To help you Mind Your Body after age 45, take a look at health news highlights from the past week.
When you have diabetes, the body doesn’t properly process food for use as energy. The body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use its own insulin as well as it should, so sugars accumulate in the blood. The National Diabetes Statistics Report says more than 29 million Americans have diabetes, or more than nine percent of the population. More troubling, nearly 28 percent of us have diabetes and don’t know it! Complications include heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, and premature death.
So what can you do to protect yourself?
Once again, a healthy lifestyle is critical to keeping this condition at bay. That means—and you know the drill—exercise and a smart eating pattern that includes fiber and whole grains should be high priorities. Losing weight is job one, especially if you have a family history.
Speaking of diet, a new study in the journal Neurology suggests that “moderate dietary protein intake may reduce the risk of stroke.” That can be confusing, since we hear about the dangers of eating too much meat. An accompanying editorial helps clarify: “In the meantime, it seems the evidence tilts toward the Cretan Mediterranean diet, although the amount of protein is yet to be determined. In other words, eating vegetables, fruits and protein every day will help to keep stroke away.” That seems simple enough. Read what the American Heart Association says about the Mediterranean diet here.
And about that red meat conundrum—here’s more evidence to support a healthy eating pattern. “Higher red meat intake in early adulthood may be a risk factor for breast cancer, and replacing red meat with a combination of legumes, poultry, nuts and fish may reduce the risk of breast cancer.” Those foods, by the way, are components of that Mediterranean diet. The authors of this study in BMJ also found that “higher consumption of poultry during early adulthood was related to a lower incidence of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.”
If you’re standing in front of your refrigerator completely confused, I totally understand. Please talk to your healthcare provider about your diet when you check in for your annual screening. Have a healthy weekend!
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