Lessons to bring home Simple—eat more legumes. Stock up on
cans of assorted beans, which are simple to use. Throw black
beans or chickpeas on salads. Serve a side of brown beans with
breakfast or lunch. It’s easy to eat some type of legume every day.
SPICE UP YO UR D IE T
“On a regular basis we see information in scientific publications
suggesting many natural products—fruits, vegetables, herbs,
spices, nuts, berries—can have beneficial effects on our health,
especially health problems such as diabetes,” says Winston A.
Boyd, director of Earthwise Technology, a Chicago-based food
research group.
Boyd’s list reads like a grocery shopping trip in Indonesia, a
region that has a low rate of Type 2 diabetes. Cinnamon and
turmeric, for example, may be powerful agents for moderating
blood sugar. Recent studies show cinnulin—a compound in
cinnamon—reduces fasting blood glucose while increasing sensi-
tivity to insulin. Numerous studies in Asia have demonstrated
that compounds in turmeric can lead to a decrease in blood
glucose, while increasing levels of blood insulin.
Lessons to bring home Spend some time browsing world
markets and cookbooks to pick up recipes that make frequent use
of the above ingredients. Indian cuisine is another style of
cooking that uses many of the same items.
G ET B A B IE S O FF TO A G O O D START
Scandinavians are genetically more likely to get Type 1 diabetes,
but the incidence of Type 2 diabetes in Sweden and Norway is
quite low. This is all the more surprising given that these are two
of the most developed countries in the world and, in general,
diabetes rates are climbing fastest in developed countries.
But here’s where Scandinavians do themselves a huge favor:
The women of Sweden and Norway have the highest rates of
breastfeeding infants in the developed world, and breastfeeding
has been shown to protect children from developing diabetes
later in life. According to a recent University of London analysis
of nearly two dozen studies, breastfeeding can lower Type 2
diabetes risk later in life by 15 to 56 percent.
There are various theories on why this is so, but no one has a
definitive answer. What is known is that children who are
breastfed have a much lower incidence of obesity, one of the
major risks for developing Type 2 diabetes. And there may be a
difference in the nutritional content of breast milk versus
formula that has an impact over the long run. Or it could simply
be that women who breastfeed tend to be more aware of health
issues and therefore create a more healthful family environment.
Lessons to bring home You can’t change whether or not you
were breastfed as a child. But you can breastfeed your own
children or be supportive of young mothers or mothers-to-be in
your family when talking about the merits of bottles versus breasts.
The Difference Between
Types 1 and 2
There are tw o main kinds of
diabetes—туре i and Type 2.
Both involve an excess
amount o f sugar in the blood.
Here’s how they differ:
T y p e ! In this form o f the
disorder, your pancreas— a
long, thin organ behind your
stomach— doesn’t produce
insulin properly. Without
enough insulin, the sugar in
your blood can’t enter cells to
provide them with energy.
Type і diabetes is an
autoimmune disorder, which
means that your body’s
immune system turns on
itself and attacks the
pancreas for reasons that
aren’t entirely understood.
Between 5 and 10 percent
o f people with diabetes
have this type, which usually
(but not always) shows up
in childhood.
Type
2
By far the more
prevalent, Type 2 diabetes is
very often a lifestyle disease.
Your pancreas makes insulin,
but it either doesn’t make
enough or your cells become
resistant to its effects. The
most common risk factors for
Type 2 diabetes include
excess weight, physical
inactivity, poor diet, high
blood pressure, high
cholesterol levels, and a
family history o f the disease.
s o m e t i m e i n w o r l d
w e l l - s t o c k e d
b o o k s t o r e s l e a r n i n g h
t o c o o k i n
m o r e h e a l
a n d
n u t r i t i o u s w a v s .
D IA B E T E S
2
б2 NOVEMBER
2008 BETTER
HOMES
AND
GARDENS
P H O T O : V E E R
