Pour me a cup... maybe two.

Well, it took me a few years AFTER college to develop a love for good coffee. I still have just as much soy or almond milk as coffee usually... but regardless, I love it and now can't imagine my life without our Keurig. Saw this article regarding five benefits of coffee... besides productivity and alertness. :)

And it's better while you sip your coffee as you read. Enjoy!

Delia Lloyd

5 Reasons to Drink Coffee

Posted: 10/7/11 08:45 AM ET

Ever have one of those mornings where you wake up, jump in the shower, turn on the radio and hear the best news you've gotten in ages?


No, not world peace, but close.

Apparently, coffee is now good for you. It holds a host of physical -- not to mention psychological -- benefits which scientists are only now beginning to appreciate.

In a household where our espresso machine holds a hallowed place, this is definitely grounds for rejoicing. I haven't been this excited since I learned that sugar made a comeback.

So hear ye, hear ye: Five reasons to drink (more!) coffee:

1. It reduces depression in women. This just in. A new study out of Harvard University shows thatwomen who regularly drink coffee -- the fully caffeinated kind -- have a 20 percent lower risk of depression than nondrinkers. This comes on the heels of previous research showing that the risk of suicide decreases with increased coffee consumption.

2. It lowers the risk of lethal prostate cancer in men. But it's not just the ladies who will benefit from more java. In another study out of Harvard (what are they drinking there? ahem!), men who drank six or more cups per day had a 60 percent lower risk of developing the most lethal type of prostate cancer, and a 20 percent lower risk of forming any type of prostate cancer compared to men who did not drink coffee. Given that prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men, that's nothing to sneeze at.

3. It may protect against head and neck cancers. A study from the University of Utah showed that people who drank more than four cups of coffee a day had a 39 percent decreased risk of cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx combined, compared with those who didn't drink coffee. Regular consumption of coffee has also been linked to a lower risk for brain tumors, reduced rates of colorectal and endometrial cancer, as well as liver cancer and cirrhosis.

4. It may ward off Alzheimer's disease. Several studies looking at how caffeine affects brain development in mice have confirmed that caffeine significantly decreases abnormal levels of theprotein linked to Alzheimer's disease. When aged mice bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer's disease were given caffeine -- the equivalent of five cups of coffee a day -- their memory impairment was reversed, according to a report issued by the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Centre. Should these results be replicated on humans, it might suggest coffee as an effective treatment for this disease, rather than just a protective strategy.

5. It appears to stave off diabetes. Numerous studies have shown that coffee may be protective against Type 2 Diabetes, although the precise mechanism is not well understood. An analysis in the Archives of Internal Medicine, for example, found that people who drink three to four cups of coffee a day are 25 percent less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than those who drink fewer than two cups. In the U.S. alone, nearly 24 million children and adults -- nearly 8 percent of the population -- have diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease and accounts for about 90 to 95 percent of these cases.

Whether these studies will prove robust in coming years -- or be cancelled out by some of caffeine's adverse effects on things like sleep and high blood pressure -- remains to be seen.

But I'm going to blithely hedge my bets and carry on enjoying my cuppa (or two).

Latte or Cappucino?

Follow Delia Lloyd on Twitter: www.twitter.com/realdelia

Give Me Some Suga! :)

So, like many of you, I have my own sweet tooth. One I really do try to work on .... but I'll be honest, I'd sometimes rather run a little farther to have some sugar.... but this presentation really put a lot in PERSPECTIVE! 

My sweet Step-mom, Sharon, got this in an email this week and sent it straight to me... "for my blog" (i was so excited!). I LOOOOVE visual aids and always appreciate having others help create an image to explain a concept better.... The easier it is to "get", the more likely we'll remember it. I hope you learn a thing or two as well! 

 4.2 grams = 1 teaspoon of sugar = 1 sugar cube (in the images)
 

Quite interesting isn't it? So, have you figured up how much sugar you've had today?  Now think about what that sugar is doing to your vessels and heart..... if you don't know, read my post on Diabetes.

Diabetes.... In a way everyone can understand

Since February has come to a quick end, I wanted to round out the Heart Health Awareness Month with more information on the arch-nemesis of heart disease: DIABETES.

Everyday we hear about "diabetes". Most of us think we know what it is and what it does to our body.... but I am never surprised by the number of patients and family members that really have no idea what diabetes is. I hear from many patients that diabetes means they need insulin. Well - maybe. But not necessarily.


There are TWO types of Diabetes:

Type 1: Insulin Dependent Diabetes (AKA: "Juvenile Diabetes") - a result from the body's failure to produce insulin - period. This is not a result of diet, lifestyle, etc. Your pancreas just isn't doing it's job for your body so your body is being FLOODED by glucose (sugar) from every source b/c insulin isn't present to remove it. These people must always use insulin - by an injection or via the insulin pump.


Type 2: Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes - Unlike Type 1's, this is a form of diabetes brought on by insulin RESISTANCE. These patients generally are prone to a state of hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) b/c their body is less sensitive to the insulin it produces naturally, therefore added insulin is required to reduce their blood sugar levels.

So, why is it so important for us to monitor the amount of sugar in our blood? How does diabetes impact our hearts and cardiovascular system?

My Aunt, who was a crazy Cardiac Nurse for years has used these "word pictures" with me and her patients to simplify this disease and it's impact. I use it every time I talk about Diabetes and every patient (and even my 5 year old neighbor, Jordan) understands the impact of SUGAR on our bodies!!

From now on, think about SUGAR in our bodies as SHARDS OF GLASS.

Have you ever had  a small piece of glass in your finger? Stepped on some? Regardless, you know what glass does to our fingers and our toes..... well, it does the same thing to our vessels. When our body isn't able to control the amount of sugar moving about in our bloodstream (umm... insulin) the sugar builds up and starts cutting the lining of our vessels.

To repair these cuts, our body uses what it has available: Cholesterol. Typically in our vessels clotting (like we would do on the outside of our body) isn't normal, so cholesterol is the perfect "mud" to fill in the holes, cuts and scrapes found on the inside of our vessels to help smooth the vessel out for optimal blood flow.

This natural repair process is genius - on behalf of our Incredible Machine... but when we chronically maintain high blood sugar levels and do little to aid in the removal of plaque build-up, plaque just keeps piling up. Eventually leading to atherosclerosis (the build-up and hardening of the arteries).

Eventually, this build-up in combination with Diabetes causes other problems: narrowing of the arteries = hypertension, neuropathies in our hands and feet, decreased blood flow/circulation, vision changes and/or blindness, clots, etc.... This list could go on for a while, but these are just a few of the common problems.

 

And yes - Diabetes and take your toes, feet, fingers and hands by gangrenous ulcers! 

Gangrene Toes

Treating and PREVENTING Diabetes --- You know what I'm going to say... so just guess: ___________!!!!

Well, just in case, it starts with "E" and ends in "cise".  :)

Yes, exercise is crucial to treatment and prevention of DM as well as CVD, but I also have to put my plug in for the magic food: FIBER!!!!!!!!!!! If you know me well, you know I'm kind of obsessed with fiber. Not just because it helps you have excellent bowel movements, but it does for your cardiovascular system exactly what it does for your bowels! IT CLEANS IT OUT!! Yes, I said that.

Fiber cleans all the "icky" stuff out of our entire body... not just our bowels.

Now - on to exercise. Think of exercise as "pressure washing" the insides of our vessels. Any increase of blood flow we put on our vessels is literally like pressure washing them. The speed, like the fiber, helps to clear out the vessel of the plaque/cholesterol to prevent build-up and hardening of the arteries.



Do you get it now!?!?!?!?


- Give me some feedback! Leave your questions and thoughts here on my blog or facebook! I know I can't "cure" diabetes for anyone, but being educated is the first step in the battle of PREVENTION! I want you all to be informed too - if something doesn't make sense, let's talk about it.