Diet Soda May Be Part of Your Problem

The University of Minnesota researchers have found another reason to cut back on red meat, fried foods and diet soda. Many people do not realize all the horrible side effects there are to diet soda. Headaches, dizziness, and weight gain are just a few of them. Yes, weight gain is what I said. People think they can eat more because they are saving calories by drinking diet soda but actually, it may work just the opposite way. All of the above appear to raise the risk of developing metabolic syndrome, a condition that often paves the way for diabetes and heart disease. This syndrome is increasingly seen as a major health problem. Now, this is the second big study in a year to suggest that diet pop may be part of the problem. This metabolic syndrome is a cluster of symptoms that pre-dispose people to diabetes, heart disease and stroke, such as fatty buildup at the waistline, high blood pressure, and abnormal levels of triglycerides, blood sugar and cholesterol. I found out quickly that if I sat at the computer and ate and didn't exercise, I was on my way to diabetes so I changed my ways, cut out the sweets, pop, eating inbetween and made sure I got 30 minutes of exercise every day and reduced my glucose to normal levels. Last year, a Boston study found that diet soda raised the risk of metabolic syndrome by nearly 50 percent. There were other surprises too. Dairy products appeared to lower the risk. Researchers thought refined grains such as pasta and white rice would be associated with a higher risk but it wasn't so. They also thought eating fruit and vegetables would lower the risk; but again, not in this study. The message in all this is to eat a variety of foods in moderation. That doesn't mean you can't eat meat either, just eat it in moderate amounts. The best diet of all is eat less, exercise more. You'll feel better all the way around.

Stomach Surgery May Cure Diabetes

A new study gives the strongest evidence yet that obesity surgery can cure diabetes. Patients who had surgery to reduce the size of their stomachs were five times more likely to see their diabetes disappear over the next two years than were patients who had standard diabetes care. Most of the surgery patients were able to stop taking diabetes drugs and achieve normal blood tests. One of the lead authors of the study said it was the best therapy for diabetes that we have today and it is very low risk.