Back To School Friday

As the title of the post implies, today was back to school for my boys.  They are young, 7 & 8 respectively, and on the way to school, gave me detailed instructions on what they expected from me.  Now I generally give the instructions in my home but I raise my boys to be articulate so I was curious what they had on their minds.  It turned out to be something that is on the mind of many children around the country these past few weeks......"Dad, if you're gonna give us a kiss you better do it before we go inside!  We don't want you to do that in front of our friends!!"  I burst out laughing and told them that I would respect their wishes today but that all other days were fair game and you shouldn't ever get too old for affection.  We went to their new classrooms, met the teachers and saw many other kids, a lot of them "old" friends.  Many times I think they were just born yesterday and they'll probably be asking for the truck keys tomorrow.

Now that the kids are back in school, its time to get back to the blogging today and show you an article on a study of leafy greens and their link to lower type 2 diabetes.  I will do more in-depth articles in the coming days on diet and diabetes but thought this one would whet your thirst for knowledge.

Read this article from Yahoo and Health Day News..........

Green, Leafy Vegetables Linked to Lower Type 2 Diabetes Risk



FRIDAY, Aug. 20 (HealthDay News) -- A new analysis of existing research suggests that eating more green, leafy vegetables can significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but more study is needed.

An estimated 6.4 percent of people in the world have diabetes, and the rates of type 2 diabetes have been going up in the United States as the population has become more overweight, the authors of the analysis noted. Scientists have been trying to understand the role that diet plays in the development of the disease.

Researchers, led by nutritionist Patrice Carter at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, examined six studies that looked at the links between diet and the incidence of type 2 diabetes. They found that compared with those who ate the least amount of green, leafy vegetables (0.2 servings daily), people who ate the most (1.35 servings daily) had a 14 percent reduction in risk for type 2 diabetes.

However, the analysis didn't show that increasing overall intake of fruit, vegetables, or a combination of both would make a significant difference in risk, Carter and colleagues reported in the Aug. 19 online edition of the BMJ.

Still, in the analysis authors concluded that "increasing daily intake of green, leafy vegetables could significantly reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and should be investigated further."

Diabetes researcher Jim Mann, who co-wrote a commentary accompanying the analysis, said in an interview that the findings don't change the general message of the medical community that people should eat lots of fruits and vegetables.

The research is "a reminder of just how important dietary factors are in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. There's far more evidence for this than for any drug treatments," said Mann, a professor in the department of human nutrition at the University of Otago in New Zealand.

In regard to green, leafy vegetables, Mann wrote in his commentary that it may be reasonable to draw attention to their potential benefits and that they could be incorporated into one of the five recommended portions of fruits and vegetables a day. In an interview, he added: "Though they are certainly a potential component of a diet likely to reduce the risk -- not only of diabetes but all chronic disease -- the message needs to go beyond green, leafy vegetables."