Mango is a superfood - it can control obesity

Till now, grapefruit and pineapple were believed to help people lose weight and, scientists have now added mango to the list because it help to stop obesity and type 2 diabetes. These are the findings of a research commissioned by the National Mango Board which promotes consumption of the fruit in the US.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 12 September 2016.

The study has revealed that eating the superfood can prevent the loss of beneficial gut bacteria which can be caused by a high-fat diet. The specific bacteria in the intestinal tract may play a role in obesity and obesity-related complications, such as type 2 diabetes.
The study was undertaken at Oklahoma State University and, 60 mice were put in one of four dietary treatment groups for 12 weeks. As a professor involved in the study has said - mango is a good source of fibre and has been reported in previous studies to have anti-obesogenic, hypoglycemic and immunomodulatory properties. Adding mango to the diet may help maintain and regulate gut health and levels of beneficial bacteria levels.
The tropical fruit native to southern Asia has various health-boosting properties. It contains compounds that display anti-inflammatory activities with its high fibre-content aiding digestion. One cup of mango contains antioxidants and over 20 different vitamins and minerals and provides a good source of fibre.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Pills are not the only answer to diabetes – embrace alternatives like bitter gourd

#bittergourd #type2diabetes #insulin #health #dialysis Diabetes is a dreaded disease and a worry for many – but, stopping taking sweets and relying on pills, insulin and dialysis are not the only remedies. There are several other alternatives that can be tried and implemented to cut the risks. A few of these have been outlined in this report. As per recent statistics, India has more people with Type 2 diabetes than any other nation. And eating sweets is not the only cause for this disease because stress and genes also contribute to this state of affairs. Very little can be done when it is genetic, but alternates can certainly help out.

On top of the list is bitter gourd or karela. Taking bitter gourd juice on an empty stomach has proved to prevent diabetes. If the bitterness is intolerable, it can be made into stuffed karela or even fry them like chips and have them as a snack or a side dish in your meals.
Then there is methi or fenugreek - soak a few seeds (1/4 tsps) of methi in water overnight and gulp it down with the water immediately after brushing your teeth in the morning.
The guava has good vitamin C property and high fibre content and is one fruit that diabetics can safely have – it is available all the year round. Gooseberry/amla juice can also help to reduce blood sugar levels.
For those who must have sugar in coffee or tea, a solution is to substitute sugar with honey. Black coffee without sugar cuts the risk of Type 2 diabetes. Moreover, green tea can also contain blood sugar and insulin levels in the body.

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An egg a day can keep Type 2 diabetes at bay

#type2diabetes #cholesterol #health Sunday ho ya Monday, roj khaye andey – this jingle is proving to be true because a study has established that four eggs every week can reduce the risk of Type-2 diabetes by 37 percent when compared to those men who ate only one egg a week.
It is good for health. The study has been published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and reported in zeenews.india.com dated 3 April 2015.

The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland – they assessed the dietary habits of 2,332 men aged between 42 and 60 years during 1984-1989. During the follow-up over the next 19-years, nearly 432 men were diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes.
The study concluded that consumption of egg was associated with a lower risk of Type-2 diabetes apart from lower blood glucose levels. The reason could be attributed to the fact that in addition to cholesterol, eggs contain many other beneficial nutrients that can have an effect on metabolism of glucose metabolism and low-grade inflammation. Thereby, the risk of Type-2 diabetes is lowered. Incidents of Type-2 diabetes is on the rise throughout the world.
Therefore, taking a cue from the famous philosophy of an apple a day keeps the doctor way, we can say – an egg a day can keep Type 2 diabetes at bay.

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Coffee culture – the health benefits and risks of coffee

#instantcoffee #heartdisease #dementia #type2diabetes #health Coffee is a drink that provides energy and it has its plus and minus. Studies keep getting published about health benefits as well as risks surrounding this drink. While one school of thought reveals the positives of drinking coffee, another study would point out the grave dangers associated with drinking coffee.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 10 March 2015.
While one study links coffee with reduced risk of heart attacks, it protects against dementia, type 2 diabetes and even skin cancer. Coffee is also seen as a culprit for anxiety, heartburn and making menopausal hot flushes worse. These are usually attributed to to the caffeine found naturally in coffee beans.
But, it must be remembered that coffee also contains a range of antioxidants and plant chemicals that give the drink its characteristic smoky bitterness and smell, apart from its healthy properties.
Therefore the question arises – what is the safe limit. How much intake of coffee will help reap the benefits and not suffer the risks? The answer as given by a dietician is up to three cups a day. That way one can enjoy its health benefits.
However, those who have heart disease should avoid instant coffee since it contains high levels of potassium and tis can cause dangerous changes in heart rhythm.
Read more on coffee and health at this link.

Hopes for the obese – New Zealand doctors say obesity can be controlled

#obesity #type2diabetes #otagouniversity #chineseherbalmedicine Kiwi scientists have, in a research led by Dr Alex Tups, of the Otago University's Centre for Neuroendocrinology and Department of Physiology, claim to have found a curious new way to combat obesity and Type 2 Diabetes as reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 2 February 2015. The solution is to go in for an antioxidant linked to Chinese medicine.
They conducted trials on mice and have suggested that butein, derived from plants used in traditional Chinese herbal medicine, can be used to put an end to diet-driven processes in the brain that lead to obesity.
The study centered on a portion of the brain called the hypothalamus, which is linked to the nervous system and helps regulate many important functions including sleep, heart rate, body temperature, appetite, and body weight.
The team wanted to find out if by directly stopping inflammatory processes in the hypothalamus caused by a high fat diet it could help lower blood sugar levels and reduce insulin resistance.
They took hold obese mice and discovered that by administering butein either directly into the brain or orally greatly improved glucose tolerance and brain insulin signaling.
The results are promising – butein resulted in the high-fat diet mice reducing body weight, building up less fat, expending more energy, and showing evidence of improved leptin-signaling.

Child obesity rates for British children under 10 leveling off

#BMI #obesity #type2diabetes #heartdisease A study carried out by researchers of the King's College London has concluded that, while obesity in children under-10s is gradually stabilizing, the same connote said of children in the age group of 11 to 15 as reported in bbc.com dated 30 January 2015.
The rise in childhood obesity was a matter of concern – it had left one in three children overweight. That is showing signs of leveling off for the children under 10s. During the period 1994 to 2003, there was a steady rise in the proportion of overweight children in England but, in the last decade, it has remained at about 30%.
The Public Health England has said that there was no room for complacency because, in the opinion of experts, overweight is responsible for a wide range of health problems like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers and, even, infertility. And - the number of obese people in the UK has increased three times in the past 25 years.
The study was conducted by considering weight, height and body mass index (BMI) measurements for more than 370,000 children from 1994 to 2013 and, this data was analyzed. Children who are obese have to face problems like bullying. Such children also suffer from low self-esteem, anxiety, depression and have a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease as they grow up.