Well, two of the most important nutrition label reading guidelines that I can give you to get full (i.e., not starve) on less calories and salt deal with foods’ calorie and sodium “densities” (the amount of calories per gram of food and the milligrams of sodium per gram of food).

Please remember that these are only guidelines, not commandments from God! Just keep them in mind and apply portion control to foods that are not within these guidelines (keep in mind that longevity eating is not about any SINGLE food choice as much as it is about your overall eating PATTERN and choices over long periods of time)

So just try to keep within the following range or as close as possible…ok, HERE WE GO: try to choose more foods that tend to have LOWER calories than the gram weight of their serving size (you’ll see the gram weight of virtually all foods’ serving size in parentheses in the “serving size area” of the food’s nutrition info)….. and foods that have lower sodium in milligrams than the gram weight of the serving. Using these guidelines you will much more likely achieve weight loss without hunger and prevent, or lower your already high, blood pressure, not to mention reduce the risk of salt induced osteoporosis and kidney stones.

For instance, if the food has 100 cal for a 140 g serving size and has 120 mg of sodium per serving, you are definitely good to go as both the calories and the milligrams of sodium are lower than the gram weight of the food likely leaving you with low calories and sodium by the time you are full. Hope that helps! Of course remember that you can MIX touches of higher calorie density foods with big amounts of those that are lower (are you thinking LOTS of veggies and WHOLE, not dried or juiced, fruits here? If so, GOOD! Half of what you eat at least should be whole fruits and veggies) and touches of higher salt/sodium foods with those that are nice and low so the meal comes out healthy and with a little tasty flare…but not so much that it’ll kill ya!

Note: I’ll be doing a grocery shopping tour to teach these and many more details to my patients today in beautiful Birmingham, Michigan at the Kroger on Woodward and Maple

Well, a drug long known for diabetes (and now being used in pre-diabetes and other insulin resistance conditions such as fatty liver, PCOS as well as some centers, such as mine, as a safer appetite controlling agent in overweight non-diabetics versus amphetamine/stimulant type drugs), METFORMIN is now being recognized for its anti-cancer properties as well as for its ability to help control blood sugar withOUT weight gain or hypoglycemia risk (in fact, most people find it easier to LOSE weight on metformin…more below).

This most recent study from China (published in journal Diabetes Care, Feb 2011 issue – pgs 375-380) further confirmed the association between metformin and reduced cancer risk, but noted that those diabetics with low HDL (less than mid 40’s) had a particularly reduced risk of cancer when prescribed metformin….but, make no mistake here, even those with higher levels of HDL saw an impressive reduction. For full disclosure – I personally take generic metformin extended release.

The link is attributed to metformin’s activation of a tumor suppressor gene “LKBI” which activates an enzyme “AMPK” and a series of reactions associated with inhibition of tumor growth (another recent prospective study, the highest quality type of study, showed a reduced number of colon cancer cells in subjects given metformin).

Not so ironically, AMPK is also activated by higher levels of Apo-A1, the major PROTEIN constituent of HDL (i.e., High Density LipoPROTEIN)…AKA on the street as “good cholesterol” …. and guess what raises Apo-A1 and, therefore, HDL (“good”) cholesterol?….HIGH LEVELS OF AEROBIC EXERCISE (especially when associated with healthy abdominal weight loss)!

Not surprisingly, we’ve seen evidence that high levels of aerobic exercise (feel like getting up off your chair right now and going for a brisk walk? You darn well should!) RAISE HDL and LOWER risk of not only heart disease, not only cancer (e.g., breast cancer), but even the risk of RECURRANCE of cancer in breast cancer patients!

SOOoooo….I would conclude that:
1. we ALL should be avoiding getting heavy in the middle and cranking up our aerobic and overall fitness (it will likely help both heart disease AND cancer risks)….GET MOVING AND GO FOR A WALK, BIKE RIDE, ELLIPTICAL MACHINE, SWIM – whatEVER you like! JUST GET UP OFF THAT ARSE!

2. if you’re going to be on a medication for an insulin resistance related issue (ESPECIALLY if that issue is type 2 diabetes…but even pre-diabetes, PCOS or overweight related fatty liver IMO…. and PARTICULARLY if you have an HDL <40 in association with any of these – but even if you’re HDL is > mid 40’s, again – IMO), make sure that metformin (preferably the extended release variety since you can take your entire daily dose at once rather than having to take in 2-3 times per day as is required with immediate-release, aka “regular” metformin) is it, or at least is one of them.

3. Keep in mind that, IMO, the one thing to watch out for with metformin is that it may cause low Vitamin B12. So all my patients get 1000mcg of B12 orally (I believe shots of B12 are way over-hyped) to keep blood levels of B12 >500pg/mL.

Thanks for reading my blog and good health to all! Check out my YouTube videos (here in the blog section or at YouTube.com/drtomrifai … the most recent discuss practical ways of eating healthier pizza and making fish eating easier) and get ready for a new look to this website (that I hope you’ll like and is being done by the one and only Lindsey “Z” Sherline: www.i-am-z.com) soon!