Well I didn’t get weighed last week and feel particularly fat at the moment.
It didn’t help when we had a ‘dress-down Friday’ last week and the polo shirt I wore was a little more snug than I would have liked. Travelling home on the train I was sure that I could have balanced a pint of beer on my belly if I really wanted to!
My wife had decided that she was a bit worried about my weight, so 3 weeks ago I went to the doctors for a general check-up. Guess what? Yup, he told me that I was a bit overweight, oh, and that my blood pressure was up, even over 3 readings (to rule out ‘white-coat syndrome…)
He also took some bloods for various health checks, which to be honest I’d never had done.
I was with some relief last night then that I got the results.
My main worry was, of course, cholesterol. This turned out to be very low at 3.7! It did take me a little while to convince the doctor that I didn’t actually live on a diet of carrots.
Blood pressure was still up though and the was a slight liver erm… disfunction – both of which could be due to alcohol.
No I don’t think we’re talking about alcohol abuse here as I only have about 1/2 a bottle of red or white wine with the evening meal, but I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the eyes of the government, I’m a ‘binge-drinker’!
Well I’ll try to cut down on the booze a bit. That should help both the blood pressure, the liver function and also no doubt my weight.
I would recommend that everyone has these basic tests done periodically, especially if, like me, you’ve been absent from a doctors surgery for a number of years.
I was half expecting bad news and for the doctor to suggest that I should read any books a bit quicker otherwise I wouldn’t have time to finish then… The actual outcome was a great relief.
The age-old maxim “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper” may in fact be the best advice to follow to prevent metabolic syndrome, according to a new University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) study.
Metabolic syndrome is characterized by abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, insulin resistance and other cardiovascular disease-risk factors.
The study, published online March 30 in the International Journal of Obesity, examined the influence exerted by the type of foods and specific timing of intake on the development of metabolic syndrome characteristics in mice. The UAB research revealed that mice fed a meal higher in fat after waking had normal metabolic profiles. In contrast, mice that ate a more carbohydrate-rich diet in the morning and consumed a high-fat meal at the end of the day saw increased weight gain, adiposity, glucose intolerance and other markers of the metabolic syndrome.
“Studies have looked at the type and quantity of food intake, but nobody has undertaken the question of whether the timing of what you eat and when you eat it influences body weight, even though we know sleep and altered circadian rhythms influence body weight,” said the study’s lead author Molly Bray, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology in the UAB School of Public Health.
Bray said the research team found that fat intake at the time of waking seems to turn on fat metabolism very efficiently and also turns on the animal’s ability to respond to different types of food later in the day. When the animals were fed carbohydrates upon waking, carbohydrate metabolism was turned on and seemed to stay on even when the animal was eating different kinds of food later in the day.
“The first meal you have appears to program your metabolism for the rest of the day,” said study senior author Martin Young, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine in the UAB Division of Cardiovascular Disease. “This study suggests that if you ate a carbohydrate-rich breakfast it would promote carbohydrate utilization throughout the rest of the day, whereas, if you have a fat-rich breakfast, you have metabolic plasticity to transfer your energy utilization between carbohydrate and fat.”
Bray and Young said the implications of this research are important for human dietary recommendations. Humans rarely eat a uniform diet throughout the day and need the ability to respond to alterations in diet quality. Adjusting dietary composition of a given meal is an important component in energy balance, and they said their findings suggest that recommendations for weight reduction and/or maintenance should include information about the timing of dietary intake plus the quality and quantity of intake.
“Humans eat a mixed diet, and our study, which we have repeated four times in animals, seems to show that if you really want to be able to efficiently respond to mixed meals across a day then a meal in higher fat content in the morning is a good thing,” Bray said. “Another important component of our study is that, at the end of the day, the mice ate a low-caloric density meal, and we think that combination is key to the health benefits we’ve seen.”
Bray and Young said further research needs to test whether similar observations are made with different types of dietary fats and carbohydrates, and it needs to be tested in humans to see if the findings are similar between rodents and humans.
“We’re also working on a study right now to determine if these feeding regimens adversely affect heart function,” Young said.
“Easter eggs and other chocolate may be good for you – at least in small quantities and preferably if it’s dark chocolate – according to research that shows just one small square of chocolate a day can lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of heart disease. The study is published online today (Wednesday 31 March) in the European Heart Journal [1].
Researchers in Germany followed 19,357 people, aged between 35 and 65, for at least ten years and found that those who ate the most amount of chocolate – an average of 7.5 grams a day – had lower blood pressure and a 39% lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke compared to those who ate the least amount of chocolate – an average of 1.7 grams a day. The difference between the two groups amounts to six grams of chocolate: the equivalent of less than one small square of a 100g bar.”
My diet could be getting better! 
Diabetes Can Be Linked To Eye Problems Patients Should Work With Appropriate Health Care Providers To Decrease Risks
For people with diabetes, proper nutrition can have a far-reaching effect on their health and wellness. They also have a higher risk of developing vision problems. March is National Nutrition Month and Save Your Vision Month, and the American Dietetic Association (ADA) and American Optometric Association (AOA) would like to remind people that optometrists and registered dietitians are an important part of the health care team.
“The eye offers a unique opportunity to view blood vessels without doing surgery,” said Leo Semes, O.D., AOA spokesperson. “From this vantage point, optometrists as primary eye care providers are able to screen as well as follow patients with diabetes. Through a dilated eye examination, an important aspect of diabetic care, optometrists can assess for diabetic changes in those diagnosed as well as observe for alterations of blood vessels in patients at risk or undiagnosed with diabetes.”
Diabetes is a condition that affects how the body uses energy, in the form of glucose, from food. People with diabetes need to keep their blood sugar levels within a healthy range. Blood sugar levels are controlled through food choices, physical activity and, for some people, oral medication or insulin injections.
According to the AOA, people with diabetes may be at greater risk of:
– Glaucoma
– Retinopathy
“By following the healthy eating plan that you have worked out with your dietitian, you can avoid these issues,” says registered dietitian and ADA spokesperson Angela Ginn-Meadow. “Your RD will work with you and your health care team to strike the right balance between your meal plan and any medications you take.”
If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, seek the expert advice of a registered dietitian to help you manage the disease while ensuring you get the nutrients your body needs. Many health plans, including the government’s Medicare Part B program cover medical nutrition therapy provided by a registered dietitian.
Early detection of eye problems is critical in maintaining healthy vision. Be sure to see an optometrist if your vision becomes blurry; you have trouble reading signs or books; experience double vision; feel pressure in your eyes; encounter straight lines appearing indistinct; or your side vision is limited.
Individuals who are at high risk for diabetes need to have regular, dilated eye exams and all individuals with known diabetes need to have dilated eye exams each year.
About the American Dietetic Association
The American Dietetic Association is the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. ADA is committed to improving the nation’s health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy.
About the American Optometric Association
The American Optometric Association represents approximately 36,000 doctors of optometry, optometry students and paraoptometric assistants and technicians. Optometrists serve patients in nearly 6,500 communities across the country, and in 3,500 of those communities are the only eye doctors. Doctors of optometry provide two-thirds of all primary eye care in the United States.
Source: American Dietetic Association