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Will Insomnia Lead to Diabetes?

Dr. G. Pepper — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:21:45 +0000

During the past decade researchers have discovered that lack of adequate sleep can cause metabolic defects similar to those of diabetes. Blood sugar tends to be higher and insulin resistance more pronounced in people who don’t get adequate sleep. To create these abnormalities in blood sugar metabolism for studies, researchers typically deprived subjects of sleep to an extreme degree for several days. Recent research however, showed that less drastic sleep deprivation can create the same diabetes-like problems in metabolism.

In a study just published in the June edition of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (95:2963-2968, 2010), researchers in the Netherlands allowed normal subjects to sleep for only 4 hours for a single night. They found that after one night of sleep deprivation the body was not able to respond nearly as well to insulin as after a normal night of sleep.

Can this type of sleep deprivation eventually lead to permanent blood sugar problems? A group of researchers from Columbia University found that people who habitually sleep less than 5 hours per night are twice as likely to develop diabetic levels of blood sugar compared to those who sleep more.

What is the connection between sleep deprivation and diabetes? The thought is that lack of sleep fosters an inflammatory environment in the body. Whether this is because during sleep the body removes inflammatory cells and toxins or whether sleeplessness increases the production of inflammatory agents is not known. Inflammation, in turn, creates the basic metabolic defect in type 2 diabetes known as insulin resistance. Since insulin is the hormone that regulates blood sugar, if the body is resistant to insulin than high blood sugar (diabetes) can develop.

Conclusion? Work and worry less, sleep better and longer, and reduce your risk of getting diabetes. (Did I hear you say he must be dreaming?)

This article is for educational purposes only and is not meant as medical advice or treatment.

Gary Pepper, M.D.
Editor-in-Chief, Metabolism.com

5 Steps to a Healthy Being by Beth Ellen DiLuglio M.S., R.D., C.N.S.D., C.C.N., LD/N,

Clinical Nutritionist — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:28:10 +0000

5 steps, 5 simple steps can help us reduce dis-ease and induce ease.

1) EAT WHAT GROWS OUT OF THE GROUND. A pretty simple concept, yet the best way to have a healthy diet high in fiber, antioxidants, phytonutrients, good fats and good carbs. Eating 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables combined can reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure and even osteoporosis. Ideally eat 9 or more servings per day for optimal health. Add whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices and you are on your way to a truly health promoting diet. Of course it is important to minimize exposure to pesticides and toxins that can end up in our produce and we’ll cover that in a future post.

2) HYDRATE. Drinking adequate amounts of fluids is extremely important to our metabolism. Our bodies are at least 60% water and even mild dehydration can lead to headaches, fatigue and impaired athletic performance. Preferably our fluid intake will mostly come from purified water (I recommend Reverse Osmosis for several reasons we will cover in a future post). You can use RO water to make tea, coffee, lemonade and fruit seltzers. Most of us need at least 1 ounce per kilogram of body weight to start. We need to take in additional fluid in case of hot weather, losses during exertion, fever and other specific conditions.

3) BE ACTIVE. We all know that a sedentary lifestyle can increase our risk of heart disease and even cancer! Moderate activity that lasts at least 60 minutes should be done daily , or at least 5 days per week. To improve our fitness level, aerobic activity can be added a minimum of 3 times per week along with some weight training to build and maintain lean body mass.

4) RELAX. Stress can be as detrimental as a poor diet. The “fight or flight” response is great if you have to wrestle a foe or escape from one. A chronic “fight or flight” response is not great as the hormones coursing through our bloodstream can actually wreak havoc on our systems over time. A constant barrage of cortisol can even negatively affect parts of the brain. Deep breathing can reverse the stress response and begin to restore balance and harmony. Plan play time and get adequate sleep in order to keep that balance.

5) SMILE! Just the thought of a smile can make us feel really good. Imagine what the real thing can do!

Why we binge eat

Red Apple Yoga — Thu, 28 May 2009 03:28:18 +0000

Over eating and emotional eating is just another sign that you are in fact human.

knowing why is more than half the battle

You’ll see a lot of articles about how to fight the occasional eat-fest, in fact I dare you to find one woman’s or man’s magazine near the holidays and at the beginning of summer that doesn’t address this issue.

In these magazines, and even on weight loss forums all over the net, you’ll see suggestions with how to beat it: eat this food, don’t eat that food. Go for a walk, take a bath. But let’s be honest, if these things worked, we’d all be prunes from taking all of those bubble baths and ben and jerry’s would be out of business….well, okay, they’d have to at least sell the summer home in Buenos Aires.

So here’s some more practical advice on discovering your reasons for binging and how to heal from them:

There are only 2 possibilities for eating past hunger:

1) you’re not getting enough nutrients from the foods you eat.

If this is true, your cravings will be for very particular food groups and will often come with other health problems like light headedness, cranky moodswings, headaches, muscle cramps, etc.

For example, someone that does not get enough protein or is getting too much protein will crave sugary foods because both proteins and sugars will show up in your blood sugar insulin levels, keeping the right amount of proteins in your diet will keep sugar cravings at bay. If this is you, you may feel fatigued in your workouts, have irregular periods or feel sluggish.

People on over restrictive diets low on calories will crave carbohydrates and sugars because these are the sources more quickly turned into energy in the body.
If you know that you’re not eating well or are on a ___diet (fill the blank in with any one food item and you KNOW it’s a bad idea), this could be your reason. Do you feel hungry constantly, do you have trouble sleeping? These could be signs of imbalanced carbohydrates in your diet.

2)you’re not getting enough emotional outlets in your life.

Look, we’re emotional beings. We eat for hunger, yes, but we also eat because we’re stressed, tired, lonely, bored, celebrating. And we’re not the only ones. I’ve watched my cat eat until she puked (and then eat the puke, and then puke the puked food and eat it again) because she was lonely, so why should we expect more from ourselves? Okay, fine, don’t eat what you’ve puked.

If you know this is why you over eat, I ask you to think of one question: What feeling am I seeking when I eat too much?

This one question will get you a lot more than you may think. If you eat until you feel happy, what happened today or earlier that made you UNhappy? If you eat until you feel calm, what made you irritated? Generally, emotional eating form their own kind of food groups:

Crunchy salty foods = aggravation, irritation.

Sweet, soft doughy,creamy foods = sadness, need for consolation.

Soft, salty foods = boredom, loneliness.

Fatty, fried foods = feeling spacy, ungrounded, unsure.

Now of course there’s no science book that’s going to break down these parallels in what you eat, when and why. You could be ready to punch your boss in the face and reach for ice cream, not chips, but hey, don’t you want someone to console you after you punch him?

In the end, if you can start with knowing why YOU eat too much, that’s more than half the battle.

So I’m not saying the next time you go shopping to distract yourself from the Dorito aisle because it’s “bad”, but just think, what do I want to feel after I eat this? and see if that changes anything.

Kimberly, counselor since 1998 and founder of www.RedAppleYoga.com, holds a Masters in Health & Healing as a Certified Nutritional Counselor, a Masters in Education and is an internationally trained advanced Yoga and Yoga Therapy instructor that has worked and studied in New York, Spain and in Southern India. Her practice is based in New York City. She believes in showing her clients how to combine time-tested ancient theories with modern knowledge to get the best benefits from both worlds.

Follow her blog: www.RedAppleYogaNutrition.blogspot.com

Diet While You Sleep…Literally

Brian RD — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:02:41 +0000

People on a diet are given a mountain of advice:

“Keep a food journal”

“Watch out for carbs”

“Eat a really big breakfast”

Brand new research from universities from around the world are suggesting that one of the best pieces of diet advice should be:
“Sleep in”

Body Weight and Sleep: What’s The Connection?

Study after study over the last decade have clearly shown this connection: the less you sleep, the heavier you tend to be. In fact, one enormous study had over 1.1 million participants (yes that’s million). That study found a direct and independent correlation between high BMI (body mass index) and sleeping less than 7 hours per night.

A researcher in this area, Dr. Patricia Prinz states: “There is a well-documented relationship between short sleep duration and high body mass index.”

How Can Staying Up Late Make You Gain Weight?

Years ago, I remember discussing this research with a colleague of mine from the University of Rhode Island. Her explanation of this phenomenon was: “Of course people who sleep more will be thinner-when you sleep you aren’t eating.”

Although she has a point, scientists have other explanations.

They point to two important hormones in our body that make a huge impact on our appetite: Ghrelin and Leptin.

30 Second Crash Course on Ghrelin and Leptin

Ghrelin is one of about a hundred appetite controlling hormones produced by your stomach. As ghrelin levels rise, you get hungrier. As they fall, you get more full. If you are trying to lose weight, doing things to keep ghrelin low will go a long way in curbing your appetite.

Leptin, on the other hand, is made by your fat cells. Although extensively studied, leptin’s role in weight gain is not entirely understood. Once thought to be a “holy grail” treatment for weight loss, leptin is now known to be a less important regulator of metabolic rate and appetite. In general, leptin does the opposite of ghrelin-it tells your body that you’re full.

What Does Sleep Have To Do With Ghrelin and Leptin?

A recent study tested ghrelin and leptin levels in about a 1,000 people. They separated the subjects into those that slept “enough” (>8 hours) or didn’t sleep “enough” (<8 hours).

They found that the people who slept less than 8 hours had more ghrelin (the one that increases appetite) and less leptin (the one that decreases appetite) floating around in their bodies than those that slept enough. They also weighed both groups and found what other studies have also found: less sleep=more weight.

The research is telling us that when you stay up late to watch the Oscars, your body responds by making more ghrelin and less leptin.

A Warm Glass of Ghrelin Before Bed…

Apparently, your body has good reason to be shooting out all of this ghrelin after pulling an all-nighter: ghrelin makes us sleep better.

When researchers inject ghrelin in someone at bedtime, they tend to have increased REM (and therefore restful) sleep. The increase in circulating ghrelin seems to be evolution’s method of getting us to get back on track with our sleeping patterns. Although effective, it has an unintended side effect: making us hungry.

Hitting Snooze To Lose Weight

The next time you are having a dream about your new and improved body, remember: that may be your bodies way of telling you that you’re doing the right thing.

Brian Dean MS, RD is a registered dietitian and researcher. After years of research, Brian has set his sights on helping those with lower back pain. He serves on the Medical Nutrition Committee for The American Society for Nutrition and is a professional member of numerous research organizations including the International Association for The Study of Pain, American Chronic Pain Society, and The American Dietetic Association. He recently created a research-based lower back pain treatment program called The Back Pain Diet which is available from his website Stop Lower Back Pain.

Lose weight cabbage soup diet

More Lifestyle Tips for Avoiding Diabetes

Dr. G. Pepper — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:14:14 +0000

One aspect of lifestyle that is often overlooked is time spent sleeping. Getting adequate sleep is often sacrificed due to the demands of job and family. In the Sleep Heart Health Study over 1400 men and women were surveyed about their sleep habits and its relationship to diabetes and prediabetes. It was found that sleeping less than 6 hours per night was associated with increased risk of having diabetes. Interestingly, in those sleeping more than 9 hours per night there was an increased risk of diabetes and prediabetes. The authors of the study recommend trying to get between 7 and 8 hours of sleep per night to minimize the chances of developing blood sugar problems.

Maintaining ideal body weight with diet and exercise is also crucial for avoiding diabetes and prediabetes. In overweight adults for each 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) gained per year the risk of developing diabetes increases about 50% over the next ten years. By losing 2.2 pounds per year the risk of developing diabetes is reduced about 33% for the next 10 years (J Epidemiol Community Health. 2000; 54(8):596-602).

Speak to your healthcare professional to find out if you are at risk for developing diabetes and to learn ways you can avoid it.

Gary Pepper M.D.

Editor-in-Chief, Metabolism.com

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