Diabetes, Cheerios, and Late Night Eating...

...you betcha, it's a smorgasbord today!

First up: a break-down of diabetes prevalence across the United States. Sorry the below map doesn't enlarge any bigger, but you can go here to see the enlarged version. Of course I found this interesting as I work with a largely diabetic population.

Among those 30 and older in the US, 13.7% of men and 11.9% of women have diabetes. A third of this estimated number are going undiagnosed. Colorado, Minnesota, and Vermont have the lowest rates of diabetes while the southeastern states have the highest rates -- Mississippi having the highest rates of all. Lead author and epidemiology research fellow, Goodarz Danaei at Harvard stated, "The Southern States have a very dangerous aggregation of risk factors for heard disease: obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes [1]."

With more than 70,000 diabetes-related deaths each year, diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death [1]. You can clearly see that Oklahoma and Texas have much work to be done in diabetes prevention, especially among the men, compared to neighboring Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and New Mexico.

In other news, a federal court panel has ruled that five pending lawsuits against General Mills for claims touting the cholesterol-lowering benefit of Cheerios will be consolidated into one multi-district case. The FDA administered a warning to General Mills regarding their claims of Cheerios "lowering your cholesterol 4% in 6 weeks" and "clinically proven to lower cholesterol." A specific rate of risk reduction is not allowed, according to the FDA. Plantiffs states that General Mills made false claims which led them to eat the cereal as a way to lower cholesterol [2].

The FDA stated in May that eating Cheerios was "not generally recognized as safe and effective for use in preventing or treating hypercholesterolemia or coronary heart disease [2]. Shame, shame, Cheerios and General Mills!

Last up: light night eating produces weight gain. I found WebMD's take on evening eating and weight gain, which was in consensus with a post I made back in September. Similarly, recent research performed at Northwestern University found that eating at night led to twice as much weight gain, even when total calorie consumption was the same among mice. The science, however, is still unknown [3]s.

Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, and director of nutrition for WebMD recommends consuming regular meals, as well as consuming 90% of your daily caloric needs before 8 pm. Eating every three to four hours helps regular blood sugar and control hunger and cravings [3]. I concur, for what it's worth. :O ) 

And yesterday's diabetic diet...

Breakfast:

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats (2 carbs)

1 cup skim milk (1 carb)

1 tsp turbinado (1/2 carb)

1 tsp Splenda brown sugar (1/2 carb)

1/2 ounce pecans, chopped (0 carbs)

cappuccino with 2 Tbsp sugar-free International Delight

     Total: 4 carbs

1 cup whole wheat pasta (3 carbs)

4 ounce chicken breast (0 carbs)

3/4 cup marinara (1 carb)

1 ounce Parmesean cheese (0 carbs)

     Total: 4 carbs

Snack:

12 baby carrots (0 carbs)

small apple (1 carb)

     Total: 1 carb

Dinner:

1 cup mashed potatoes (2 carbs)

3 fingerlings of Biggest Loser "Fried Chicken" (2 carbs)

     Total: 4 carbs

Snack:

3 graham crackers (1 carb)

1 1/2 Tbsp peanut butter (0 carbs)

     Total: 1 carb

[1]. Bakalar, Nicholas. Diabetes: A State-by-States Breakdown. The New York Times. October 13, 2009.

[2]. Scott-Thomas, Caroline. Lawsuits Against Cheerios Cholesterol Claims Combined. Food Navigator. October 13, 2009.

[3]. Zelman, Kathleen M.  Is Late Night Eating More Likely to Pack on the Pounds? WebMD.

Denny's Downer

If you enjoy a good'ole Denny's breakfast anything like my family -- brace yourself. In keeping with yesterday's topic of sodium...turns out, Panera may not be a leading offender.

A consumer activist group in New Jersey sued Denny's Corporation this week because of the "dangerously high" levels of sodium found in their meals. As previously discussed, the recommended daily allowance for sodium is 1,500 milligrams for a hypertensive individual, and up to 2,300 milligrams for a healthy individual (some sources stick with 1,500 mg for all). Some menu items at Denny's more than double Panera's worst offender with nearly 6,000 milligrams of sodium. *blink*

As for the health implications of such foods, we know that diets high in sodium are major causes for hypertension, which is associated with heart disease and stroke -- two of the leading causes of death. The Executive Director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Michael Jacobson, is quoted in saying, "For those Americans who should be most careful about limiting their sodium, such as people middle-aged and older, African-Americans, or people with existing high blood pressure, it's dangerous to eat at Denny's. Denny's customers deserve to be warned about the considerable health risks posed by many of these meals" [1].

As for Denny's...they have no comments at this time (duh).

It'll break my brother's heart to hear that the Denny's Meat Lover's Scramble which contains two eggs with chopped bacon, diced ham, crumbled sausage, cheese plus two bacon strips, two sausage links, hash browns, and two pancakes weighs in at an astonishing 5,690 milligrams of sodium -- a scary 379% of the recommended daily allowance [1].

But the bleeding doesn't end there. A Denny's Spicy Buffalo Chicken Melt with seasoned fries will provide 4,880 milligrams of sodium while an added bowl of Denny's Clam Chowder would together boast a staggering 6,700 milligrams of sodium for the meal - an amount that should be consumed over the course of 4 1/2 DAYS. Medically speaking, the body has a difficult time ridding of that amount of sodium and excess sodium in the body can lead to fluid retention and accumulation in the lungs, presenting potentially severe medical consequences over time [2].

And, it doesn't stop there. EVEN the smaller meals advertised specifically for children and seniors contain sodium in excess of the daily recommended intake [2]. Scary, isn't it? Dr. Stephen Havas of Northwestern University explains high sodium intake to be one of the nation's top health threats. He goes on to share that by reducing 50% of the sodium content in packaged and restaurant foods, there would be 150,000 saved lives each year. If that's not evidence enough for change, I don't know what is.

Beware of Denny's! Though my hypertensive father doesn't read blogs, this one will be printed and snail mailed to Chicago. While I know my parents look forward to retirement and "Lumberjack Slams" (850 calories and 3180 milligrams of sodium), the Food Police, as I'm so lovingly referred to, says "NO!" to Denny's. Back to the kitchen, Maaaaaaaaaaaaa... also known as Jan's Bar and Grill.

[1]. Activist Group Sues Denny's Over Sodium Levels. Reuters UK. July 23, 2009.
[2]. Unsafe Sodium Levels at Denny's Prompt Class Action Lawsuit. CSPI Newsroom. July 2009.

I'll take a pass, Dr. Atkins

The Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) reported a case study showing serious risks related to the Atkins diet [1]. For those that don’t know, the Atkins diet is the ultimate low-carbohydrate diet. WebMD explains the diet as being controversial…to say the least [2]. However, during the 1990’s, it was the diet craze…even for yours truly.

Sporting an excess 80lbs many years ago, I, too, gave the Atkins diet a shot. I vividly recall breakfasts consisting of bacon, eggs, cheese, and sausage. Um, hello cholesterol and saturated fat? It makes me ill even thinking about it today. Dr. Atkins, however, advocated for such: the ultimate low-carb diet, stating that it would improve health and memory function [2].

Let’s approach the science of the Atkins diet for just a second, because the diet does produce (temporary) weight loss. After a mere 2 ½ months, I was down 30-40 pounds. However, I’d bet just about anything that my lipid panel and blood pressure were up. Even at the ripe age of 14. The weight loss effects come from the lack of carbohydrates being consumed in the diet. The production of usable glucose: the source of energy for the body, particularly the brain, can cause serious strain on the body, especially organs such as the kidnies. Also, with carbohydrates unavailable, the body begins to breakdown it’s own fat stores, creating carbon fragments called ketones. This breakdown in the body puts oneself into a state of ketosis: the goal state for those following a low-carb diet seeking weight-loss. Ketogenic states tend to suppress the appetite which aid in producing weight loss. However, unpleasant side effects also pop-up when ketonic, such as unusual breath odor and constipation [2].

While fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are forbidden during the initial 2-week phase of the diet, they are gradually added back in. Effectively…supposedly. In my own experience, after maintaining a prolonged ketogenic state (albeit I surely didn’t know it was called that 10 years ago), the reintroduction of carbs into my diet caused major weight gain. Duh. Those 30-40 lbs were back in no time, and about 10 more joined in the following months. Please note, this was pre-nutrition education!

Low-and-behold, I got off easy post-Atkins. A case study published in the American Dietetic Association presented PCRM research on one man – a previously healthy 51-year-old now suffering from high cholesterol, atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), and erectile dysfunction after following the Atkins diet as discussed above. His poor wife…”unusual” breath odor and erectile dysfunction…

In one month’s time, the case study subject’s LDL (bad cholesterol) went from a health 85 mg/dl to an unsafe 154 mg/dl – a level most doctors would prescribe statins for. Eventually, the subject landed himself in the ER with symptoms of chest pain. The cause: a near total blockage of a coronary artery! For obvious reasons, the subject discontinued the low-carb diet and within 2 months had completely resolved his health problems.

If that’s not scary, I don’t know what is.

A shout-out to all the diabetics and weight-loss seekers out there: carbohydrates are an integral part of your diet – they are NOT the devil! Choose your carbohydrates wisely, however: whole grains, whole-wheat products such as rice and pasta, fruit, vegetables, and low-fat dairy.

[1]. Kraus, Peggy. Atkins Diet Blamed for One Man’s Chest Paid and Artery Blockage. Examiner, Tulsa. July 18, 2009.

[2]. The Atkins Diet. WebMD: Healthy Eating & Diet. Accessed July 21, 2009.