Belly Fat Is the Worst for Your Heart

Selma Broeder / CC BY 2.0

You've heard of apple and pear body shapes, right? Well, it's the apple shape - with the extra weight mostly being stored around the waist - that is most associated with heart disease and other diseases like metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. This abdominal fat seems to be more biologically active, potentially secreting inflammatory proteins that contribute to atherosclerosis plaque.

The bigger your waist, the higher your risk of developing heart failure - a condition where the heart isn't pumping enough blood out, and fluid and blood back up into the lungs and/or pool in the feet and legs.

According to a recent animal study:

• Belly fat brought on the most inflammation.
• Belly fat was linked to the worst atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).

[Circulation online Jan. 22, 2008]

In adults at the lower end of the "overweight" range in body mass index, an increase in waist circumference of 10 centimeters was associated with a 15% higher risk of heart failure for women and 16% higher for men. [Circulation online April 7.2009]

Putting a Number to Your Waist
Measure your natural waist circumference (just above the navel) with a tape measure. If your body mass index (BMI) is 25 kg/m2 or greater (which is most of us), your goal for waist circumference, according to the American Heart Association, is:

Men: less than 40 inches
Women: less than 35 inches

But there is more to the belly fat story...

Waist-to-Hip Ratio May Be the Best Way to Measure Risk
Here's where it gets interesting. If you want to get the most accurate measure of potential risk from belly fat, measure your hips and calculate your waist-to-hip ratio. Fat around your hips doesn't appear to increase risk of heart disease at all. In fact, it may have a protective effect. Having a big waist with comparably big hips does not appear to be as troublesome as a big waist with small hips.

All of this is why I personally put more value on the waist measurement - and even better is the waist-to-hip ratio - than I do pounds on a scale. Pounds don't take into account your muscle or bone mass or where you tend to deposit extra body fat.

To get your waist-to-hip ratio, measure your waist circumference in inches and divide it by your hip circumference. An abnormal ratio is thought to be:

For women: 0.85 and above
For men: 1.0 and above

Yasser Alghofily / CC BY 2.0

It takes exercise and a healthy diet to lose the belly fat. But given the risks, it's healthier to eat an apple than to be one.


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"Other" Carbohydrates On the Label

What Does It Mean, Exactly?

One of the WebMD visitors on my Healthy Cooking community board posted a great question:

"I'm a diabetic (type 2) and I need some information about total carbohydrates and what does it mean when the label says "other carbohydrates"?

I know all of these terms can be so confusing. Basically the total carbohydrates includes everything and then some labels will break that out into subgroups like:

• Fiber grams (this is not digested and will eventually exit the body)


• Sugar grams (includes natural sugars too in dairy, fruits, etc.)


• "Other carb" grams

You'll find that these three often add up to the grams of total carbohydrate. The category "other carbs" represents the digestible carbohydrate that is not considered a sugar (natural or otherwise). Some labels will also break out sugar alcohols. I always take a look for these because they give me intestinal issues even at low levels. But that's another story (LOL).

For anyone with pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes, feel free to check out the third edition of my book for type 2 diabetes (it just came out in November), titled, TELL ME WHAT TO EAT IF I HAVE DIABETES. I incorporated the "latest" research from the past 5 years into it!

Related Topics:

Good Carbs, Bad Carbs: Why Carbohydrates Matter to You

Eating Carbohydrates and Fiber With Diabetes

Taste Test Tuesday: Pillsbury Doughboy Goes Sugar-Free

They're a bit pricey (over 4 dollars for 12 "ready to bake" pre-formed cookies) but the words SUGAR FREE caught my eye.

Was it my imagination or was the Pillsbury Doughboy looking trimmer? If he still had that fun-to-poke belly, it was hiding behind that Sugar Free Chocolate Chip Cookie he was holding.

In order to get the complete "tasting" experience of this new cookie, I had no choice but to taste some of the raw cookie dough. Although the dough wasn't as good as other cookie dough I've tasted (light and regular), it did taste like it had some potential. I baked the tray of cookies in my toaster oven and the family dug in. The last few cookies are still sitting on the kitchen counter the next day (which tells you something).

How did they taste?

They tasted "okay". The texture was similar to what you would expect but the flavor was kind of a let down. My daughter said it tasted like oatmeal with dark chocolate in it. Strangely, I can see why she said that. This might be a helpful treat to someone with diabetes because it looks like these cookies are completely sugar free - even the chocolate chips.

What's In There?

There are 16 grams of carbohydrate per cookie and 0 grams of sugar. In addition to Splenda, each cookie contains 6 grams of sugar alcohol per (maltitol powder is the second ingredient for the dough and lactitol is used to sweeten the chocolate chips) and remember that sugar alcohols can have a laxative effect in larger doses (they can have an effect in smaller amounts in some people with IBS).

There are 90 calories per cookie and 4 grams of fat, 1 grams of which is saturated and 1 gram of which is trans fat. The big surprise for me was the 3 grams of fiber per cookie.

~~Elaine

Related Topics: Sugar Fix, Cookies for Breakfast

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Is There Such Thing as Diabetic Diarrhea?

This isn't pretty but over the years I've heard some people with diabetes complain of having periodic diarrhea. In fact, a friend recently asked me what could be going on. I mentioned that perhaps undigested carbohydrates in the intestine were holding onto excessive water and causing watery stools (I told you this wasn't pretty). But I wanted to know if a dietitian who specializes in helping people with diabetes might have discovered any other possible reasons why this could sometimes be happening--so I asked a certified diabetes educator/dietitian that I recently met in Kansas City: Diana Rodenberg CDE, RD, MS, Clinical Nutrition Specialist at Saint Luke's Health System Diabetes Centers in Kansas City, Missouri.

Q: I wanted to know if some of your diabetic clients experience diarrhea after meals sometimes and if so, what might be going on here specific to diabetes?

A: There are two fairly common reasons why someone with diabetes might have diarrhea, and there are many not so common reasons.

MEDICATION?
The first thing I look at is their medications. If they take Metformin, it can cause stomach upset and diarrhea, especially if it is taken on an empty stomach. If they take it after they eat it will usually help. The problems usually diminish over time, but if they continue to have problems they may need a change in meds.

POOR BLOOD SUGAR CONTROL?
Poor blood sugar control can also cause diarrhea, the mechanism is not fully understood, but I suspect it is the osmotic effect of undigested carbohydrate entering the large intestine. Moderate carbohydrate intake 45-60 grams per meal (women) and achieving good glucose control may help.

NEUROPATHY?
Autonomic neuropathy is another possibility, especially in people who have had diabetes for a long time. It is caused by damage to the nerves that control the GI tract. Good glucose control may help, but they often need medications.

BACTERIAL OVERGROWTH?
It could also be bacterial overgrowth. Detected by a hydrogen breath test. Probiotic therapy may help.

CELIAC DISEASE?
Celiac disease is also a possibility, it is more common in people with type 1 diabetes.

UNRELATED TO DIABETES?
Or it could be IBS or another problem not related to diabetes.

~~Elaine

Related Topics: Diabetes and Artificial Sweeteners, Healthy Eating and Diabetes

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