There are so many factors that come into play when trying to focus on a diet in any weight loss program…

• So much information, where do I start?
• Situations in my life I can’t control make me eat?
• Availability of good food – if you travel, you know what I mean?
• Society influences are mostly around BAD foods (parties, peers, TV, etc…)
• Lots of mis-information that focus on other goals such as muscle building at the expense of good nutrition and weight loss goals

Give that there is so much confusing information, so much debate over what is good for you and not and differing emphasis placed on the role of diet and nutrition to weight loss programs, the more we can simplify your dietary “must-have’s” in terms of weight loss foods, the more likely we all will be to follow and see our fat burn off.

Let’s stick with 1pf the most powerful weight loss foods:

1. Fibre

 Fibre is beneficial in many ways to our body – reducing heart disease, controlling blood sugar and seems to help in weight loss.

Specifically, soluable fibre tends to gel together in your system and collect sugars and starch slowing the absorption of these fat causing compounds lowering the probability that they will turn into weight in our bodies.

In addition – it’s been shown that eating the recommended amount of fibre helps give us that “full” feeling while not adding empty calories of carbohydrates or sugars.

First, how much should we be getting?  Fibre intake for a man ages 19 to 55 should come in around 38 grams in one day which can come from a variety of sources including whole grains and fruit.

For example, here are typical fibre quantities in popular foods…

a)  You will get approximately 3-grams of fibre from eating an apple, most of that coming from the skin (so you won’t get the same fibre from eating a peeled apple or drinking apple juice)

b) Now ceareals are really interesting…many of us assume that you get a substantial amount of fibre from any cereal we eat right?  WRONG!  The difference is rather remarkable and can play a huge difference in your fibre intake daily.  In fact, you can get nearly half of the recomended fibre intake for your entire day with as little as one serving of a high fibre cereal – from a weight loss perspective this makes sticking to your fibre intake goals especially easy. 

Let’s look at a few popular cereals in terms of fibre listed:

• Kellogs Rice Krispies – 0 grams
• Rasin Bran – 6 grams per 1 Cup serving
• Fibre-1 Cereal – 14 grams per 1-1/4 serving
• Nabisco Shreddies – 6 grams per 1-Cup serving

Notice that many popular ceareals have zero or barely a touch of fibre where others you can get over half of your daily fibre intake from as little as 1-cup. 

By choosing to eat just 1-cup of ceareal each morning high in fibre you can substantially increase your fibre intake, reduce your exposure to disease and help in your quest for weight loss.

Jeff

We are talking about close to 20Million people in the United States alone – a massive group that create a significant drain on the health care and economic systems as well as a large number of whom their lives are made less than optimal due to complications associated with diabetes.

There have been a wide range of predictive factors popping out of research on diabetes including:

• body weight
• genetic pre-disposition
• sex (male or female)
• geographic location
• diet
• stress level
• age
• and many others…

Of the more recent and convincing research,  the focus has been on breaking down specific aspects of the diet including the relationship that has been demonstrated between fats and diabetes.

Some research has shown that most fats stress the pancreas by substantially increasing the level of insulin required to process these fats, however there does seem to be an exception – Omega3 fats.

In fact, there is growing evidence that Type-1 diabetes may be more closely linked with a deficiency in “good” Omega-3 fats coupled with an over abundance of other unhealthy fats leading to massive stress on our pancreas, cell damage and eventually. Though not as prevalent as Type-2 diabetes, Type 1-diabetes does inflict children to a greater degree – and now may be somewhat treatable by nutrition rather than medication.

Specifically, the study looked for links between omega-3 fat intake and the presence of antibodies that have been shown to damage the cells in the pancreas leading to Type-1 diabetes where the child is no longer able to produce insulin within their body.

Shockingly – those who ate above-average quantities of foods rich in omega-3 fats (fish, nuts, canola oil, etc…) where 55% less likely to end up with Type-1 diabetes with a reasonably large sample size of 1700+ kids over a 1-year period.

With results like that, the untold additional benefits linked to omega-3 fatty acid intake and lack of side effects with relatively moderate intake – as a parent, I will definitely pay more attention to consistency of omega-3 fatty acids in my family’s diet.

Jeff

Now, exercise to control Type 2 Diabetes?  Exercise to control blood sugar, including significant reductions in complications of diabetes such as heart attack, stroke and kidney disease.

Diabetes has become an epidemic and will only continue to escalate as our population ages so any natural way to control diabetes is not just a personal benefit, but a social and economic benefit as well.

In this Time-CNN report which outlines details of a new study released by the journal “Annals of Internal Medicine” where researchers from University of Calgary and University of Ottawa found significant benefit in aerobic and weight training exercise.

The good part is that the 45-minutes, 3-times each week is achievable for most people, even those not in the best shape.

Perhaps the most important conclusion of all is that even if you are not seeing significant weight loss as a result of your exercise, benefits to blood sugar, blood pressure and other bodily functions makes exercise well worth your while.

Jeff