How to Manage Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is caused due to resistance developed by our body cells towards insulin produced by the body. This leads to a rise in blood glucose level as the cells natural tendency to absorb insulin as much reduces, preventing the body from using glucose effectively resulting in excess sugar levels in the body. Type 1 diabetes is genetic but Type 2 diabetes is a lifestyle disease most commonly caused by obesity. The good news is that because Type 2 diabetes is not genetic and can be controlled, managed and sometimes even be reversed completely.

Recent study on diabetes suggests that you could reverse your diabetes to normal. That means you could balance you blood sugar levels in the body. The study by Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre at Newcastle University in England says that eating less calories about 600 per day for three months could reverse the diabetes. In the study 11 people with type 2 diabetes for four years were put on a 600 calorie diet with leafy green vegetables and liquid diet which reversed the diabetes of 7 people.

At Fitho we believe that you dont have to go on such a strict low calorie diet that can damage your daily nutrition intake. Read here to understand what is a  balanced diet and how it is essential for our healthy well being. Diabetes Type 2 can be controlled and managed through healthy diet and exercise without reducing the calorie intake to such low levels. A person diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes needs a special diet chart that ensures that mostly food with low glycemic index should be included. Here is a list of foods that you must include and also avoid.

5 High GI Foods                                              5  Low GI Foods

Potatoes                                                                  Green Vegetables

Rice                                                                           Lentils

Sweets                                                                      Fruits (Citrus)

Packaged Juice                                                     Oats

Pasta                                                                         Brown Rice

Watermelon & Its Health Benefits

Health Benefits

Watermelon is not only a refreshing fruit to beat the heat on a hot summer day but it has a few health advantages. Water melon is also very effective in reducing your body temperature and blood pressure. This fruit may also help in reducing inflammation that contributes to conditions like asthma, atherosclerosis, diabetes, colon cancer, and arthritis. Watermelon is full of water, carbohydrates and fiber along with essential vitamins and minerals that provides  nutrition to the body for better metabolism.

Is Sugar Healthy

We all know sweets, chocolates, candies, ice creams and sweetened food contain high levels of sugar and therefore stay away from them as much as we can. Sugar is addictive and is also a good source of instant energy. Eating too much sugar is unhealthy and leads to excess fat storage and increase of insulin.

Although we limit ourselves from the most obvious forms of sugar there might be ‘sugar coated’ ways that you are consuming sugar. Here are a few example of not so healthy ways that we might be consuming sugar without really being aware. Read more

Healthy Options When You Eat Outside

Celebrations and gatherings often take you out for lunches and dinners. Parties, marriages and office meeting wire you up all the time and you probably eat out most of the time. You get variety of food that confuses your mind and makes you indulge in eating all your favorite food laden with butter, cream, sweets, hydrogenated flour, oil, alcohol and of course no one to stop you for the portion control. You need to realize that it is not healthy to eat everything fattening because when you eat more than your caloric requirement the body starts to store the extra calories which eventually show up on your back, hips, thighs, hands and chin. You  would not like that, would you ?

Usually you find fattening, rich and oily food served across all restaurants and food chains. The reason why these foods dominate the menu is that they are cheaper to prepare and are delicious to taste.  But this shouldn’t let you get distracted from making healthy decisions and still enjoy eating out.

Here are few handy tips that will keep you stay on track. Drink a glass of water before you pick the plate up. Know some of the options that you can choose from when you eat out. Read more

Manage Menopause Weight Gain

Weight gain during menopause is a big concern for women. The menopausal phase triggers changes in body shape resulting on an average weight gain of about  5-10 kg. This weight is primarily  hormone related and has a direct impact on appetite, metabolism, and fat storage.  Therefore controlling weight during this time becomes extremely difficult due to fluctuating estrogen, testosterone, and androgen levels. These added kilos further aggravate depression and anxiety which in turns can bring on the hot flashes and disturbed sleep.

Estrogen plays a big role in menopausal weight gain especially as the estrogen levels decline with age as the body stops ovulating. Due to the decrease in estrogen levels produced by the ovaries, body searches for other sources to substitute the shortage of estrogen in the body. Meanwhile fat cells in our body have the natural capability to produce estrogen, hence the body starts restoring to these cells  to convert calories into fat to increase estrogen levels. Unfortunately fat cells don’t burn calories the way muscle cells do, which causes this unwanted Read more

How to Reduce Water Weight

Do you feel bloated sometimes from water retention, and wonder how to reduce your water weight and get rid of bloating? Many people experience the problem of bloating which is an increase of water storage in the body due to some foods and health conditions. Bloating leads to increased weight, bloated feeling and overall feeling heavy. Read on to what causes water retention and know how you can reduce water weight.

Reasons for water weight

- High level of Sodium in your body.
- Excess of sugar intake increases the hormone insulin. High level of insulin makes it difficult to get rid of sodium.
- Some medications can make the body store sodium resulting in bloating.
- PCOS, hypothyroid, menopause and other hormonal imbalances.

Tips for reducing water weight Read more

6 Steps to a Flat Stomach

Getting restless seeing your belly fat? Well you should be a concerned (see how belly fat is harmful). But since you’ve decided to take action, here are 6 simple steps you can take to reduce flatten your belly.

To reach your goal there are certain factors you should take into consideration while on your quest to a perfect flat belly. Follow the following guidelines to kick start your efforts.

Wake Up and drink water: Rehydrate your body with 500 ml of chilled water as soon as you wake up in the morning. Research shows that following this routine will boost your metabolism by 24% for an hour and a half afterward. Body performs well when it is hydrated. What’s more, a previous study determined that muscle cells grow faster when they’re well hydrated. You know what more muscle means…. higher
metabolic rate, and more fat burning.

Eat Your Breakfast: A recent research shows that people who miss their breakfast are more likely to have bulging belly by about 4 & 1/2 times to a person who has regular breakfast and breakfast size is inversely proportional to waist size. So have a good breakfast before heading out for the days work: have some oatmeal, fruits, yogurt, eggs, … or anything that you enjoy

Track it: Monitoring your diet and exercise is important as it keeps you focused towards your objective. Research says that people who tracked their diet and exercise are more likely to reach their goal, than people who do not.

Carry Your Lunch: Practice the habit of carrying lunch. This helps you in two ways. If you’re busy, you can eat at your desk, and avoid skipping meals. And when you’re hungry, you don’t have to eat the unhealthy options available in the cafeteria.

Pick the Right Exercise: You have abs, but they are under that layer of belly fat which needs to be burnt off for your abs to show. So doing 100 crunches a day will not work. You will have to spend as little at 20 minutes a day to follow a proper exercise plan, and see the belly fat melt away. The perfect exercise plan is a combination of active (like cardio) and passive (weights, yoga, etc).

Get the 7-8 hours of sleep: Sleep well and schedule your sleep because research says that lack of sleep might disrupt the hormones that control our ability to burn fat. It says that the muscle cells become resistant to insulin which results in storage of fat around your belly.

So, start your flat belly plan now, and see how this 30 year old client went from flabby to flat in less than a month.

Corn Flakes Calories, Nutrition- Are they healthy or fattening?

Traditionally, when people think of breakfast cereal, they think of corn flakes and milk. Yes, breakfast is good for you. But what is odd, is the association of corn flakes with healthy food. Many people eat corn flakes to lose weight or reduce harmful belly fat.

The base ingredient is corn, but along with that the other major ingredient are sugar, malt flavouring, and high fructose corn syrup. All these ingredients have a high content of high GI carbohydrates. In fact, there is a huge controversy linked to the excessive use of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) in food- it has been linked to obesity, since it promotes excessive food consumption and insulin resistance in the body. As Indians, we already have the ‘belly gene’, and are prone to diabetes. Consumption of high GI carbohydrates only increases that risk.

Besides the health effects of HFCS, corn flakes has a high content of high GI carbohydrates, which promote fat storage in your body. Besides the fat storage, high GI carbohydrates increase your blood sugar drastically. This high blood sugar level promotes fat storage in the body. This is the ‘sugar rush’ or ‘energy rush’ that you experience after eating sweets. Your brain’s job in the body is to balance all processes. So to counteract this increased blood sugar level, your body over produces Insulin. (Insulin is a hormone which regulated blood sugar levels. For more, know more about Insulin). With extra insulin in your system, your blood sugar level reduces drastically. Your brain assumes this low blood sugar is a signal of less energy, and you experience that laziness post a carbohydrate heavy meal (rice, white bread, etc). Your brain also signals you to eat, since it misinterprets these low sugar levels for lack of energy in the body.

Calories and Nutrition in Corn Flakes: Each cup of corn flakes (approx 25 grams) contains, 21.7 gms of carbohydrates and only 1.7 grams of protein and low fiber content if any. Due to its low protein content, it will not keep you full for long. Each cup of corn flakes has approx 95 calories.

Some breakfast cereal ads might show that corn flakes help you lose weight, but they only expect to eat limited corn flakes for your meals. The irony of corn flakes is that its low in fat, but the high sugar content promotes fat storage!

If you really enjoy corn flakes, then have it with some low fat milk, and add a dose of vitamins, fiber and antioxidants with fruits like berries, apples or bananas. It’ll make a delicious and healthy breakfast and great post workout snack. If you’re diabetic, watch your diet- we have the complete list of foods that diabetics should avoid.