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6471. thoughtful - 4/19/2005 10:08:50 PM concerned, I was wondering how you were doing with your bp. Having blood sugar issues is not a good thing.
Following the Schwarzbein principle, you need to eat adequate protein for your height/weight, eat a balance of fats...saturated and nonsaturated including omega-3s...and adjust your carb intake to maintain your weight. Carbs you do eat should be whole grain or fresh fruit. Avoid salt. Eat your calories, don't drink them. Also, exercise 30 min a day. That should lead to an improvement in both blood sugar and blood pressure. 6472. alistairConnor - 4/19/2005 10:51:14 PM How much cinnamon do you take, Con, and in what form?
Powder on your capuccino?
Pills?
Smoke a quill? 6473. concerned - 4/20/2005 5:41:29 AM BP - not the best, but not increasing now - sometimes I'm type I , sometimes type II, sometimes no hypertension. I've started running regularly, so I'll see how much that affects things - if it doesn't help enough, I'll see about a bp prescription.
My blood sugar's actually in the normal range, but as you might know they recently lowered the threshold for defining insulin resistance (not diabetes) making me fairly close although I've actually improved over the last year with the fasting test. I'm watching sugars and high glycemic index foods & not drinking sweetened beverages, since I'm not interested in slipping into diabetes and all its complications.
This may sound funny, but I just put a couple tablespoons in a half gallon of skim milk when I buy it & shake it up before pouring on my dry cereal each morning (the cinnamon doesn't really want to mix with the milk). I also sometimes eat cinnamon flavored cereal in the morning. Doing this does seem to make a difference in my case. 6474. thoughtful - 4/20/2005 2:02:12 PM Concerned, goal should be to balance fats proteins and carbs at each meal and snacks as the fats and proteins will slow the absorption of the carbs and reduce the sugar shock on the system.
High fiber carbs are better too as they are also slower to be absorbed into the system. Eating 5 x a day is also a good thing...more often, but smaller meals.
Cinnamon can help control blood sugar.
6475. judithathome - 4/20/2005 2:40:17 PM Con, most of those cinnamon flavored cereals have lots of sugar, too, so be careful with them.
I take my cinnamon in capsules, one in the morning and one at night. 6476. concerned - 4/20/2005 3:12:58 PM Thanks for the advice - any suggestions for blood sugar friendly munchies?
I measured my BP this morning: 135/76 - so it can be seen that there's reason to think I can hold the fort by myself. 6477. concerned - 4/20/2005 3:22:49 PM My recent fasting glucose measurement was 95mg/dl. With the old threshold of 110mg/dl, that seemed fine. With the new threshold for glucose intolerance of 100mg/dl imposed over the last year or two (many websites still mention only the 110 figure), it appears a bit close for comfort - so this all relates just as much or more to an arbitrary medical threshold than anything else. 6478. concerned - 4/20/2005 3:26:42 PM Thanks for the advice - any suggestions for blood sugar friendly munchies?
I don't mean fresh fruits and vegetables here, btw.
6479. Magoseph - 4/20/2005 3:56:00 PM Concerned dear, you mean dried prunes and beef jerkies, maybe?
6480. concerned - 4/20/2005 4:02:54 PM Possibly the beef jerky, but that stuff is grossly overpriced, IMO. 6481. concerned - 4/20/2005 4:02:55 PM Possibly the beef jerky, but that stuff is grossly overpriced, IMO. 6482. thoughtful - 4/20/2005 4:13:25 PM From a blood sugar point of view the best munchies are those that are balanced. So, for example, nuts (unsalted for bp) are a good snack as they provide carbs, fats and proteins. Well, fresh fruit is a great snack, but it's even a better snack when combined with a hunk of cheese as that adds protein and fat to the fruit carbs. Have peanut butter (organic, nonsalted) on a graham cracker or a slice of whole wheat toast. There is some evidence that the sugar in fresh fruits does not aggravate glucose response as much as sugar from other sources and berries in particular are high in anti-oxidants which are important for mopping up free-radicals.
And in addition to watching those bkfst cereals, watch your bkfst in total. The typical 'healthy' american breakfast of cereal (loaded with sugar) with fruit (loaded with sugar) and skim milk (loaded with sugar) and a glass of OJ (loaded with sugar) sets you up for a very unbalanced meal. Even a high fiber cereal won't be enough to offset that sugar shock. The little bit of protein in the skim milk is far from sufficient and there is no fat in that to keep you satsified. Not to mention no veggies. Schwarzbein recommends nonstarchy veggies at every meal as they provide so much fiber, vitamins, minerals in a real low calorie, low sugar package.
Again...seek balance in each meal. It will keep you from overeating, you'll feel more satisfied, and it will be kinder to your blood sugar.
My bkfst this am was a glass of V8 juice, 2 eggs scrambled with red, yellow and green pepper strips and onions, a whole wheat english muffin with butter and all-fruit spread, and a cup of decaf with a splash of whole milk. 6483. thoughtful - 4/20/2005 7:05:01 PM Concerned, re your bp, one interesting piece of info i picked up somewhere had to do with aging arteries. As we get older, the spread between the systolic (high number) and the diastolic (low number) gets larger. This is because as we age or suffer arteriosclerosis, our arteries become less flexible and less able to contract to keep our blood pressure up on the downbeat. So while the diastolic number may appear in good range with little to worry about, it's the systolic one that needs to be paid attention to.
Here's the latest on the appropriate ranges from the amer heart assn
The new classification – “prehypertension” – describes people with blood pressures between 120-139 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) systolic (the top number in a blood pressure reading) or 80-89 mm Hg diastolic (bottom number).
“We have thought of blood pressures under 140/90 mm Hg as being okay,” says Daniel W. Jones, M.D., the American Heart Association representative on the JNC VII committee and the incoming dean of the school of medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Jones is currently the executive associate dean. “The evidence is now clear that those in the prehypertension range are at higher risk than those with lower blood pressures and are much more likely to move into the hypertension range where medication is required. But lifestyle changes can help those with prehypertension.”
6484. arkymalarky - 4/20/2005 7:40:59 PM Con'd, Bob eats lots of Kashi Seven Grain puffed cereal, usually mixed with low-fat yogurt, for a snack. It's the best of the cereals, including the other Kashi kinds, that he's found. He also eats kippers, string cheese, and nuts. He will eat things like turnip greens right out of the can (yuck). He doesn't do much wrt sweets at all, and his blood sugar and blood pressure (and heart rate) are all excellent. 6485. arkymalarky - 4/20/2005 7:41:44 PM Bob also eats prunes and bananas, and rarely any other fruit, and no juices. 6486. robertjayb - 4/20/2005 8:02:46 PM Blogger Ezra Klein is doing a series of reports on various healthcare systems. So far he has covered France, England, and Canada with plans for Australia and Germany.
Here's France... 6487. robertjayb - 4/20/2005 8:09:16 PM More Ezra Klein:
The Health of Nations: England... 6488. robertjayb - 4/20/2005 8:16:00 PM The Health of Nations: Oh, Canada! 6489. concerned - 4/22/2005 12:47:52 AM thanks, thoughtful and arky. You've given me a significant amount to consider.
Btw, there's a couple things I didn't notice Klein considering here - relative malpractice insurance costs and patient rights. Could countries with socialized medicine such as France keep their medical expenses so low if their society was as litigious as ours, assuming they allowed similar patient rights? I doubt it.
Also, Klein's math is a little rusty. Two thirds less is not '300%' less; it's 66.66.....6% less. 6490. arkymalarky - 4/22/2005 12:54:27 AM A couple of other things that have really helped Bob maintain low blood sugar and his weight loss: He walks three to four miles a day and drinks a glass of brandy every evening.
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