Being More Responsible for Good Health

This is my new column for Provident Ponderings, but it fits well here, so will post it again.

--Diabetes?
--Obesity?
--Heart disease?
--High Cholesterol?
--High blood Pressure?
--Stroke?
Who’re gonna Call? Sugar Busters!

 Nearly two years ago, my friend KC gave me the book, The New Sugar Busters! Cut Sugar to trim Fat by Leighton Steward, Sam S. Andrews, M.D., Morrison C. Bethea, M.D. and Luis A. Balart, M.D. I have to confess, I never took time to read it then, but this past week, illness gave me the luxury of time for reading. So I dove in. The book was shocking, yet logical and it triggered some changes for me on a personal level. I hope in this short review, the facts might also resonate in your mind and heart, and you might see how making healthy changes and better choices might positively affect your family’s well-being.

Michelle Obama is not alone in her crusade against obesity. In the last ten years, obesity rose more than it had in the previous 40 years. It is rising so rapidly that it will soon replace smoking as the #1 cause of death. The good news is that both obesity and smoking are lifestyle choices than can be changed. The Sugar Buster authors claim that Sugar Buster’s lifestyle is simple, easy, effective and inexpensi -- we just need to learn to eat like our ancestors did 400 years ago. That means zero refined sugar, and only whole-grain and unrefined foods. It is a high fiber, low-glycemic diet. As with any dietary change it is always good to check with your health care provider, though I’m sure most of them are already recommending that you eat healthier.

Sugar is main culprit in diabetes and obesity epidemic

In the 40 years between 1958-1998 the number of Americans with diabetes rose 600%. It is an epidemic and it’s happened in our lifetime. In the U.S. alone, diabetes costs over $44 billion a year. In addition 65% of Americans are over weight, with 15% of our children falling into this category.

These alarming facts are mirrored in nearly every community and reservation across America. At the same time, other related unhealthy patterns have emerged.
Tremendous rise in refined sugar consumption
Rise in carbohydrate intake
Significant decrease in physical activity
The single leading source of added sugars in the American’s diet comes from the consumption of soft drinks. On the average we consume 55 gallons of soft drinks a year, and consume more than 154 lbs. of sugar per person a year. Further more, these no-nutrition drinks have replaced better and more nutritious choices like milk and pure fruit juice.

The Sugar Busters way of eating is balanced, roughly 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 30% fat--certainly more balanced than many gimmicks we’ve all tried in the past, while looking for a quick magic remedy for weight loss. The main strategy is to “bust sugar from your diet.” You do that by eliminating foods with a high glycemic index.

Glycemic index forecasts insulin problems
The glycemic index is a measure of how much a specific amount of ingested carbohydrate will cause a person’s blood sugar to rise and remain elevated over time. Pure glucose has a GI of 100. White bread, for instance, has a GI of anywhere from 75-95, depending on the brand, nearly as high as pure glucose. Whole grain breads on the other hand jump down to 50.
As an Idaho girl I shuttered when I discovered baked and mashed white potatoes have a high GI of 95! Tell me it isn’t true!! Sweet potatoes, on the other hand, have a 55 pt. GI. Highest fruits are watermelon (70) pineapple (65) and bananas (60). Fruits with moderate GIs include oranges, peaches, apples. While grapefruit, cherries, tomatoes and apricots are considered in the low range. Other carbs with low GIs include beans and green vegetables.

Sugar Busters’ strategy is to control, and lower the body’s insulin requirement, so we can become lean and healthy. You won’t learn about that on TV or in magazines, because they love to promote highly processed foods. When eaten, these cause a rapid rise in blood sugar, which immediately creates a big demand for the hormone insulin—also known as the “fat storage hormone.”

By changing what we consume and by avoiding high glycemic index carbs (white potatoes, white rice, white flour, corn products, and all refined sugars), we turn the corner towards health. By choosing wholesome natural foods, i.e. fruits, vegetables, whole grains, meats, and healthy fats, we arm ourselves with the tools for successful weight loss and better health. Once we begin carefully reading labels and teach our children to look for and avoid hidden sugars, we add another power tool to our family’s health plan.

When insulin is under control, and meals focus on protein and green vegetables, a friendlier secretion called glucagons is released. It helps with the mobilization of previously stored fat. Unlike insulin, it burns stored fat, rather than inhibiting its use.

Hopefully, this overview of the book Sugar Busters, will motivate you to read more, for it speaks forcefully, that as Americans we must be more prudent about the health choices we make. Hopefully, you’ll follow up with more reading and lifestyle changes that will build better health in your family this new year. Please share your successes. 42janetkw@gmail.com
Past columns can be found at http://providentponderings.blogspot.com/

A New Beginning

Since this blog is already set up, I decided to revive it with my own journaling...as I'm into a new lifestyle for a week now, and I like it. I signed up with on-line Weight watchers last Tues. Feb. 22. I weighed 199 at the time. I've lost 3.8 lbs. this first week. Prior to that, Dad and I had been going down to the Wellness Center for about a month, walking at least 2 miles, and then doing strength training. We were gone 4 days on a trip up north, and both came back sick, so we haven't done much exercise since then, but today is looking sunny, and we're starting to feel better, so hopefully, I can get exercise going again.