Atkins Diabetes Revolution (36 page)

What about tea and weight loss? There is some suggestive evidence that green tea could increase your metabolic rate and slightly help speed up weight loss. A recent study of ten healthy young men showed that when they took capsules containing green tea extract, they had an increase in their energy expenditure that was greater than when they took capsules containing caffeine or fiber. In other words, the green tea extract made their metabolism run faster so they burned more fat. The study is a small one, done on healthy young men in a highly controlled setting. Even so, it shows that it’s not the caffeine in tea that causes the metabolic increase. The researchers believe the effect comes from the catechins,a group of natural chemicals found in tea.
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Given all the other beneficial effects of tea, Dr. Atkins recommended drinking 1 to 2 cups of brewed green tea each day.This type of tea has the most catechins and polyphenols and the least caffeine,with only about 30 mg to 40 mg per 6-ounce cup. There’s no reason not to sweeten the tea with your favorite sugar substitute if you like. Let the tea steep for at least three minutes in boiling water to get the most benefit from the leaves.

TO IMBIBE OR NOT?

The question of whether you should drink alcoholic beverages is a complex one without an easy answer. Some recent research suggests that moderate alcohol consumption in the form of red wine may decrease your risk of diabetes and possibly decrease oxidative stress.
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Even so, the researchers are always quick to point out that the benefits of alcohol are very minor relative to other steps such as losing weight and exercising more.

Alcohol in Moderation

Once your insulin/blood sugar metabolism has normalized and other markers, such as high blood pressure, have gone down, you can enjoy a glass of wine or other low-carb alcoholic beverage, but we strongly recommend that you limit your alcohol consumption to no more than one drink a day—and preferably less. (And remember, Induction is an alcohol-free zone.) To minimize the effects of alcohol, always have it with a meal that contains protein and dietary fat. A drink is one standard unit of alcohol: 12 ounces of beer, 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits (gin, rum, vodka, whiskey, scotch, bourbon), or 4 ounces of wine.

Drawbacks of Alcohol

People with blood sugar problems need to be aware of alcohol’s drawbacks:

• Alcohol can interfere with weight loss, because your body will burn the alcohol before it burns fat.
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• If you are in ketosis, you may experience a decreased tolerance for alcohol.
  
• If you have unstable blood sugar, the metabolic syndrome, or diabetes, drinking on an empty stomach or having more than one or two drinks could trigger symptoms. In clinical practice, people with diabetes, especially those with Type 1, are cautioned on the use of alcohol.
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• Excessive alcohol intake can worsen some health problems caused by diabetes, such as high triglycerides, neuropathy, and high blood pressure.
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Excessive alcohol can distort the results of the glycated hemoglobin blood test and make them seem higher than they are. (Check Chapter 6 for more information on this test.)
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The bottom line is this: Only if your blood sugar is under control can you consume a moderate amount of alcohol (one drink or less a day) and then only as part of a full meal.

WHAT’S YOUR FLUID IQ?

1. How many ounces of water should you drink each day?

1. 16
   
2. 32
   
3. 64
   
4. 128
   

2. Which of these beverages contain caffeine?

1. coffee
   
2. tea
   
3. orange juice
   
4. matée. ginger ale
   

3. Green and black tea may:

1. help speed weight loss
   
2. strengthen bones
   
3. help prevent heart attacks
   
4. all of the above
   
5. none of the above
   

4. A standard serving of wine is:

1. 1 ounce
   
2. 4 ounces
   
3. 8 ounces
   
4.  
   1?4
   of a bottle
   

Answers1.c.2.a,b,d.3.d.4.b.

Chapter 20

GETTING EXTRA HELP: SUPPLEMENTS FOR BLOOD SUGAR CONTROL

Let’s be clear from the start: Dr. Atkins did not have any magic pills that will solve your insulin/blood sugar problems and simultaneously make you lose weight. No supplement can substitute for the permanent dietary changes that are integral to getting your blood sugar under control and losing weight. Nor has anyone invented a supplement that replaces the need for exercise.

Nonetheless, certain supplementary nutrients can help counteract some of the damaging effects of high blood sugar; others can play a supporting role in your blood sugar control campaign. Because of the state of your health or because of poor eating habits up to now, you may also be low in some important vitamins and minerals and may need supplements to ensure that you’re getting basic, optimal nutrition. In this chapter, we’ll focus on the value of specific nutrients for conditions related to abnormal blood sugar and obesity. Chapter 21 will look at supplements for high blood pressure and heart health.

WHY RECOMMEND SUPPLEMENTS?

Most, but not all, of the supplements discussed in this chapter are common vitamins and minerals that you’ve heard of throughout your life. A few others are valuable substances that have been shown to be very helpful for people with blood sugar problems and associated risks. Although some are not yet in the medical mainstream, there is research to back them up.

RESEARCH REPORT: ONE A DAY

Does taking a daily multivitamin/mineral supplement really improve health?
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Unquestionably. Here’s one good example of how: A study in 2003 looked at whether people who took a daily multivitamin/mineral had fewer infections than people who didn’t. Researchers divided 130 adults into two groups. One group took a daily multisupplement for a year;the other group took a placebo.Neither the participants nor the researchers knew who was getting the real pill and who was getting the dummy. Over the course of the year, 43 percent of those who took the supplement had an infectious illness such as a cold or flu; 73 percent of the people who took the placebo got sick. Particularly revealing is that among the 51 participants with diabetes, 93 percent of the placebo takers got sick, but only 17 percent of the supplement takers did. The research showed that the benefit of supplements for diabetics was significant, unlike the nondiabetics, where the data revealed no difference between the treatment group and the placebo group. However, as a practitioner of complementary medicine, Dr. Atkins routinely used a good-quality multivitamin supplement as the foundation for the nutrient arm of his therapies.
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Dr.Atkins first began prescribing supplements to his patients in the 1970s, both for therapeutic purposes and to optimize health. He often recommended higher doses than the government’s minimal RDA (recommended dietary allowance), now known as DRI (dietary reference intake). However, beyond the DRI, Dr. Atkins believed strongly that supplements can play an important role in optimizing health and minimizing exposure to needless drug therapy. He was also convinced that we can no longer rely on obtaining an adequate supply of many nutrients from our foods.

First, it’s difficult to find vegetables that are grown in nutrient-rich soil; overfarming and chemical treatments have depleted the soil in which most of our produce is grown. Second, the loss of vitamins from processing, transportation, and cooking is significant. You’re just not getting the fresh, nutrient-abundant vegetables our preindustrialized ancestors did. When you consider these factors, you can understand Dr. Atkins’ interest in enhancing nutrition with vitamin and mineral supplements.

Added to that is the fact that many of you with evidence of insulin/blood sugar problems already have suffered years of nutritional deficits as a result of the oxidative stress of a high-carbohydrate diet (we’ll discuss this in more detail later in this chapter).
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Although it might be possible to overcome this accumulated deficit with diet alone, we want you to regain your health as rapidly as possible, which means supplements are needed. After you read this chapter, we think you’ll agree.

DEFINITIONS AND DIFFERENCES

A vitamin is an organic substance that your body needs but can’t manufacture. Minerals are inorganic substances such as calcium and magnesium. Some minerals are essential, meaning that you must have them, even if only in very small amounts. You must get vitamins and minerals from the foods you eat and, if necessary, from supplements.

Vitamins and minerals are crucial for the smooth operation of the thousands of chemical processes that are constantly taking place in your body. You need a constant and adequate supply of all of them to create enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, and all the other complex substances that make your body run efficiently.

A genuine deficiency of any vitamin or mineral is very rare in individuals who live in developed countries. You’re highly unlikely to get scurvy,the disease caused by a lack of vitamin C,for instance.The typical Western diet,however,often ends up low in vitamins and minerals because high-carb refined and heavily processed foods often crowd out fresh vegetables, nuts and seeds, berries and other fruits, beans, and whole grains. When you switch from the standard American diet (SAD) to the Atkins Blood Sugar Control Program (ABSCP), your in- take of vitamins and minerals from food automatically soars.

The foundation of any supplement program is a good-quality multivitamin/mineral. Unless your physician has prescribed iron supplements for you, choose a multivitamin that is iron-free, because elevated iron levels have been statistically associated in some studies with an increased incidence of Type 2 diabetes.
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Your multivitamin should also contain no artificial colors, flavors, hydrogenated oils, corn or wheat (to which many people are sensitive), salt, sugar, starch, or gluten. As an example, a complete list of the nutrients in the Atkins Basic 3 multivitamin appears below. When supplements are needed for a particular purpose, they should be considered as an addition to, not as a replacement for, a multivitamin.

ATKINS BASIC 3 INGREDIENTS