Carb Urges May Signal Future Disease Risk

A good low carb diet can help control insulin levels. This
may be even more beneficial for women with a history
of diabetes or heart disease.

Read the short article below for more.

NewsUSA:
Weight Gain, Carb Urges, Fatigue Signal Future Disease Risk

For women, excess weight in the midsection, carbohydrate
cravings and frequent fatigue may be warning signs of
something more serious. A new survey commissioned
by the National Women's Health Resource Center showed
that 75 percent of women ages 40 to 65 with a family
history of diabetes or heart disease experienced these
symptoms.

However, nearly one-third of all women surveyed did
not know they were signs of impaired insulin function, a
key risk factor for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The
most common symptoms experienced were excess weight
in the midsection, carbohydrate cravings and frequent
fatigue.

'When women who don't have diabetes hear the word
'insulin,' they tune out because they think it doesn't apply
to them,' said Audrey Sheppard, president and chief
executive officer of the National Women's Health Resource
Center, the leading independent health information source
for women. 'It is critical for women to look at these
symptoms as a wake-up call and understand that insulin
health is important for all of us.'

The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive and funded
through an unrestricted grant by Nutrition 21, also showed
94 percent of U.S. adult women are unaware that low
levels of the mineral chromium impact blood sugar.

Only 10 percent reported that their daily diet contains
sufficient amounts of chromium as recommended by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Chromium is an essential
mineral that helps improve insulin health the same way
calcium helps promote bone health.

'As a nutritionist, it's important to encourage people to be
active and eat a balanced diet. However, the average
American diet only supplies about 1 to 2 micrograms of
chromium per serving,' said Carolyn O'Neil, a registered
dietitian and author of the best-selling book "The Dish on
Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous."

"When choosing a supplement, women should select a
brand that is considered safe and effective," O'Neil said.
"For instance, Chromax is the most studied form of
chromium and its safety has been validated by government
health authorities."

Women can evaluate their insulin health and stay current
on the latest news and research by visiting
www.BloodSugarFactor.com.

In addition, the National Women's Health Resource Center
has created tools to help women better understand and
take care of their blood sugar.
They are available for download at
www.HealthyWomen.org/bloodsugar or by calling
877-986-9472.






low carb diet

Low Carb Diet Plans

Have you been considering a low carb diet as a part of
your weight loss plan?

If so, here's a nice little comparison between three of the
most popular plans currently on the market.

Low Carb Diet Plans: "Low Carb Diet Plans


I’m sure you have heard of them, low carb diet plans.
This type of diet is very popular now, because people
who are trying to lose weight have discovered how
effective low carb diet plans really are. Many of us
love carbs, and it really is hard to lose weight and keep
it off without restricting carbs in the diet.

There are many low carb diet plans to choose from,
and the only way to decide which one is right for you,
is to compare each of them side by side to see which
one you can live with.

There are various websites that have a ton of
information available for dieters, that compare low
carb diet plans and specific information on each one.
A good site to visit is
www.lowcarb.ca/atkins-diet-and-low-carb-plans/
which has personal testimonials as well as support
and recipes for the low carb dieter.

There are good carbs and bad carbs just like anything
else. Bad carbs include breads, baked goods, cereals,
pastas, white potatoes, white rice, certain candies, and
most alcoholic beverages.

Good carbs are those that are high in fiber and low
in carb count, such as, sweet potatoes, brown and
wild rice, whole grain breads and pastas, fresh fruits
and vegetables, and red or white wine.

Each low carb diet plan is somewhat the same, except
they are each unique regarding how much of what you
get to eat when. Many low carb diet plans start out
with a beginning phase that is more restrictive,
especially for the first two weeks, and more foods are
slowly added back in as the diet progresses.

Each of these low carb diet plans restricts amount of
carbohydrate intake to a degree, some more than
others, and fiber offsets the carb count of each food
item. The higher the fiber, the lower the carb count.

The Atkins diet is focused on eating meats, protein, and
good fats, and does not include any fruits or vegetables in
the beginning, which may not be tolerable for some people.

This diet also only allows twenty carbs or less per day,
and heavily encourages the use of dietary supplements.

The South Beach Diet is somewhat easier to stick to because
it allows a greater variety of foods in the first phase, including
vegetables and lean meats, and does not restrict the carb
count as much as Atkins.

The Zone is another popular low carb diet plan that
incorporates some of the same principles of the Atkins and
South Beach Diets, but the emphasis is on keeping the ratio
of daily intake at 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat.
Meals are divided into ‘blocks’ and basically the same foods
are eaten throughout the diet, the only difference being, that
more fat is added after goal weight is obtained to keep the
dieter from continuing to lose more weight.

Whichever low carb diet plan you chose will be effective,
that is a given, because carbs are what affect the insulin
levels in our bodies and cause cravings.

Once we have learned to eat in a healthy way, and only
eat the good carbs, we will weight less and be able to keep
the weight off. Be sure to consult your physician if you
need to lose a considerable amount of weight, so that he or
she can recommend the low carb diet plan that is right for
you.

Low Carb Diet - When More Is Better

A good low carb diet can actually have you eating
more food than you're eating right now.

Think about it, when most people want to lose weight
what's the first thing they do? They tend to stop
eating or cut way back on their food intake.

Well my friends I'm here to tell you that it doesn't
have to be that way.

A healthy diet should consist of eating less of the
foods that contain calories from simple carbohydrates
(sugar and processed flour) and more whole grains,
fresh fruits and vegetables and good sources of
protein. This is the basis of a good low carb diet
plan.

In fact, a good diet should have you eating more
instead of less! Not more food, but more often in
smaller portions.

Your body's a truly wonderful machine geared towards
one important goal. Survival. When you cut way back
on your food intake your body feels threatened and
automatically assumes that you're starving.

This built in survival mechanism dates back to the
stone age and is simply nature's way of keeping you
alive for as long as possible. Long enough to get to
your next meal.

To combat this condition the body will start breaking
down muscle tissue to use as energy and saves its fat
stores for the last ditch effort to save itself from
what it thinks is immanent death. Fat is just that, a
storage material.

This is not good because first, by using muscle
tissue for energy you're losing precious lean mass
which is metabolically active. This means that you
need energy to support muscle which helps to keep
your metabolism running at a higher pace. Higher
metabolism means more calories burned even in a
resting state.

Fat, on the other hand, doesn't need any energy to
support it. It's simply "dead" weight.

Secondly, the body will start storing more fat
because it's preparing itself for the worst. Your
survival is your body's most important concern so
it'll do whatever it can to stay alive.

So what can you do if you want to eat less without
starving yourself and sending your body into this
defense mode?

Eat smaller meals more often throughout the day.

This works on two levels.

By eating more often you won't get hungry as quickly
and your metabolism will stay raised because you'll
be digesting food more often. Digesting food uses
calories just like any other physical activity.

So here's a simple low carb diet plan that anyone can
follow. Eat four or five small meals a day, each
consisting of a small portion of protein along with
some fresh fruits and veggies.

Try to eat every three hours or so to keep your
metabolism and energy up. This'll help you stay away
from those snacking binges too.

Also, drink lots of water. Water will help to cleanse
your body and make you feel full.

So you see, with a little planning and by adhering to
a low carb diet plan eating more can actually be
better!