BIG TUMMY BLOAT!!

BIG TUMMY BLOAT! Its NOT always a weight problem. Its a COLON CATASTROPHE! When you look at your "spare tire" around your mid section do you think you need to lose weight? Truth is: it may be a serious warning sign your COLon is impacted and clogged with several pounds of FECAL MATTER!
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Clean your colon!!

Q: What is the #1 way to stay healthy and avoid serious health problems?

A: CLEAN YOUR COLON!

That backed up colon is allowing toxins and other poisons back into your Bloodstream and CELLS!
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Metformin Urged as 1st Drug for Diabetes -- News Review From Harvard Medical School

Metformin is the best medicine to use first for people with type 2 diabetes, a doctors' group says. The American College of Physicians issued the new guidelines February 6. The college is a professional group for doctors of internal medicine. The group's new guidelines say that doctors should first recommend weight loss and regular exercise for people with type 2 diabetes. But if these changes don't control blood sugar, metformin should be the first drug used, the guidelines say. The doctors' group found that it lowers blood sugar the most, with the fewest side effects. Doctors should prescribe a second drug if metformin is not enough. But there's not enough evidence to recommend one specific drug for this second treatment, the guidelines say. Besides its effect on blood sugar, metformin helped to reduce people's risk of heart disease and early death. People with diabetes are more likely than others to die early of heart attack or stroke. HealthDay News wrote about the guidelines.

By Howard LeWine, M.D.
Harvard Medical School

What Is the Doctor's Reaction?

Diet and exercise are the ideal treatments for type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease. For some people, losing as few as 10 pounds, combined with 30 minutes of exercise daily, can bring blood sugar levels back into the normal, healthy range.

However, even if the diet and exercise routine is successful at first, most of us don't stay with it. The lost weight has a way of finding its way back home, to our middles.

Several years ago, the American Diabetes Association's guidelines acknowledged this reality. Lifestyle changes to lose weight and get more active are step one in its guidelines. But the association also said that people just diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should start taking metformin right away.

Metformin lowers blood sugar, in part, by decreasing the liver's production of sugar (glucose). Metformin also makes insulin more effective in moving sugar out of the bloodstream and into cells. When this process doesn't work well, it's called insulin resistance. Cells don't let sugar in, so sugar has nowhere to go. Levels in the blood start to climb. Insulin resistance is one of the main features of type 2 diabetes.

The American College of Physicians (ACP) just published its own guidelines for treatment of people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes. The ACP says doctors should give people a chance to lower blood sugar with lifestyle changes first. This message reinforces the importance of diet, weight control and exercise. They are the primary and most important treatments for type 2 diabetes.

If blood sugar doesn't get into the normal range after a few months, then the ACP agrees that metformin is the best drug treatment.

Metformin is the first-line medicine for several reasons:

It's effective. It lowers blood sugar levels by about 20%. People don't gain weight when they take it, as they do with some other diabetes pills and insulin injections. It almost never causes blood sugars to get too low (hypoglycemia). It lowers LDL cholesterol a bit and decreases risk of heart attacks in people with diabetes. It's available as a generic, so it's relatively low in cost.

The most common side effects are a metallic taste in the mouth, nausea and diarrhea. The drug also can interfere with the absorption of vitamin B12. Low B12 levels can cause anemia (low red blood cell count), but metformin rarely leads to anemia.

What Changes Can I Make Now?

If you are newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you and your doctor can decide between two treatment options:

Try only lifestyle changes for a few months. Start metformin right away, combined with diet and exercise.

When making the choice, be realistic. Will you really stick with a strict diet and exercise program over the long haul?

If you doubt it, then start the metformin now.

If you think you can do it, there's nothing wrong -- and a lot right -- with first trying a weight-loss program and exercise. You can start metformin later if needed.

With either choice, ask your doctor for help. Discuss what type of exercise program might be best and most successful for you. Meet with a dietician. Be sure to keep the right foods in your house.

If and when you need metformin, start at a very low dose and increase gradually. Any side effects usually are reduced over time.

Some people should avoid metformin. They include people with:

Impaired kidney functionAlcohol abuseSevere liver diseaseAdvanced heart failure

What Can I Expect Looking to the Future?

Scientists will continue to look for other diabetes drugs that work as well as metformin, with few side effects. Some are already in the pipeline. Ideally, they will be even better than metformin to:

Lower blood sugar without raising insulin levels Minimize weight gain and even help with weight lossHelp prevent further health problems from diabetes, such as vision loss and kidney failureDecrease the risk of heart attack and stroke

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Study: Fish Oil Pills Don't Aid Heart Disease -- News Review From Harvard Medical School

Taking fish oil pills won't protect against heart attacks and strokes for people who already have heart disease, a new review of research finds. Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids. Many studies have found a lower risk of death from heart disease and stroke for people who eat fatty fish at least twice a week. The new study looked at people who took fish oil in the form of pills. It combined the results of 14 prior studies. They included more than 20,000 people who had heart and artery disease. People took half a gram to 5 grams of fish oil daily. Researchers kept track of people for 1 to 5 years. In that time, taking fish oil pills made no difference in whether people died from heart disease or any other cause. It also did not affect their chances of heart attack, congestive heart failure, stroke or so-called mini-strokes. The journal Archives of Internal Medicine published the research review. HealthDay News wrote about it April 9.

By Howard LeWine, M.D.
Harvard Medical School

What Is the Doctor's Reaction?

Omega-3 supplements, such as fish oil capsules, have been heavily promoted to improve heart health. But the hype for these supplements may be overblown. Research has reached similar conclusions about vitamin E, selenium and other supplements.

Our bodies definitely need omega-3s. Without them, we would become very ill. But just because we need some omega-3s from food, it does not mean that taking a lot more makes you healthier.

There are three main types of omega-3 fatty acids:

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)

Alpha-linolenic acid is an essential fatty acid. This means we must get ALA from food because our bodies can't make it from other chemicals. Our bodies can convert ALA to EPA and DHA. However, it's not an easy conversion. So it's better to get EPA and DHA from food.

EPA and DHA are found mainly in fish, so they're sometimes called marine omega-3s. ALA is found in plant-based foods, such as flaxseed, walnuts, and canola and soybean oils.

There's good evidence that eating fish rich in omega-3s lowers the risk of heart disease. And a plant-based diet also is well known to be good for your heart. However, it's not clear that the omega-3 ALA in these foods is the reason for better heart health. In fact, most evidence suggests that ALA has a much smaller effect than the marine omega-3s.

It's natural to think that fish oil or other omega-3 supplements would be as heart-healthy as a diet rich in omega-3s. Many people with heart disease take these pills to reduce their risk of heart attack and sudden death. But do they really work?

A study published online April 9 by the journal Archives of Internal Medicine looks at this question. The results suggest that omega-3 pills don't reduce the risk of heart attack or sudden death in people with known heart disease. These results are somewhat surprising given the general belief that omega-3 pills are helpful. But some older studies also had shown similar results.

What Changes Can I Make Now?

Get your omega-3s from food sources. Fish that have the most EPA and DHA per ounce are:

SalmonMackerelAnchovySardinesHerring

Flaxseeds and walnuts are loaded with ALA. But you need to eat a lot more ALA-rich foods to get the same health benefits as eating fatty fish a couple times per week.

Fish can be expensive. So, if your budget is tight or you are worried your diet is not rich enough in omega-3s, it's quite reasonable and safe to take omega-3 pills. The daily dose should be between 250 to 500 milligrams. (Note that a fish oil capsule contains other ingredients. A 1-gram capsule contains about 300 to 350 grams of omega-3s.

What Can I Expect Looking to the Future?

Omega-3 fatty acid supplements do lower blood triglyceride levels. Doctors will continue to prescribe these for this purpose.

The results of this study are surely not the last word on omega-3 supplements and heart health.

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Study Explores Sleep and Diabetes Risk -- News Review From Harvard Medical School

New research shows how getting too little sleep, at erratic times, may cause changes in the body that increase the risk of weight gain and diabetes. The study was done with 21 volunteers who spent 6 weeks living in a laboratory. After a period of normal sleep, they spent the next 3 weeks getting an average of 5.6 hours a night. They were allowed to sleep only at varying times of the day or night. This pattern was designed to imitate rotating shifts or jet lag. During this time, people's blood sugar went up after meals -- in some cases, to pre-diabetic levels. This occurred because the pancreas produced less insulin. Metabolism fell by 8%. People were kept on a diet to avoid weight gain. But researchers said without the diet people could have gained 10 to 12 pounds a year under similar conditions. The journal Science Translational Medicine published the study. The Associated Press wrote about it April 16.

By Howard LeWine, M.D.
Harvard Medical School

What Is the Doctor's Reaction?

Not getting enough sleep has been linked with multiple medical problems, such as obesity. People who get fewer than 6 hours of sleep per night are more likely to be overweight. Higher body weight increases your risk of developing diabetes.

People who work the night shift, especially those who rotate between day and night shifts, are at even higher risk for both obesity and diabetes. So is anyone who has a very erratic sleep schedule. Sure, these people tend to get less sleep than recommended. But what else is happening in the body?

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston designed a way to study this question. They invited 21 healthy people to live in a controlled environment for 6 weeks. The researchers decided everything -- what time they slept, how many hours of sleep were allowed, their diet and their activities.

For the first 12 days, people went to bed at the usual time and got enough sleep. Then they were allowed only an average of 5.6 hours of sleep per day during the next 3 weeks. And sleep started at different times, including daytime. This altered their biologic clocks to simulate a state of 4 hours of jet lag every day. A 9-day recovery period came next.

During the 3 weeks of abnormal sleep, people's sugar control went haywire. Their bodies did not release enough insulin after a meal. So blood sugar levels rose to higher levels than the first 12 days of the study. Some people had blood sugars that reached pre-diabetes levels.

People's metabolism rates also slowed during the 3-week interval. The researchers controlled diets so that people did not gain weight. However, researchers estimated that without the diet the average weight gain would be 10 to 12 pounds over one year of erratic sleep.

What Changes Can I Make Now?

Quality of sleep matters just as much as the amount. This can be a real challenge for people who work the night shift or can't get into bed when it's dark outside.

If you are fortunate enough to have a regular sleep schedule, here are some ways to help you get better quality sleep:

Establish a regular bedtime and a relaxing bedtime routine. Examples might include taking a warm bath or listening to soothing music. Use your bed only for sleeping or lovemaking. Avoid reading and watching television in bed. If you can't sleep after 15 to 20 minutes, get out of bed and go into another room. Read quietly with a dim light. Don't watch television. The light from the TV has an arousing effect. When you feel sleepy, get back into bed. Don't delay your scheduled wake-up time to make up for lost sleep. Get plenty of exercise. Build up to 45 minutes of moderate exercise nearly every day. Get your exercise early in the day. Try some easy stretching exercises or yoga to relax your muscles and your mind at bedtime. Whenever possible, schedule stressful or demanding tasks early in the day. Do the less challenging activities later. This helps you to wind down at the end of your day. Adjust what you eat and drink.
Don't go to bed hungry, but don't eat a big meal right before getting into bed. If you want a bedtime snack, keep it bland and light. Limit caffeine. Consume it at least 4 hours before bedtime. To decrease urination during the night, don't drink any liquids after dinner. Avoid alcohol after dinnertime. Although many people think of it as a sedative, it can actually impair your sleep. Be sure your bed is comfortable and your bedroom is dark and quiet. Consider a sleep mask or earplugs. Don't let yourself get overheated. Keep the bedroom at a constant, comfortable temperature. Don't take long naps during the day. If you need a nap, restrict it to 15 to 20 minutes in the early afternoon. Turn the alarm clock around so you won't worry that you are still awake. Practice relaxation breathing. Use slow breaths, especially when you exhale.

If you do have an irregular sleep schedule, try to avoid bright lights for at least an hour before you get into bed. Wear sunglasses if necessary.

If you work the night shift, you will need to adjust these recommendations based on your schedule. For example, go directly to bed as soon as you get home from work. Be sure the bedroom is dark, quiet and cool.

What Can I Expect Looking to the Future?

The advice for adults to get 7 to 9 hours of good quality sleep per day will not change.

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