Month: September 2022

Type 2 Diabetes – Exercise As Part of Diabetes Management

Exercise is one of the most important parts of a diabetic’s lifestyle. There are three effective pillars in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes…

diet,

exercise, and

medication.

And exercise is one of the main drivers.

People with Type 2 diabetes are no different to non-diabetics when it comes to excuses why they can’t find time to exercise. While fitting exercise into a diabetic lifestyle might be difficult, it isn’t impossible. You just have to be creative.

The single best move you can make is to involve a friend. Having accountability means it won’t be as easy to talk yourself out of exercising on a particular day. Make sure it is someone who is actually going to push you and be there for support. The best scenario is to have someone who is in better physical condition than you and will be able to outperform you.

Make sure you are held accountable for your actions. If you sneak out of a workout, there has to be consequences. The consequences also have to be dire enough to be painful and something your workout partner is going to hold you to… no matter what.

Next, you need to work in your own exercise. If you like to watch TV, then commit to getting up and doing jumping jacks, lunges, knee bends, etc. during the commercial breaks. You could even have an exercise bike where you can see the TV… watch TV from the bicycle seat.

Another way to build motivation is to include several others. Having a workout partner is great, but having three or four is even better. Start your own workout club or join an existing one. There are always those friends who would be willing to put forth the effort if others would, too. All they need is motivation… just like you.

Here are a few simple ways to fit movement into your day:

stand while you talk on the phone.

get a laptop tray for your treadmill. Then you can walk while you do your routine computer work.

park at the far end of the store parking lot.

walk your dog. Take advantage of the fact dogs love to walk (mine loves to run). If you don’t have a dog, offer to walk a friend’s dog. Both your friend and their dog will be appreciative.

clean. Tackle that time-intensive chore you have been putting off.

rake leaves. This burns a lot of calories and, unlike aerobics, you can instantly see the positive results… a clean yard.

folding clothes? Fold them while standing up. This not only allows you to burn more calories than sitting, but you’ll be required to bend over a lot, too.

Exercise is as important as the type of food you eat and in some cases, as important as drugs in managing Type 2 diabetes.…

Type 2 Diabetes – The Benefits of Broccoli for Diabetics

Broccoli is known as being one of the world’s best super foods. But while everyone knows it’s good for you, few know exactly why it’s good for you. If they did, perhaps more people would willingly eat it.

Broccoli’s main health benefit is it provides substantial protection from free radicals. How does it do this? It’s all in your blood. Research also shows broccoli contains sulphurophanes, and other types of phytonutrients that helps to protect your body from cancer. These components remove harmful toxins from your body and help restore overall good health.

Broccoli also provides protection for your blood vessels. When blood vessels become damaged, the risk of the individual developing heart disease increases four-fold. Although this type of damage can also be caused by:

your diet,

lack of exercise,

smoking,

alcohol consumption,

stress, and

genetics,

another major contributor to heart disease is Type 2 diabetes. Since having Type 2 diabetes dramatically increases the risk of developing free radicals, now the odds are really stacked against you.

Free radicals go to work to tear down and destroy your body. This issue in harmful disease such as cancer, causes you to age prematurely, and unnecessarily wear out your bodies. Studies show that just consuming regular amounts of broccoli reduces this effect by a whopping 75 percent.

Besides its attack on free radicals, broccoli also contains substantial amounts of helpful vitamins and nutrients. Some of the most abundant are:

magnesium,

thiamine,

iron,

calcium,

phosphate,

zinc riboflavin,

folate and niacin, as well as

an ample supply of vitamins B6 and vitamin C.

Need more reasons to eat broccoli? How about the little known fact it contains protein, is low in carbs and is fat-free. How much healthier can you get?

Some people feel the only way they can stomach broccoli is to smother it with cheese sauce. But there are other ways to prepare it that are tasty.

try steamed broccoli with some sprinkled butter or other flavored sprinkles on top. Or

hide it in a dish with other ingredients such as a healthy casserole.

For those who don’t particularly care for it in its original state, they should try broccoli sprouts. Broccoli sprouts have very little flavor so they won’t overpower a salad, which happens to be their most common use. But broccoli sprouts do manage to pack quite a boost to your health. As healthy as broccoli is, the sprouts carry approximately 100 times the benefits of regular broccoli.…

How Many Cups of Tea Should I Drink Each Day?

Anyone who has become interested in regular tea drinking will know that there are many different health benefits to be had from regular tea consumption. We’ve all heard about the plethora of antioxidants. We’ve heard about how certain varieties can possibly help with cancer prevention, high blood pressure, stroke, and heart attack. The question that remains is, how much is too much? How many cups of tea should I drink each day to maximize the health benefits?

There is great debate over whether or not drinking tea has a hydrating or dehydrating effect on the body. Logic would tell us that since most varieties contain caffeine, it would cause dehydration. However, there are some studies that state the exact opposite, telling us that the caffeine amounts are insignificant and it actually hydrates our bodies.

There is also the question of sweetening your tea, and milk or no milk. Real, true tea connoisseurs will tell you that you are drinking tea and should only use hot water and tea leaves. The leaves themselves provide the flavor, and sweetening is unnecessary. I don’t even want to tell you what a real connoisseur will say about adding milk.

That being said, there are obviously many who do sweeten their tea or add milk. If you are one, you have to count those substances going into your body when you decide the optimum number of cups to drink per day. Drinking ten cups with two teaspoons of sugar in each one isn’t going to enhance your health in the long run.

So, it seems that as with most things in life, moderation is the key. Three to five cups of good, loose leaf tea everyday should provide a host of health benefits while avoiding any possible negative effects. Be sure to choose high quality products, watch your sugar consumption, and enjoy!…

Tea Bags – To Squeeze Or Not to Squeeze – That is the Question!

Recently, I stopped for breakfast at one of my favorite restaurants. As I was waiting for my meal to arrive, an elderly couple caught my attention. They too were waiting for their food to be served. He was reading the morning paper and enjoying a pot of coffee. She was dunking a tea bag up and down in her cup. When she was done, she wrapped the tea bag around a spoon and to my utter dismay, squeezed every last drop of liquid out of it. As I sat watching her, I wondered how many people have really experienced a great cup of tea?

I could write pages about how this woman took a so-so cup of tea and turned it into a bitter brew. The discussion could include the quality of tea bags, the way the they are stored, the water temperature that her cup of tea was made with, or even why you should never dunk your tea bag when brewing a cup of tea, but I want to focus on what happened when she wrung it dry.

It is so very tempting to squeeze a tea bag. First of all, who wants it leaking all over the place? Where do you put a drippy tea bag after you are done with it? Plus, with the economy today, should we not squeeze every last drop out instead of wasting it? Makes sense, but can being neat and frugal ruin a cup of tea?

When you squeeze out that last bit of liquid from your tea packet you release tannins and oils that make the tea bitter. Also, if you squeeze too hard, you run the risk of breaking the bag and releasing all of the fannings into your drink.

The best way to handle that sopping wet tea bag is to gently press the excess liquid and then discard it in a slightly soggy state. This way you will end up with a less bitter liquid and a more drinkable cup of tea.

Now, if you insist on squeezing tea bags I have good news for you. Start drinking herbal teas and squeeze away. Herbal teas contain bits of herbs, flowers, dried fruits, and other assorted plant material so actually squeezing an herbal tea packet releases the potency of its contents.…