Focus on Your Heart Health & Lower Your Blood Sugars!
By: Jessica Hrdlicka
February is National Heart Health Month and because diabetes can increase your risk of heart disease paying attention to how you treat your heart is important.
From diet to exercise, water intake to getting enough sleep, there are many factors that impact our heart health.
Here are some tips to Keep Your Heart Healthy:
- Make Your Plate Colorful! Different fruits and vegetables have different nutrients based on their colors making it important to have a variety in your diet. Colorful fruits and vegetables can not only help improve insulin resistance, reduce your risk of cancer, but also reduce your risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol and blood pressure.
- Limit Your Sodium Intake. Current recommendations for people living with high blood pressure is currently 2000mg sodium or less per day. Frozen meals, fast foods, canned soups, chips, pretzels and crackers can easily increase your sodium intake to 3000-4000mg sodium per day! Choose frozen veggies versus canned and look for foods that state “No salt Added” or “Low Sodium” when grocery shopping.
- Limit fried, greasy, cheesy, buttery foods. These high fat foods can increase bad cholesterol levels and increase weight gain. Therefore increased intake of bacon, sausage, pizza, cheeseburgers, French fries and ice cream can be dangerous for our heart. Try baking or grilling your proteins instead of frying and try to choose vegetables or salads as a side versus French fries or coleslaw when dining out.
- Move your body! Walking, riding the stationary bike, swimming and yoga are all great ways to support your blood sugars, improve circulation and help with weight loss. Add 30min. of activity every other day of the week to get the most benefit for digestion and weight loss success.
- Limit Dining Out. Restaurants add oil, butter and salt to most foods during preparation making them higher in fat and sodium which is not beneficial to blood sugars or our heart. Restaurants also tend to fry foods, add high calorie sauces, dressings and pre-marinade a lot of their foods and they may not even appear to be higher in salt and fats. Ask for sauces on the side, choose steamed veggies and stick to lean proteins when dining out like chicken or fish or heart health. Or try limiting dining out to 1-2x/ week to limit higher fat and sodium options throughout the week.
Now is the perfect time to sign up for our Healthy Meal Planning Class & Weight loss class, so that you can have your best year yet in 2024!
For more information on diabetes management, chronic kidney disease weight loss and nutrition, call 561-659-6336 ext 8012 to schedule an appointment with a certified diabetes care education specialist, registered dietitian or class today. Please enjoy our February 2024 Living Well with Diabetes Newsletter!
What’s New in The Treatment of Weight Loss?
By: Marcela Perez Bustamante, M.D.
The prevalence of Obesity in the United States has increased exponentially in recent years and obesity-related conditions including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes are among the leading causes of preventable, premature death.
Significant efforts are being made to prevent, treat, or reverse the complications of obesity and improve quality of life.
Zepbound (Tirzepatide) is a new injectable medication that was approved by the FDA in November 2023 as an adjunct treatment to a balanced diet and increased physical activity for chronic weight management. It is administered by injection under the skin once weekly with the dose adjusted as tolerated to meet weight loss goals.
This medication activates Glucagon-like-peptide-1 (GLP1) receptors and Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors. Its main effects are decreases food intake, delays gastric emptying, reduces glucagon levels, increases insulin sensitivity and enhances insulin secretion.
Is indicated in adults with an initial body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or greater (obesity) or 27 kg/m2 or greater (overweight) in the presence of at least one weight-related comorbid condition (e.g., hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, obstructive sleep apnea, or cardiovascular disease).
Studies showed that adults lost an average of 20.9% of their body weight with Zepbound 15 mg vs 3.1% with placebo at 72 weeks. Weight loss varied depending on the dose.
The most frequently reported adverse effects were nausea, diarrhea, and constipation, and these were generally more frequent at increased doses.
It should not be used in patients with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or in patients with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2. And it is not indicated in patients with type 1 diabetes.
Managing Constipation Side Effects of GLP-1 Agonists
By: Monika Lambertson MS, RD, LD/N, CDCES
There is an FDA-approved class of medications called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists which are effective in the treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus and for weight loss. There are several brands on the market (Mounjaro, Trulicity, and Ozempic to name a few) and are typically administered as a once-weekly injection. These drugs mimic the action of a hormone in the body called glucagon-like peptide 1 which helps to enhance insulin after you eat, thereby reducing blood sugar levels. These drugs also work on the central nervous system to reduce appetite and on the intestinal tract by slowing down digestion, so you feel fuller sooner (so you eat less at meals) and stay fuller longer (so you are less likely to snack between meals). Because digestion is slowed, one common side effect is constipation.
If you are experiencing constipation from GLP-1 use, try these suggestions to help get things moving again:
- Make sure to drink plenty of water or other sugar free beverages throughout the day - at least 64 to 96 ounces a day, or even more if you are losing fluid from hot temperatures or exercise. Always keep your water bottle handy and keep track of intake!
- Get moving to get your gut moving! The American Diabetes Association recommends at least 150 minutes of exercise weekly- so a brisk daily walk or other exercise for 20-25 minutes a day will meet that goal.
- Add more fiber-rich foods to your diet like fruit, vegetables, and higher-fiber whole grains, lentils, and beans. Fruit, whole grains, starchy vegetables (like peas, corn, limas, potatoes), lentils, and beans contain carbohydrates so make sure to control portions to keep within your mealtime carbohydrate goal. Prunes or prune juice should be avoided due to the high sugar content. If you are currently eating a lower fiber diet, add fiber into your diet gradually and make sure to drink plenty of fluids at the same time. A general fiber goal is ~25-35 grams per day.
- Compare food labels Nutrition Facts of similar foods to find higher-fiber choices.
- Try to establish a normal bathroom routine. For many this may be shortly after a meal is eaten when the gut is moving. A warm beverage in the morning may also be helpful to increase gastric motility.
- If diet and exercise are not providing full relief, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about over-the-counter fiber supplements, stool softeners or laxatives.
Constipation may go away as your body gets used to the medication, but it may also come back or get worse when increasing to a higher dose. Before stopping a medication because of constipation, always talk with your healthcare provider first to discuss your options and possible remedies.
Healthy Meal Planning
& Weight Loss Class Sessions!
Join our Classes to Stay motivated
& Healthy in 2024!
West Palm Beach Location
Temple Israel 1901 N. Flagler Drive
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Tuesday April 9th 10am-12pm
Boynton Beach Location:
6056 Boynton Beach, Suite 245
Boynton Beach FL 33437
Tuesday March 19th 10am-12pm
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1041 State Rd 7, Suite 1
Wellington, FL 33414
Tuesday March 19th 5:30-7:30pm
If interested attending this program please contact our scheduling department at (561) 659-6336 Extension 8001 today!
At Healthy Living with Diabetes, we want to ensure that you are satisfied with all services received. We also would like your input on educational workshops that you would like us to offer, information you would like to read about in Healthy Living with Diabetes Monthly or feedback on any workshop that you may have attended. You can contact the director of education personally by email jcook@PBDES.COM or leave a message at (561) 513-5100. We would love to hear from you!