A new report from Harvard Health Publications dispels this and other misconceptions, and explains what people with diabetes should eat to keep their blood sugar steady. The report includes 40 new recipes.

The advice for people with diabetes is similar to that for the general population, but with extra emphasis on controlling weight, blood sugar, and risk factors for heart disease, explains the report, Healthy Eating for Type 2 Diabetes. The basics: Eat a well-balanced diet with a variety of healthy foods, while watching total calories and engaging in physical activity. What you choose to eat on a day-to-day basis is up to you, but the overall goals are as follows:

Achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Include plenty of fruits and vegetables in your diet (but limit white potatoes). Reduce saturated fats and trans fats and replace them with healthy vegetable oils. Choose healthy complex carbohydrates over refined sugars and refined starches. Increase the amount of fiber you eat. Opt for healthier proteins, such as beans, nuts, fish, and poultry, instead of red meat. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation. Limit your salt intake. Get enough calcium. Take a multivitamin each day.

Healthy Eating for Type 2 Diabetes is a 48-page report edited by Dr. David Nathan, director of the Diabetes Center and General Clinical Research Center at the Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. It also covers:

the elements of a healthy diet meal planning basics ways to lose weight diabetes-friendly recipes.

Healthy Eating for Type 2 Diabetes is available for $16 from Harvard Health Publications, the publishing division of Harvard Medical School. Order it online at health.harvard/HED or by calling 1-877-649-9457 (toll free).

health .harvard/

The strengthened warning advises health care professionals to observe patients carefully for the signs and symptoms of heart failure, including excessive, rapid weight gain, shortness of breath, and edema after starting drug therapy. Patients with these symptoms who then develop heart failure should receive appropriate management of the heart failure and use of the drug should be reconsidered. People who have questions should contact their health care providers to discuss alternative treatments.

The warning also states that these drugs should not be used by people with serious or severe heart failure who have marked limits on their activity and who are comfortable only at rest or who are confined to bed or a chair.

FDA's review of Avandia and possible increased risk of heart attacks is ongoing. On July 30, 2007, FDA's Endocrine and Metabolic Advisory Committee and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee recommended that Avandia continue to be marketed, and further recommended that information be added to the labeling for risk of heart attacks (ischemic risks).

For more information, visit: Rosiglitazone maleate (marketed as Avandia, Avandamet, and Avandaryl) Information Pioglitazone HCl (marketed as Actos and Duetact) Information

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