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Put this on your salad to beat diabetes
27 May 2005
Dave stared at my chicken salad.
“You might want to go easy on the dressing,” he said. “I thought you were a health freak these days.”
The restaurant was really busy, so I didn't mind raising my voice to my old mate.
“Firstly,” I said, “thinking about your health is not freakish. It's how I plan to see Matt and Tom grow up to become international rugby players.”
Dave snorted.
“And secondly, salad dressing is good for you in lots of ways. Did you know that vinegar can help control diabetes?”
“But, Ray,” he laughed, “you haven't got diabetes.”
“Exactly!” I said.
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A vinegar treatment for type 2 diabetics
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It's strange, but true.
Consuming vinegar before a meal can help those of you who suffer from Type 2 diabetes.
It was Carol Johnston, a professor of nutrition at Arizona State University, who discovered this when she tried to develop the perfect menu for diabetics.
She found that taking two tablespoons of vinegar before a meal reduces the blood sugar 'spikes' you get after eating.
We all get these surges of glucose and insulin but for diabetics they are so powerful that they can cause problems like heart disease later in life.
Luckily, the type 2 diabetics who consumed vinegar saw this spike reduced by 25%.
And even more excitingly it also reduced these spikes by 50% for those people with signs of future diabetes.
I would say that the best way to have two spoons of vinegar before a meal would be to choose vinaigrette dressing on a tasty salad.
I certainly don't suggest you stir it into your aperitif, anyway!
After some further digging on type 2 diabetes, I uncovered another Surprise...
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Are cherries another natural 'wonder-drug'?
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It makes me shudder that we look to big pharmaceutical companies for
the latest wonder drugs...
Which turn out expensive at first...
And then end up being retracted because of sinister side-effects.
Only last month, Bextra, used to relieve pain and inflammation from
arthritis, was withdrawn because it caused nasty skin reactions.
It seems to me that most cures exist in the natural world around us.
The only thing is, you can't patent them and make a tonne of cash in
the process - which is why the drugs companies don't want you taking
them!
Well tough.
Because a potentially powerful treatment for type 2 diabetes sufferers
may soon come in the form of cherries.
A study published by the American Chemical Society found that
Anthocyanins - chemicals found in red cherries - contain a chemical that increases insulin production by 50%.
And it's insulin that helps control your blood sugar!
The only problem is that cherries themselves are full of sugar, so
we'll have to wait for the experts to extract the anthocyanins for them
to become a viable treatment.
When they do, I'll be the first to let you know.
Now for some fascinating research that has made me decide to throw out
my crockery...
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When your eyes trick you into eating too much
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One of the main ways to control your weight is to watch the amount you eat.
Sounds obvious, doesn't it?
But do you really know how much you are eating?
A scientist in the US has discovered that people are terrible at
estimating the actual amount they eat during any given meal... and that
the size of our plates and glasses may actually cause weight gain!
Brian Wansink Ph.D is the director of the Food and Brand Lab at the
University of Illinois.
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He has spent his career studying how the size of our plates, glasses
and food packaging influences our eating habits.
What he has found is that the bigger your plate, the fatter and rounder
your glass, and the larger your bowl of crisps... the more you will eat
and drink.
He has also found that those who drink from short, fat glasses drink
twice as much as those who use tall, slender glasses…
...even when the glasses hold the same volume.
You see it's your eyes that calculate how much you are eating… that
decide you are full or not... more so than your stomach!
Wansink has backed this up with literally dozens of experiments. But
here are my favourites:
- In one experiment, Wansink's researchers rigged up some self-filling
soup bowls and normal bowls. They found that those who couldn't see the
levels of their soup going down ate 40% more than those who ate from
normal bowls.
- They asked 48 bartenders to pour a gin and tonic into either a tall
glass or a short, wide tumbler. They were supposed to pour a shot, but
they didn't have a shot glass to measure with. The bartenders poured an
average of 26 percent more alcohol into the wide tumbler than the tall
glass.
- In a Chicago cinema, they randomly gave people medium or large
buckets of popcorn. Those with big buckets ate roughly 50% more than
those with medium. But when asked to estimate how many ounces or
calories they had eaten, there was no difference between what the two
groups reported.
So it's all a trick of the mind, then!
The great things about this revelation is that you can now diet by
eating all the same food... but less of it!
All you need to do is use a few optical illusions to help you feel more
satisfied during and after each meal:
- First, get smaller plates and thinner glasses.
- When it comes to salads and fruit, use larger bowls so that you eat
more of the healthy stuff.
- Beware of the gigantic-sized bags of crisps, nuts and chocolates.
You'll actually scoff down far more than you think you have. Instead,
fill small bowls with snacks or chocolate.
This way, you can still enjoy good food and treats, but you'll eat less
- just because your eyes tell you you're full.
Isn't the human body bizarre?
I'll have more strange revelations for you in my next letter...
Yours, as ever,
Ray Collins
The Good Life Letter
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