Diabetes In Control. A free weekly diabetes newsletter for Medical Professionals. News and information for Medical Professionals.
Over the years as an educator I have tried to find every advantage for my patients who have diabetes. For some reason many of my medical colleagues feel that if you tell a patient to do things the right way they will do it. Logic says that this won’t happen because if they had done things the right way to begin with they would not have the problems of diabetes, obesity and hypertension that most of them are currently suffering from. I’ve tried lots of things as they came out and some worked and some didn’t. When it came to natural products, low glycemic products and sugar free products, I would recruit patients, have them try these and then measure their glucose. One of those that really worked was Dreamfield Pasta, and so I now recommend it to all my patients.
I’ve also thought about ways to increase metabolism and reduce hunger in patients and it appeared that eating breakfast had a positive effect. I also found articles on body temperature and metabolism, and the value of cold water consumption in increasing metabolism. Based on trying these ideas on my patients I came up with a "perfect morning" start:
- Drink 500ml (16 oz) of ice cold water upon waking
- Eat at least 30 grams of protein with no more than 15 grams of carbs within 1 hour of waking
- Do 2 minutes of physical activity within 1 hour of waking
My patients who follow these three steps seem to have better glucose levels, A1c levels and weight control. Now there is a new study lending even more credibility to step 2, eating more protein. Dr. Stefan Pasiakos, Military Nutrition Division U.S. Army Research Institute, and colleagues report that increasing protein consumption can stave off muscle loss in patients who are dieting.
Those of you who read our latest special report on SGLT2 Inhibitors may also be interested in a new study published in Lancet comparing the yet to be approved SGLT2 Inhibitor, empagliflozin, with a DPP4 Inhibitor.
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Dave Joffe, Editor-in-chief