Healthy Reminder of the Week

Here are some healthy things to try to do for yourself this week and for life.

Happy Monday!

Sugar: A controlled substance?

Nature - a top research journal stated recently that sugar is so toxic is should be controlled like alcohol. 

Sugar can be linked to chronic diseases such as Cancer, Heart Disease and Diabetes

These diseases are now more of health burden that infectious disease. 

The report wants sugary food and drinks to be banned during school hours, it suggests pop should not be sold to those under 17 and wants the number of fast food restaurants and convenience stores limited in low-income areas and near schools.

In some developing countries, soda pop is more available and cheaper that drinkable water or milk...

In the past 50 years, the consumption of sugar around the world has Tripled!

What do you think?

read more here

Paula Deen Has Diabetes

Everyones favorite southern chef has type 2 diabetes

She has had it for years - and kept it a secret.

All the while filming episodes for food network and selling cookbooks pushing foods fried in oil, with cups and cups of cream, and tons of butter....

Like deep fried cheese cake covered in chocolate and powdered sugar.

seriously???

Instead of coming out about her illness, and sharing with her viewers and followers her struggle to change her diet and her lifestyle she chose to keep quite, and continue to endorse a lifestyle high in sugar, high in fat and low in activity.

I have never been a fan of her cooking or her show

But Now I am very disappointed that she didn't take the opportunity to share this with her views and maybe help some of them change or speak with a doctor about type 2 diabetes.

If caught early and treated with diet and exercise, type 2 diabetes in manageable, and in some cases reversible... you can un-do the insulin insensitivity

Paula Deen only told people about her illness now that she is being endorsed by a company that manufactures a once a day non-insulin injection.

Diets high in sugar and fat, people who are over weight, people over 45, and people with a family history of diabetes should talk to their doctor about the disease.

Moving for at least 30 minutes a day, and changing your diet can help lower the risk of getting type 2 diabetes.

ontario schools junk free

Ontario schools are removing Junky food from their cafeterias and vending machines

Things like chocolate, french fries, energy drinks, candy, chips and pop will no longer be available for students to buy while on campus.

This is huge step forward in the fight against obesity in Canada.  Currently, 28% of kids between 2 and 17 are either overweight or obese.  This is leading to higher levels of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, ect...

"Fully 80 per cent of the new school menu must include products with the highest levels of essential nutrients and the lowest amounts of fat, sugar and sodium."

There is still a lot of work to be done in the fight against obesity but this is a step in the right direction.  Managing portion control, calories, and further reducing calories are just some of the things that still need to be address..

But I hope that more provinces and school districts will follow along and re-evaluate the food they are serving the countries youth.

5 foods to limit or avoid

1. Soda... Pop... Soft Drinks... what ever you call them they aren't good for you.  Women who drink 2 or more cans a day have 86% greater chance of kidney failure.  Drinking 2 or more a week increases you chance of pancreatic cancer by 87%

2. Sugar..... excess sugar can accelerate aging, causes high cholesterol, can lead to type 2 diabetes.  Restrict your intake to a maximum of 3tbsp or 18g a day.

3.Oil...... avoid oils high in saturated fast - like palm oil, they increase LDL or bad cholesterol. Using good oils, high in unsaturated fats -like olive oil - these can actually lower LDL

4.Cereal.... most of them have as much sugar as glazed donuts.  Check the ingredients and if the first thing listed is Sugar... throw it away.

5.White rice....  plain.old.empty.calories.  Replace white rice with brown rice or quinoa.

Trenta

4With spring coming you might be thinking about ice coffee

or perhaps a half sweet raspberry passion tea lemonade

And you might be thinking that the new Iced drink size at starbucks - The Trenta - sounds like a good idea

But is it really??

Its 916mL  - thats bigger than the average capacity of the human stomach!!!

and besides the size.....

think about allllll the sugar that is packed into this jumbo cup.

a venti iced espresso drink can range from 160calories all the way up to 600 calories

and have between 5 and 13g of carbs... or sugar.

The trenta is an additional 325mL... I cant even imagine.

Unfortunately the nutritional information isn't available on the site yet...

sugar

"Witnesses at a recent meeting of U.S. Senate Committee said that if the food industry were propsing sugar today as a new food additive, its "metabolic behaviour would undoubtedly lead to its being banned""
John B. McKinlay A case for refocusinng upstream: The Political Economy of Illness

-the average american adult eats 126 pounds of sugar each year - and for children the number is even higher.

quick tip for the day

Feeling tired even if you've had a good night sleep?

Eat an apple.

Apples are high in fibre which slows the release of sugar into the blood stream. So instead of getting a quick burst of energy and then crashing, like you would from a chocolate bar, sugar is released into your blood stream in a slow steady pace.

This helps maintain your blood sugar throughout the day which will make you feel more awake.