Change Your Diet, Eat Real Foods

This simple message,

Change Your Diet, Eat Real Foods

should be posted over every grocery store in America. Of course, if Americans followed through with this message, most packaged and processed items on the grocery store shelves would disappear. But would that be a bad thing?

I haven't eaten a "chip," potato or otherwise, for 15 years and guess what? Life is still good! There must be 10,000 items in my grocery store I will never put into my mouth. Why? Because I have grown up past having my taste buds rule my choices and only buy food that has real nutritional value. And there is a simple reason for this, I want to live the healthiest life I can.

Note that the American Cancer Institute says about one third of cancer deaths in 2006 were related to improper nutrition, physical inactivity and being overweight -- and could have been prevented. And if you haven't noticed diabetes rates are up and heart attacks are up and America's health care system is not preventing these disease from increasing. Simply put - Americans have stopped eating real foods, they feed junk to their kids and the results are obvious: We are fat and dying from illnesses that are preventable.

If our society is going to change health-wise and work-wise, you and I have to make changes. And saying no to food that is meaningless beyond it's easy and fast is a necessary step in creating an America that leads the world in healthy citizens.

Pumpkins Scare Away Diabetes (Type 1)

Natural ways to treat diabetes continue to be found. This week scientists reported that a compound found in pumpkins promote the regeneration of damaged insulin-producing beta cells in diabetic rats, thereby improving the level of insulin in their blood.

If this ability of pumpkins to help rats is also successful for humans, this is good news for those suffering from Type 1 Diabetes. People with Type 1 Diabetes do not produce enough of their own insulin and must rely on insulin injections to manage their blood sugar levels. Insulin, produced by the pancreas, is used by the body to transfer blood sugar into the body’s cells. A beta cell is a cell that makes insulin. Beta cells are located in the islets of the pancreas.

Researchers at the East China Normal University found that pumpkin extract promotes regeneration of damaged pancreatic cells in diabetic rats, boosting levels of insulin-producing beta cells and insulin in the blood. The protective effect of pumpkin is thought to be due to both antioxidants and D-chiro-inositol, a molecule that mediates insulin activity. The scientists also stated that pumpkin extract is potentially a good product for people who are pre-diabetic, as well as those who have already developed diabetes.

While pumpkins may not eliminate the need to take insulin injections, it could decrease the amount of insulin a patient needs to inject each day.

By the way, pumpkins are not the only plant thought to help control blood sugar levels. Onion, ground fenugreek seeds and broccoli are also potential aids in the fight against Diabetes. Israeli scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have shown that fenugreek seeds can lower blood sugar and cholesterol in both diabetics and healthy people.

So if you are concerned about your blood sugar levels, start adding more pumpkin, onion, ground fenugreek seeds and broccoli to your diet.