Healthy diet for Diabetes

f you have diabetes, a healthy diet does more than keep your blood sugar under better control. A good diabetes diet can also help prevent or delay the onset of complications such as nerve pain or heart disease.
Although some people talk about a "diabetes diet," there's really no such thing, experts say. The same healthy diet recommended for those without diabetes will help you if you have diabetes, too. You may need to then tailor the meal plan to your specific needs, such as lowering your cholesterol. But the general concepts of healthy eating are the same for you as for someone without diabetes.
Here, what you need to know about eating to feel better now -- and for years to come.
The Diabetes Diet Myth

"The diet that used to be termed a diabetes diet is now considered just a healthy diet for all Americans based on the healthy guidelines from the Department of Agriculture," says Ruth S. Pupo, RD, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at the East Los Angeles Center for Diabetes at White Memorial Medical Center.
One slight difference when she counsels those with diabetes: "We might encourage them to be more cautious with concentrated sugars like juices, candy, cake," she says.
Diet plans for people with type 2 diabetes are also more individualized than in the past. Such diet plans follow good nutrition, but also take into account the individual's specific dietary needs, says Angela Ginn-Meadow, RD, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at the Joslin Diabetes Center, in Baltimore.
One person with diabetes may need to lower cholesterol. Another may need to lower high blood pressure.
"One diet [plan] is not going to work for everyone," she says.
Yet, all are based on the same general concepts proven effective for improving blood sugars and controlling diabetes. Eat a diet that is:

* Lower in calories
* Higher in complex carbohydrates found in vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole grain cereals
* Lower in saturated fats like butter, cheese, and fatty meat
* Higher in mono and polyunsaturated fat like olive oil or canola oil

Although experts disagree somewhat on the "ideal" meal plan details, they agree that spreading your carbohydrates over the day, or counting them carefully, are good ways to maintain blood glucose control.

Tips for Reducing Stress

1. Laugh. When you laugh, you actually cause a pleasurable change in your body’s chemistry that lasts as long as 45 minutes. So take in a comedy at the movies, watch a funny television show, or invite friends over for a game of charades.

2. Pets. Physical contact with pets or even just their presence has been proved to be therapeutic for hospital patients. Play with your dog, hold your cat, or sing to your bird: all of these activities can help reduce blood pressure and bring a feeling of calm.

3. Nature. The soothing, stress-relieving power of nature has been recognized for centuries. Many hospitals and health centers now make “nature areas” a part of their therapeutic environment. And when properly tailored to the individual’s conditioning and enjoyment, physical exercise can help reduce stress and anxiety. Take a walk outside!

4. Music. Music’s calming effect has been proved during dental procedures, during labor, before and after surgery, and in emergency rooms. This effect is probably due to music’s ability to distract and soothe.

Stress Relief Bath

Add the following to a warm bath and soak your cares away.

INGREDIENTS

3 drops bergamot essential oil
2 drops clary sage essential oil
2 drops lavender essential oil
2 drops neroli essential oil
2 drops sandalwood essential oil

Stress-Reducing Visualization

This may be performed in the tub along with your stress relief bath formula, or sitting in a chair.

1. Close your eyes and simply take a deep breath. Breathe in calmness and exhale tension, breathe with your belly, imagining that your lungs are sitting right behind your belly button. To fill them with air, relax your abdomen, and let it expand with each breath. Slowly inhale for a count of 8, filling your belly, and slowly exhale to the count of 8.

2. Do a few repetitions of this and then, starting with the top of the head, release the tension from tour muscles one by one, all the way to your toes and back up again. Continue to breathe in relaxation and exhale tension.

3. Now that your body feels soft and relaxed, allow your awareness to come inside yourself. Visualize yourself walking on a path among trees. In front of you is a gate. Open the gate and step in to a beautiful garden.

4. You see and smell beautiful flowers. You see lush palm trees, fruit trees, and tropical blossoms with sweet fragrances. Touch them. . . inhale the aromas. Each time you inhale, you feel more calm and relaxed. Listen to the singing birds, Feel the calm, gentle breeze.

5. A wonderful feeling of peace and joy drifts through your mind and flows through your body. Visualize a magnificent cool waterfall. As you step into it, feel the clean, refreshing water cleansing you from the top of your head down to your toes, washing away every bit of stress and anxiety. Allow your being to be restored on all levels.

6. Now project your thoughts forward. In a vision, see yourself in what might be a stressful situation, but allow the exquisite feeling of relaxation to continue to soothe your thoughts. Allow the relaxed state you are feeling now to weave a tapestry of a totally stress-free consciousness into your vision. Your mind and body are being conditioned to respond calmly to stress.

7. Open your eyes slowly and take with you this calm and relaxing feeling, remembering you can always return to this peaceful garden of serenity that is your own private sanctuary

If stress is aproblem.. then use the old aged free remedy - HAVE A WANK!

Vegetable Tips

When boiling vegetables, add a little milk to the water to help keep their colors bright.

Before boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to bring out the corn's natural sweetness.

Boiling cabbage can make the whole house stink. Cut down on the odor by adding 1/8 teaspoon of vinegar to the water.

from http://forum.activefun.net

Top 10 Nutrition and Fitness Tips

1. Get real and be specific. Write down three or four realistic goals that you can stick to. For example, “I will try to lose one pound of body fat every week. I will walk for 30 minutes minimum five days a week.” Avoid fantasy-land goals that will only frustrate you.
2. Get prepared. Throw away all the junk, the processed, and the “bingeable” foods now and replace them with fresh, whole foods like lots of water and veggies. Buy a new pair of walking shoes and find some clothes in your closet you feel comfortable to walk in. During a lifestyle change, if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail!
3. Get support. Whether it’s your best friend, spouse, or pet, it helps to have some nonjudgmental and nurturing support when trying to lose weight, especially during trying times.
4. Make daily notes. Research has shown that keeping track of your daily exercise and food intake in a journal or notebook will increase the likelihood of success. Keep it simple, or if you’re inspired, write a novel! The key is to hold yourself accountable.
5. Create a food-free reward system. How about a new workout outfit, pair of jeans, shoes — or what the heck, even a spa treatment, shopping spree, or weekend getaway? You deserve this kind of treatment when you reach your goals.
6. Buy a pedometer. A pedometer keeps track of how many steps you take daily. Wear it every day, around home, work, and while exercising. Your National Body Challenge goal is to increase your steps by 10,000 or more daily! Remember this: You’ll burn roughly 100 to 125 calories by taking 2,500 steps (about one mile). The goal during the challenge is to burn 300 extra calories and to eat roughly 200 calories less in a day. This 500-calorie deficit is equivalent to one pound of body fat per week and a healthy boost to your self-esteem.
7. Don’t skip breakfast. Research shows that the most successful “losers” never skip it. Try to keep it balanced with some protein, a healthy carb, and a small amount of fat. Here are some examples: an egg-white omelet with fresh berries and a piece of whole-wheat toast, or a skim milk shake with fruit and yogurt.
8. Nix the late-night eating. If you eat a lot of excess calories after 8 p.m., you wear them the next morning. Put a stop to this by making sure you have a healthy dinner consisting of lean protein, veggies, and fruit.
9. Eliminate processed sugars. Processed sugars are carbs that have been stripped of their valuable nutrients. How can you identify these sugars? They are all white: table sugar, pasta, rice, and bread, and they’re nothing but trouble, since they kick up your appetite for more of the same.
10. Have a mid-afternoon snack. This will curb your appetite and provide fuel for your after-work walk or workout at the gym. Some great snack ideas include: reduced-fat peanut butter on a multi-grain cracker, a couple of pieces of low-fat string cheese and an apple, cottage cheese with pineapple, or try a low-fat cheese microwaved in a whole-wheat pita.

some more information

1. Answer the phone by LEFT ear.
2. Do not drink coffee Twice day.
3. Do not take pills with COOL water.
4. Do not have HUGE meals after 5pm.
5. Reduce the amount of OILY food you consume.
6. Drink more WATER in the morning, less at night.
7. Keep your distance from hand phone CHARGERS.
8. Do not use headphones/earphone for LONG period of time.
9. Best sleeping time is from 10pmat night to 6amin the morning.
10. Do not lie down immediately after taking medicine before sleeping.
11. When battery is down to the LAST grid/bar, do not answer the phone as the radiation is 1000 times.

Get that teenage look!

Nostalgia isn’t quite the emotion which you feel when you see teenagers hanging out near colleges nowadays right? It's a frustrated state of jealousy which almost triggers depression inside your mind that you will never have that figure and energy again. Fear not, for some simplistic changes in your lifestyle can rejuvenate that teenage vigour within you, even when you have close to 30 candles on your birthday cake!


1. Challenge yourself every day
Stop convincing yourself that exercising thrice a week is just about okay to 'maintain' your body. That would do just that, not give you the figure you dream of! Bunking exercise - whether at the gym or at home more than thrice a week is simply inappropriate. Challenge yourself to doing tougher or longer exercises every single day. Your body will tune on its own. After all, it is a movement machine, move it or lose it.


2. Do strength-based exercises
Strength based exercises are those which stretch your muscles and tone them for more activity. It is apt to load your bones at least thrice a week (but no more) for both men and women. With over 600 muscles in the human body, it just doesn't make sense to train the way most people do by isolating different muscles and bombarding them with labourious moves. Try to find exercises that use as many muscles as you possibly can.


3. Water way to look young!
Even after all those beauties on Indian television and cinema saying that it is water that they drink which helps get their glowing skin, why don't you believe them?! Glowing skin may be a myth, but drinking clean, fresh water at regular intervals definitely helps your digestive and circulations systems - whatever your age! Less than three to four glasses a day and your organs, your skin, your muscles and even your brain cease to operate effectively. If heading to work, get a bottle of mineral water.


4. Processed food isn’t cool!
The next time you pick something off the mall shelves thinking that you will 'heat it and eat it' later, know that another name for processed food is 'denatured' food. All of the nature has been removed from it in order to make it last longer on the shelves. Do you really want to eat something without any 'nature' in it? Only you can decide that. Foods with colours and flavours and numbers instead of ingredients are more likely to end your life early than extend it. Opt for fresh produce, ensuring that 80% of what you eat comes from the bhajiwallah and not the processed foods counter at the mall.


5. Eat less
Enough has been talked about on over-eating and safe 'hogging'. Toss away all schedules and dietary plans if you tend to overeat all the time. They useless then. Eat four to five small meals a day rather than two humoungous meals complete with desserts helps you in the long run. Period. Be selective and practical if you love food too much to give up.


6. Sleep more
The human body requires sleep of both great quality and quantity. Your career and work schedule may require you to not sleep for much time but then don't dream of a toned body too! Try to sleep between the hours of 10pm and 2am to make the most of your body's hormonal repairs. The hours 2am to 6am are crucial to countering stress. In other words, all sleep is not the same. The timing is important too. Adequate sleep is also known to boost the immune system.
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