Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Diabetes
This post originally appeared on the Friedman Diabetes Institute blog.
With the holidays comes food. Everywhere! At the annual office party and family get-togethers. At neighborhood gatherings and holiday celebrations. Add holiday stress, traveling and a ridiculously long to-do list — that does not include trips to the gym — and any diet will suffer. FDI nutritionist Lynn Polmanteer has some tips to help manage this time of intense eating.
Stay active! Even though it’s a busy time of year, it’s important to fit exercise into each day. Try not to break your routine. If you usually go for a 10- to 20-minute walk in the morning, continue doing this. Instead of sitting on the couch after a holiday celebration, grab your coat and go for a walk with your family and friends. Walking after eating can help to bring down your postprandial blood sugar; you’ll simultaneously burn a few calories, too!
Don’t drink your calories. Keep your nonalcoholic drinks calorie- and carbohydrate-free. Choose water, seltzer or diet soda instead of juice or regular soda. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation: one drink for women and two drinks for men. Beer, wine and alcohol all contain calories, so if you’re watching your weight it’s wise to be mindful of this. If you drink hard liquor, be careful what you mix it with. Avoid the sugary mixers: Chose diet tonic, diet soda, club soda or seltzer instead of regular tonic, juice or regular soda.
Follow the Plate Method. Check out what is being served before you fill up your plate. Remember you want half of your plate to be vegetables, one-quarter of your plate to be carbohydrates and one-quarter of your plate to be protein. Holiday meals are often carbohydrate-filled, so pick a couple of your favorites and keep the portions small.
Don’t skip meals. If you skip breakfast and lunch, you’ll probably overeat at dinner. We suggest having a small snack before going to your friend’s or family’s house. This will prevent you from overindulging on the heavy appetizers.
Don’t overdo it on the desserts. Have smaller portions of the other carbohydrates — mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing — to allow for a little bit of dessert. Keep in mind that the first bite or two is the best, so either have a small slice or split a piece with someone. And, most important, keep the focus on friends and family instead of food. Isn’t that what the holidays are all about?
Share how you stay out of eating “trouble” during the holiday.
(Parts of this blog were previously posted in Lynn Polmanteer’s column on Healthline)
Nov 27, 2012 | Diabetes, Diet and Nutrition, Endocrinology, Men's Health, Women's Health
We have all heard of “beauty sleep,” but the impact of sleep quality and quantity goes way beyond our physical appearance. Research has begun to clearly delineate the importance of getting a good nights rest on health, so maybe we should start talking about “healthy sleep.”
A few facts for you from a National Sleep Foundation Poll:
* 1 in 3 American adults report having sleep problems.
* The percentage of young American adults sleeping less than 7 hours has doubled over the last 40 years.
* Cumulative sleep loss over the work week for many adults may account to one full night of sleep loss.
What do these statistics mean to me?
Research has demonstrated that sleep deprivation negatively affects several important hormones that directly regulate our appetite and metabolism. Our bodies are innately programmed to regulate our energy balance, essentially matching the energy we take in with the energy we expend.
The yin and yang of energy balance are ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is a protein that is produced mainly by the stomach that stimulates appetite; it is why your stomach growls when you are hungry. On the other hand, leptin is a hormone released by fat cells that signals when you are full (sometimes it’s hard to listen to this one!). Several research studies on sleep deprivation have shown that leptin levels decrease and ghrelin levels increase in response to a lack of sleep, which causes an increase in appetite (specifically for high-calorie and high-salt food) throughout the day. In a review of long-term research studies, short sleep duration is associated with a risk of being overweight or obese in the future.
Lack of sleep has also been shown to increase the release of stress hormones, specifically cortisol, which decreases the body’s sensitivity to insulin (a regulator of blood sugar). An elevation in stress hormone levels may also elevate blood pressure, a risk factor for heart attacks and strokes. Just as lack of sleep may be risk factors for these conditions, it may also make them more difficult to control so improving sleep may also be a valuable treatment.
Living in the “city that never sleeps” can make it difficult to shut it down at night. The good news is that it will still be there when you wake up! If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at night, please talk to your doctor to evaluate if there is a possible medical reason.
Good night and sleep tight!
Gregory B. Dodell, MD, is an Endocrinologist ta St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospitals.
Nov 20, 2012 | Diabetes, Diet and Nutrition, Health Tips
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the winter holiday season is about to begin. For many of us the holidays are a time spent traveling, family, traditions, and of course food! No matter what the holiday, eating with friends and family in celebration often means specialty foods and “treating yourself”. Your typical Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Hannukah spread is likely filled with foods that you don’t eat on a regular basis. Therefore, you may not be bashful about serving yourself an extra serving spoon full of your favorite traditional family dish. As a result eating outside the home makes meal planning and portion control a challenge. Here are a few healthful holiday helping tips to help cut calories and keep you on track to a healthful weight and relaxing holiday season. (more…)
Nov 11, 2012 | Diabetes, Heart Disease, Nephrology, Transplant
What are kidney stones?
Kidney stones (nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis) are not an uncommon health issue. Approximately 12% of men and 5% of women are affected by age 70. A kidney stone forms when patients have high levels of calcium, oxalate, cystine or uric acid in the urine. However, stones can also form when these substances are at normal levels if the amount of urine a patient produces each day is low. These substances form crystals, which become lodged in the kidney and gradually build in size, creating a kidney stone. Symptoms include flank (side between rib and hip) pain, blood in the urine, “gravel” or small stones in the urine, vomiting and pain with urination. (more…)
Nov 5, 2012 | Diabetes
Keeping track of your blood pressure is important, especially if you’re diabetic. High blood pressure (hypertension) and diabetes both increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and kidney and nerve complications.
Two out of three adults with diabetes have high blood pressure. The only way to find out if you have it is to visit the doctor regularly and have your blood pressure taken. High blood pressure is known as the “silent killer.” But if doctors catch it early, they can help control it. Normal blood pressure is 120/80 and anything above 140/90 signals high blood pressure. Because of the risks of high blood pressure to people with diabetes, doctors recommend that diabetics have a lower blood pressure than normal. (more…)
Oct 30, 2012 | Cardiology, Diabetes, Diet and Nutrition, Heart Disease
All of us can think of a food and have flashbacks to our childhood. Foods that transport us back in time. For me, I remember the taste of Wonderbread, and the way the white fluffy slices would practically melt in my mouth. I also remember the day my mother banned the bread in favor of its counterpart, the dreaded whole wheat bread. These days, I’m grateful I made the transition early on, but why was it necessary? What’s so great about whole grains anyways? (more…)
