More dark chocolate benefits - higher HDL in diabetics

OK, on the subject of dark chocolate my blog entries are getting to sound like a broken record (anyone out there know what a record is? NOT like breaking the record in the Guiness Book of World....)

So here's another study showing its benefits. Investigators randomized 12 patients with diabetes to eat 45 grams (a total of about an ounce and a half) of very dark chocolate (85% cocoa solids) daily or a similar amount of chocolate without the cocoa solids or polyphenols present. dyed to the same color. Patients who ate the real dark chocolate had better HDL levels and therefore better total/HDL cholesterol ratios.

People in the group that ate real chocolate did not gain weight and did not ingest more calories, because the chocolate generally resulted in their eating less snack food and eating less at the next meal than those who ate the "placebo" chocolate. They also had equivalent blood sugar and glycosylated hemoglobin levels.

This study had a small sample, but if it is repeated and borne out, it should mean that we don't have to advise our diabetic patients to stay away from anything sweet and yummy.

Get Off Your Can!

A study in online July 22 in the American Journal of Epidemiology by Alpa Patel and colleagues concludes that sitting shortens our lives, even after considering impact of being overweight and how much we exercise. The study collected questionnaire data for 14 years (1993-2006) from 123,216 healthy people (53,440 men and 69,776 women) in the American' Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention II study.

Even after considering body mass index (BMI) and smoking, women who spent six hours a day sitting had a 37 percent higher risk of dying than those who sat for less than three hours a day. Men had a 17% higher risk. Exercise lowered the risk of sitting, but more sitting meant a higher risk of death even among those who exercised. And for those who didn't exercise, sitting a lot was even worse: women who sat a lot had a 94% higher risk of dying than women who didn't, and for men, sitting conferred a 49% higher risk of death.

So start moving; you can still read this blog on your mobile while moving! Disclaimer: Don't read while walking out in the street! More dangerous to your health than sitting....

probiotics reduce pregnancy diabetes

More good news about probiotics. An article in the British Journal of Clinical Nutrition describes a randomized clinical trial of an intervention consisting of dietary counselling and probiotics. Women in the intervention group had less than half the rate of development of pregnancy diabetes, a great outcome.

ask for the brown rice, not the white

It has been known for some time that brown rice has a much better glycemic index (that is, they cause blood sugar to rise more slowly) than white rice. Similarly, whole wheat flour has a ower glycemic index than white flour. Nutritionists and doctors and the American Diabetes Assocation have been recommending for years that diabetics choose foods made with whole grains over those made with refined grains. Now a new study by Harvard School of Public Health researchers confirms that those who eat brown rice have a lower risk of developing diabetes than those who eat white rice. The researchers estimate that if 50 grams of white rice were replaced by 50 grams of white rice daily, a person would have a 16% lower chance of developing diabetes.

The other day I ate in a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco. I asked the waiter if I could get brown rice, but the restaurant did not serve it. Given the large number of people of Asian origin in San Francisco who frequent such restaurants, perhaps the city should develop an education program for restauranteurs about the benefits of brown rice and other whole grains.