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Health<br />
DECEMBER 1 - <strong>14</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
<strong>The</strong><strong>Trumpet</strong><br />
Page13<br />
Insulin and our hearts<br />
Insulin is an important hormone<br />
that allows sugar to move from<br />
our blood, after digesting food,<br />
into our muscles and fat cells to be<br />
either burned or stored. It was<br />
discovered by Canadian Scientist -<br />
Frederick Banting<br />
Diabetes, is the name we give to<br />
the disease related to problems with<br />
our insulin. Whilst some types of<br />
Diabetes are caused by factors out<br />
of our control, Type 2 Diabetes can<br />
usually be prevented in younger<br />
individuals by adopting a healthy<br />
lifestyle. What’s more, most of the<br />
lifestyle actions we can take to limit<br />
Snack on unsalted nuts and seeds<br />
Our lifestyle actions can limit our diabetes risk<br />
our diabetes risk will also help to<br />
improve our heart health!<br />
With this in mind, here are some<br />
tips for doing just that:<br />
Eat more Fibre<br />
Fibre can not only help to reduce<br />
cholesterol levels but also helps to<br />
slow down how quickly our blood<br />
sugar levels increase. Try and swap<br />
white pasta and bread for<br />
wholegrain options, eat more fruit<br />
and vegetables, and snack on<br />
unsalted nuts and seeds.<br />
Create Activity Opportunities<br />
Staying active is one of the most<br />
effective ways to maintain our<br />
weight and lower blood pressure.<br />
Consider how you can incorporate a<br />
minimum of one ‘activity<br />
opportunity’ every day, whether it’s<br />
walking the dog, cleaning your<br />
house, or dusting off your old bike.<br />
Remember to keep it fresh and do<br />
something you enjoy!<br />
Stay active<br />
Take the 5% Challenge<br />
Reducing our bodyweight by<br />
more than 5% is an effective way to<br />
positively manage our future health,<br />
however any weight loss is<br />
beneficial, so start small and build<br />
on your success! Remember to set a<br />
goal over a realistic timeframe; 0.5-<br />
2lb per week is sustainable.<br />
Know Your Numbers<br />
Eating excessive amounts of<br />
sugar over many years can be<br />
harmful to our health. Try and opt<br />
for foods with less than 5g of sugar<br />
per 100g most of the time, and limit<br />
high sugar foods such as fizzy<br />
drinks and sweets to less than twice<br />
Tel: +44 (0) 7956 385 604<br />
Eating excessive sugar can be harmful<br />
per week.<br />
To help keep your heart healthy,<br />
why not try out some of our Healthy<br />
Heart recipes from our website:<br />
https://heartresearch.org.uk/heartresearch-uk-recipes-2/<br />
Or<br />
Have a look through our Healthy<br />
Heart cookbook filled with recipes<br />
from top chefs, celebrities and food<br />
bloggers:<br />
https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart<br />
-research-uk-cookbook/<br />
• This is article is part of the<br />
Heart Research UK Healthy Heart<br />
Tip series, written by the Health<br />
Promotion and Education Team at<br />
Heart Research UK.