health matters
SweetALERT
One of the biggest health issues in modern times, diabetes is a serious matter that has recorded an alarming 346 million sufferers worldwide as at August 2011 according to the World Health Organisation. Let’s get educated on how we can balance out our lives in honour of World Diabetes Day, which falls on Nov 25, as we look at some life-saving facts.
60
PERCENT of deaths accounted worldwide are due to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes.
668 MILLION
WORDS: EFI HAFIZAH HAMZAH IMAGES: WWW.SXC.HU
people have accessed preventive chemotherapy for at least one disease in 2008.
6.8 P0INTS
of higher IQ have been averaged in a study on children who are breastfed longer; regardless of socio-economic status, the mother’s IQ or other factors such as birth weight. (www. healthdiscoveries.net)
MAGNIFICENT MAGNESIUM Magnesium helps improve the body’s sensitivity to insulin. According to a study published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, magnesium supplements significantly reduces the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. In the study, 52 overweight, insulinresistant (but non-diabetic) men and women were given 345mg of magnesium or a placebo everyday for six months. The results showed that those taking magnesium had better balanced blood sugar levels with insulin sensitivity and blood pressure improvements. Magnesium is found in pumpkin seeds, spinach, soy beans, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and halibut.
5
FRUCTOSE FOUL Calorie for calorie, high fructose corn syrup, HFCS (not fructose in fruits) causes more weight gain than glucose or sugar. Why? Your body converts it primarily into blood fats (triglycerides) and adipose tissue, not into energy. Obese people who drank HFCSsweetened drinks with their meals had almost 200% higher fat (triglyceride) levels than obese people who drank a glucose sweetened drink. HFCS is instrumental in causing obesity, lack of energy and metabolic syndromes because chronic high triglycerides can lead to insulin resistance. (Teff KL and others, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2008)
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER Diet and lifestyle are as good as (or even better than) medication in taking care of your heart health. Researchers from the University of Toronto, Canada, found that a simple diet of fruit, vegetables and nuts can be effective in reducing the risk of heart disease in just one week. Coupled with regular exercise, people can wean off their medication in as little as three weeks. Additionally, according to Dr Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi, an endocrinologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, a good supply of vitamin D is useful to prevent cholesterol from building up in your blood vessels, particularly for people with diabetes.
HANDBAG MUST-HAVES
You don’t need to be a walking pharmacy, but here are some simple items to have in your trusty tote for the just-in-cases.
Have this For this
Tea Bags
Alcohol-based hand sanitizer
Uncoated aspirin
Useful for cracked lips and mouth blisters in hot weather. Dampen tea bag and press on the area. Its tannins help stop bleeding in mouth and gum tissue.
When there’s not a sink in sight, this rids you of germs. Dole out a drop for clean hands, especially when you’re eating out.
Primarily useful for headaches, but truly life-saving if you experience heart attack symptoms. Chew one and get help immediately.
Tweezers
They remove splinters, bug stingers and glass shards.
Bandages, BandAids, plasters
New shoes are usually the cause of blisters. Use these to ease the pain or protect the feet.
Source: World Diabetes Foundation and World Health Organization (International Research)
36
travel3sixty november