million!!!!) Americans between the age of 50-71 years of age. They tracked these folks for 10 years.  What they found was those who ate the most red meat were 30% more likely to die from cancer and heart disease than those who ate the least.  Now, the obvious question is how much meat are we talking here?  The people who ate “the most”, ate an average of 5oz of red meat a day.  That equates to about 1 ½ quarter pound burgers a day.  Those on the low end of the red meat consumption, ate 2/3 oz of red meat a day, or approximately ½ quarter pound burger a week.  We all are aware of the risks, mainly due to nitrates that processed meats (hot dogs & bologna) cause.  The risk factors on processed meats were lower, actually, than the red meat.  The risk of dying from cancer and heart disease was 20% higher in those who ate approximately one hot dog a day, compared to those who ate approximately one hot dog a week.

Research on white meat such as chicken, turkey and fish did not pose this risk.  In fact, those who ate the most had slightly lower odds of dying from cancer and heart disease than those who ate the least.

The only element that adds to this risk…is cooking your red meat until it is well done.  Research has shown that cooking meat at high temperatures & yes, grilling creates two classes of mutagens.  Mutagens cause changes in your DNA.  These are seen by the body as foreign substances that must be expelled.  Because the body really wants to get rid of them, the liver adds oxygen to them so the body can expel them easier.  Ironically, the body’s efforts to get rid of them make them more dangerous…many times making them more active & more damaging to our DNA…

Why, you may ask, does  red meat (particularly well done red meat!!) increase the risk of dying…Lets take a look:

•         Heart Disease  No surprise here.  Most of us know red meat contains more saturated fat than other food sources – increasing the risk of heart disease.
•        Colorectal Cancer  Research examined 15 studies reporting a 28 percent higher risk of colorectal cancer in red meat eaters and a 20 percent higher risk in processed meat eaters…the evidence linking high consumption of red & processed meat to colorectal cancer is extremely consistant!
•        Other Cancers Prostate. (This is shocking!!)  In Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screenng Trials, men who averaged at least a third of an ounce of well done meat a day (That’s not much!!), had a 40 percent higher risk of prostate cancer than men who ate no well done meat.
•       Pancreas  A study showed men…but not women who ate more red meat or grilled meat had a 40-50% higher risk of pancreatic cancer!
•       Diabetes In a study of over 37,000 women over 9 years, researchers found that those who ate processed meat at least 5x a week, had a 38% higher risk of type 2 diabetes than those who ate processed meat once a week.  The Women’s Health Study  also found that 28% higher risk of type 2 diabetes in those who ate the most red meat.

 Well, there’s the evidence!  I know this will not make many of your days!  Believe me!  In counseling my nutrition clients…limiting their red meat intake is at times a very difficult choice for them.  Remember, you don’t have to cut it out completely…aim for only one serving a week.  Try more poultry, fish, beans, nuts and soy based veggie meats.  You can also look for deli meats that are processed without nitrates.   My recommendation to you…is give it a shot.  I believe you will notice the difference.   You will feel more energetic.  If you have digestive issues, you may find many of those will subside.  Good luck.  Be good to yourself- you are worth it!

Article written by the Club Fitness Nutritionist Marianne Miller