You see a lot in the news about the supposed best and worst diet plans. Media folks typically rank diets for taste, amount of weight loss, safety, and nutrition quality. Results vary. But what I want to talk about are the common mistakes I see people making when following popular diet plans. I'm not saying these plans are necessarily bad (or good), but I want to point out some of the unhealthy mistakes people make when they "go on a diet." Here are some I see frequently in my patients:

1. Saving all your calories or "points" for one large evening meal.
Often people may skip breakfast and eat a really small lunch so they can have a huge dinner. This is not a good idea because skipping meals can slow down your metabolism and makeweight loss more difficult. For people with diabetes, it's also problematic because eating one large meal can spike blood sugar. It's better to eat three similar-sized meals per day.

2. Avoiding milk because it has too many calories or points.
I see people avoiding milk way too often. People may avoid drinking milk because it has too many "points," but then substitute other unhealthy, processed foods such as sodas or sports drinks, baked chips, lowfat cookies, or other snacks. Ounce for ounce, milk is a very healthy, satisfying "food" packed with calcium, protein, and vitamin D. Most Americans do not get enough dairy. Inadequate calcium intake can lead to bone disease.

3. Eating too much fruit.
Some diet plans allow fruit as a "free" food. Anyone with diabetes should know that fruit can't be a free food because it contains a big dose of carbohydrates, which raise blood glucose levels. This is not to say people with diabetes should avoid fruit, but they need to watch their portion size and count carbs. Also, you should avoid dried fruit and fruit juice entirely, because they contain a large, concentrated amount of carbs in a very small portion size.

4. Not balancing diet — eating too much from one food group.
Sometimes when people start a new diet plan they think they need to be extreme. For example, they might know that protein foods are good choices, so that is all they eat. They may have an egg for breakfast, a turkey burger without a bun for lunch, and a chicken breast with some green beans for dinner. Now these are not "bad" choices, but this diet is not well balanced and is lacking in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. You should include foods from all the other food groups too, such as fresh fruit, milk, yogurt and healthy carbs like sweet potatoes and beans. Eating a well-balanced diet is not only healthy, but is more satisfying too.

5. Practicing good portion control with pre-packaged meals on program, but going back to old eating habits after it's over.
Some diet plans provide pre-packaged food or recommend frozen meals to eat. Although I think these foods can sometimes help people learn proper portion sizes (and can be convenient occasionally), I often find that when people go off these prepared foods, they go back to their old eating habits and regain weight. I think it is a good idea to learn how to eat healthy with proper portion sizes from everyday foods that you can buy at the grocery store. Remember, healthy eating is not a diet, but a long-term lifestyle change.

Previously, studies report that workplace stress can have a range of adverse health effects, especially raising the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Cornelia Huth, from Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen (Germany), and colleagues examined data prospectively collected from more than 5,300 employed individuals, ages 29 to 66 years, enrolled in the MONICA/ Cooperative Health Research in the Augsburg Region (KORA) study. At the beginning of the study, none of the participants had diabetes, while in the post-observation period, which covered an average of 13 years, almost 300 of them were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Observing that: “Men and women who experience high job strain are at higher risk for developing [type-2 diabetes] independently of traditional risk factors,” the study authors urge that: “Preventive strategies to combat the globally increasing [type-2 diabetes] epidemic should take into consideration the adverse effects of high strain in the work environment.”

If you’re among those who have been working long hours daily for some months, then get yourself tested for the blood glucose level.

A recent study by health experts has revealed that people who spend long hours on work are more prone to suffer from the chronic Type 2 diabetes disease. Although the researchers has not managed to find an exact link between the diabetes and long hours work, the study claimed that people who work over 53 hours every week are at more risk.

It is also interesting to note that people who work 55 hours from office are at lesser risk of diabetes diagnosis compared to those who work as a labor.

The team of researchers have studied the data of 222,210 workers. The participants of the study were from Europe, United States, Japan and Australia. Of the 222,210 subjects, 68% were working for more than 55 hours.

4,963 people were diagnosed with diabetes among the 222,120 tested individuals. The group of people working above 55 hours were compared to the group who were working between 35-40 hours per week. The results shown that people who are working over 55 hours are at 7% more risk of being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

The researchers have also studied the socioeconomic data of the participants. The study revealed that employees who are getting paid well and are enjoying the high income status yet working 55 hours a week are at less risk of suffering from diabetes to middle and low socioeconomic status group.

Interestingly, the low wage employees working over 55 hours a week are at alarming 26%-59% more risk of being diagnosed with diabetes.

However the study has not presented any clear evidence why the low salary group is at such a huge risk of diabetes diagnosis.

New studies show a shocking 25 percent of people with diabetes don’t even know it. 

Diabetes has plenty of early signs, but they're subtle enough that you might not notice.
“It’s not like you wake up one day and all of a sudden you’re thirsty, hungry, and [going to the bathroom] all the time,” says Melissa Joy Dobbins, RD, a certified diabetes educator in Illinois. “It picks up gradually.” Indeed, “most people are unaware that they have diabetes in its early or even middle phases,” says Aaron Cypess, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and staff physician at Joslin Diabetes Center. Just because you’re not keyed in doesn’t mean you’re immune from problems associated with diabetes, he adds. The longer you go without controlling diabetes, the greater your risk for heart disease, kidney disease, amputation, blindness, and other serious complications. “We recommend that people with risk factors for diabetes, such as a family history or being overweight, get evaluated on a regular basis,” Dr. Cypess says. If you’ve been feeling off, talk to your doctor about getting a simple blood test that can diagnose the disease. And pay attention to these signs of diabetes.

You’re taking more bathroom breaks
When you have diabetes, your body becomes less efficient at breaking food down into sugar, so you have more sugar sitting in your bloodstream, says Dobbins. “Your body gets rid of it by flushing it out in the urine. That’s why you’re going to the bathroom a lot.” Most patients aren’t necessarily aware of how often they use the bathroom, says Dr. Cypess. “When we ask about it, we often hear, ‘Oh yeah, I guess I’m going more often than I used to,’” he says. But one red flag is whether the need to urinate keeps you up at night. Once or twice might be normal, but if it’s affecting your ability to sleep, that could be a clue to pay attention to.

You’re thirstier than usual
Urinating a lot will also make you feel parched. A common problem Dobbins sees with patients is that they use drinks like juices, soda, or chocolate milk to quench their thirst. These sugary beverages then pack the bloodstream with excess sugar, which can lead to the problem all over again.

You’ve lost a little weight
Considering that being overweight is a risk factor for diabetes, it sounds counterintuitive that shedding pounds could be a sign of the disease. “Weight loss comes from two things,” says Dr. Cypess. “One, from the water that you lose [from urinating]. Two, you lose some calories in the urine and you don’t absorb all the calories from the sugar in your blood.” Once people learn they have diabetes and start controlling their blood sugar, they may even experience some weight gain—but “that’s a good thing,” says Dr. Cypess, because it means your blood sugar levels are more balanced.

You feel shaky and hungry
It’s not uncommon for patients to suddenly feel unsteady and immediately need to reach for carbs, says Marjorie Cypress, a nurse practitioner at an endocrinology clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and 2014 president of health care and education for the American Diabetes Association. “When you have high blood sugar, your body has a problem regulating its glucose,” she explains. “If you’ve eaten something high in carbohydrates, your body shoots out a little too much insulin, and your glucose drops quickly. This makes you feel shaky, and you tend to crave carbs or sugar. This can lead to a vicious cycle.”

You’re tired all the time
Of course you're exhausted every now and then. But ongoing fatigue is an important clue to pay attention to; it might mean the food you’re eating for energy isn’t being broken down and used by cells as it’s supposed to. “You’re not getting the fuel your body needs,” says Dobbins. “You’re going to be tired and feel sluggish.” But in many cases of type 2 diabetes, your sugar levels can be elevated for awhile, so these symptoms could come on slowly.

You’re moody and grumpy
When your blood sugar is out of whack, you just don’t feel well, says Cypress, and might become more short-tempered. In fact, high blood sugar can mimic depression-like symptoms. “You feel very tired, you don’t feel like doing anything, you don’t want to go out, you just want to sleep,” Cypress says. She’ll see patients who think they need to be treated for depression, but then experience mood improvement after their blood sugar normalizes.

Your vision seems blurry
Don’t be alarmed—this is not diabetic retinopathy, where the blood vessels in the back of the eye are getting destroyed, says Dr. Cypess. In the early stages of diabetes, the eye lens is not focusing well because glucose builds up in the eye, which temporarily changes its shape. “You’re not going blind from diabetes,” Dr. Cypess says he assures patients. “In about six to eight weeks after your blood sugars are stabilized, you’re not going to feel it anymore; the eye will adjust.”

Your cuts and scrapes heal more slowly
The immune system and the processes that help the body heal don’t work so well when your sugar levels are high, explains Dr. Cypess.

Your feet tingle
Elevated sugar levels can cause complications well before you realize you have diabetes. One of these is mild nerve damage, which can cause numbness in your feet, says Cypress.

You’re more prone to urinary tract and yeast infections
Higher levels of sugar in urine and the vagina can become a breeding ground for the bacteria and yeast that cause these infections. Recurrent infections are particularly worrisome. “Usually when you keep getting infections, doctors will check for diabetes if you don’t already have it,” says Cypress. “Even women who go to the emergency room for urinary tract infections are often checked.”

…says Diabetes UK this morning.  According to their own new research, more than 700 people a day are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in the UK: actually 738. Type 2 diabetes now accounts for 96 per cent of new cases of diabetes (30 people are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes every day).

That’s a whopping 280,000 people a year diagnosed with diabetes, the equivalent of the population of Newcastle. This is much higher than previously thought and Diabetes UK say this poses serious implications for the nation’s health.

With 3.8 million people in the UK now having the condition and with around 35 per cent of the population – more than 18 million people – with pre-diabetes, the charity is calling for more focus on prevention.

Agreed!

But how? Can it be as simple as missing TV for one day per. week, as recommended by NICE this week? Well perhaps not! And it’s probably not as simple as simply telling people what to eat and what not to eat – but to educate people in WHY.  Why certain foods help and why certain foods harm.  Why what is right for one person is not the same as for the next.

One of my clients was astounded this week when we talked about body composition – WHY most diets cause the body to lose large amounts of lean tissue instead of body fat; WHY it’s important to retain that lean tissue; WHY it’s so difficult to regain lean tissue when it’s been lost; WHY body composition is linked to health and life span…

Tackling type 2 diabetes is an emergency – but for the best results corners can’t be cut.  Backing up recommendations with plenty of information, guidance and support and seeing everyone as an individual is crucial.

If you want the WHYs as well as the most effective WHATs available – get in touch!