Weekend Ramble: Best Time of Day to Exercise for Healthy Blood Sugar

This article was originally published on EatingWell.com

By Karla Walsh - Published on January 18, 2025

Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD

Any time is better than never, but research suggests you can score even more blood sugar benefits by carving out time to sweat during this time of day.

Some research has found that walking after meals for just two minutes (yes, really!) can have a substantial impact on blood sugar. But beyond sprinkling in little activity "nuggets" after a meal, researchers are still on a quest to learn more about the best methods, times of day and intensity levels of exercise that might affect - and potentially help us better manage - our blood sugar levels.

Blood sugar levels naturally rise and fall throughout the day, but when your body has trouble regulating this process, it can lead to insulin resistance and other health issues. Typically, your body uses insulin to help cells absorb glucose from your blood. When this process works well, blood sugar levels remain in a healthy range, providing steady energy throughout the day. However, for people with insulin resistance, such as those with type 2 diabetes, glucose stays in the bloodstream, leading to higher blood sugar levels.

Fortunately, regular physical activity is one of the best ways to keep your blood sugar levels in check because glucose is drawn into your muscle cells for fuel during physical activity. Studies indicate that this process helps lower blood sugar levels by improving insulin sensitivity and increasing glucose absorption by cells, even after the workout is finished. Regular exercise can also improve cardiovascular health, which is closely linked to better blood sugar control. Research suggests that the timing of your workout could make a real difference in how well your body manages glucose, too.

Afternoon and evening exercise seem to offer the most benefit for blood sugar control. While morning exercise is still beneficial, studies suggest that exercising later in the day may help you better manage insulin resistance. However, the most important thing is to find a time that works for you and stick to a consistent routine.

A 2022 study published in Diabetologia found that participants who exercised in the afternoon experienced an 18% reduction in insulin resistance, while those who worked out in the evening saw a 25% decrease. On the other hand, morning exercise or spreading activity throughout the day didn’t show significant improvements in insulin resistance or liver fat content. While the reasons for this are still being studied, it suggests that afternoon and evening workouts may offer the best benefits for managing blood sugar levels.

How Much Exercise Do You Need?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that healthy adults aim for 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity each week. However, even small amounts of physical activity can make a difference. If you’re new to exercise, start slow and gradually increase your activity level as you build endurance.

Types of Exercise That Support Healthy Blood Sugar

To make the most of your exercise routine for blood sugar regulation, it helps to incorporate a variety of activities. Here are some types of exercise to consider:

Aerobic Exercise: Activities like walking, swimming, cycling and running are excellent for improving heart health and lowering blood sugar. Regular aerobic exercise can enhance blood flow, reduce insulin resistance, and support long-term weight management.

Strength Training: Research shows that lifting weights or using resistance bands helps build muscle mass, which can increase glucose uptake by cells and improve overall insulin sensitivity. Aim to incorporate strength training exercises at least two to three times a week.

Yoga and Stretching: Yoga can help reduce stress and promote relaxation, which can help lower cortisol (a stress hormone) and balance blood sugar levels. Incorporating stretching and mindfulness practices can also support better glucose control.

The Bottom Line

Research shows that afternoon and evening exercise might provide the biggest benefits to blood sugar control. While this is interesting to keep in mind, it's vital to note that physical activity at ANY time of day is beneficial. In fact, morning exercise might actually be your best option if you find it challenging to make exercise a part of your daily routine. (Translation: Early birds, keep up the great work if you're loving that 6 a.m. yoga class or walk!)

Keep in mind that exercise is just one of many healthy ways to lower your blood sugar. Sleep, hormones, medicine and other sneaky factors can impact blood sugar as well. What's on our plate makes the biggest impact, of course, so keep eating diabetes-friendly meals!

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Have a great week, everyone, and thank you for your support!

Blessed be… and happy cooking!

                                                            Chef Michael R

Weekend Ramble: Sugar-Free may not be a Panacea

As you may or may not be aware, I belong to quite a few diabetes oriented food groups. There seems to be a recurring theme of people championing sugar-free foods, because they've been taught to only count carbs. While counting carbs is a valid way to lose weight, it may not play as great a role in maintaining a diabetic system as one might want to believe.

When I first started the MDF blog back in 2014 after being diagnosed type 2, my motto was DUMP THE CARBS!, and I truly believed that motto was going to save my life. A decade later I've learned that it's not just simple carbs we have to watch. There are the factors of glycemic index and load as well as portion control, and it seems newer studies are showing that replacing simple carbs with artificial sweeteners may not really be all it's cracked up to be.

This week's Weekend Ramble features two articles from 2014 and 2022. Studies are ongoing and there is a ton of information at your Google inspired fingertips, but it's my hope that these two pieces will give my followers a bit of insight and something to think about when they're preaching:

"OMG SUGAR FREE XYZ IS SOOOO GOOD!!!"

Study: Artificial Sweeteners May Trigger Blood Sugar Risks
National Geographic

By Dan Vergano, September 17, 2014

Bacteria in your gut might determine whether saccharin triggers glucose intolerance.

Sugary sodas have come under fire for contributing to obesity and diabetes, but new research suggests artificial sweeteners may also raise blood sugar levels. Photograph by Sam Hodgson, Reuters

There's no such thing as a free lunch, or at least a free artificially sweetened one, a new study suggests. Saccharin and other artificial sweeteners may raise blood sugar levels – a condition the sugar substitutes aim to help prevent – by altering digestive bacteria, Israeli researchers reported on Wednesday. (Related: "What Lives in Your Gut?")

Sugar-free sodas and diet snacks abound with artificial sweeteners, invented more than a century ago as a cheaper sugar substitute. Amid an obesity epidemic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has to date approved six artificial sweeteners, which are widely used and roughly 500 times sweeter than sugar. These additives cut calories from foods and drinks, and are seen as precluding the elevated blood sugar, or glucose intolerance, that often precedes diabetes. (See "Sugar: Why We Can't Resist It.")

But a first-of-its-kind study suggests one reason why diet sodas and their ilk don't seem to have made much difference in the obesity crisis. The answer may lie within ourselves, or at least in the bacteria in our intestines that are exposed to artificial sweeteners, a joint team headed by Eran Segal and Eran Elinav of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot report in the journal Nature.

"This huge and poorly understood microbial world which resides within each one of us, starting from birth, has been shown to have a huge effect on our physiology," Elinav says. Although cautioning that the findings are preliminary, he says, "our results suggest the consumption of artificial sweeteners may affect the microbiome in ways that cause glucose intolerance in some people."

Over decades of study, research results on artificial sweeteners have been mixed, with some pointing to artificial sweeteners raising the risk of elevated blood sugar levels, obesity, diabetes, or other ailments, and other research suggesting lower risks. Many of the people in those studies already suffered from these conditions to some extent or ate an unhealthy diet, or both, when they enrolled, which greatly complicated the results.

A 2012 review of the safety of artificial sweeteners by the American Heart Association (AHA) and American Diabetes Association (ADA) suggested that "when used judiciously," artificial sweeteners might help people lose weight.

But the review also concluded that more research was needed on the panoply of health questions surrounding the additives. The only one that seems answered is that saccharin doesn't cause bladder cancer, a well-known fear raised by lab rat studies in the 1970s, which subsequent studies determined was unfounded, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Epidemic of Caution

In a briefing for reporters, Segal said that the study authors are "by no means" calling for people to make any changes to what they eat or drink, but are asking the scientific community to confirm the new results and reassess artificial sweeteners.

Experts reacted to the study results with a mixture of caution and interest, noting that the research was conducted largely on mice and included only seven human volunteers. And they downplayed a direct link between artificial sweeteners and the obesity epidemic. More than one-third of U.S. adults are now obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Artificial sweeteners are associated with overweight in humans, but the obvious connection is that overweight people use them more," says New York University nutrition expert Marion Nestle, by email. "This is the first study I have seen suggesting that the connection is mediated through the microbiome. I'm not crazy about artificial sweeteners (I think they taste terrible), but this needs confirmation before taking it too seriously."

Epidemiologist Judith Wylie-Rosett of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York agrees. "It would be a disaster if people with diabetes started drinking sugar-laced drinks because of this one study, so we need some caution," says Wylie-Rosett, who co-chaired the 2012 AHA/ADA review of the safety of artificial sweeteners. "It is an interesting hypothesis at this point."

Of Mice and Men's Guts

In the new study, the team began by adding one of three FDA-approved artificial sweeteners – saccharin, sucralose, or aspartame – to the drinking water of mice. The researchers compared these groups of mice with others that drank only water. Within 11 weeks, the mice drinking sweetened water had developed glucose intolerance, most notably when saccharin was added to their diet.

To see whether the mice's intestinal bacteria contributed to the problem, the team then used antibiotics to wipe out the mice's intestinal bugs and found they could return the mice's blood sugar levels to normal.

Finally, they fed fecal samples from glucose-intolerant mice to normal mice, transferring the unhealthy mice's gut bugs. The normal mice that got these fecal samples then developed glucose intolerance within six days.

Analysis of mouse gut bacteria after the experiments found a proliferation of the bugs involved in digesting carbohydrates in the glucose-intolerant mice. (Carbohydrates are found in breads, cereals, and other foods in the human diet.)

"I think this is surprising," Elinav says. He calls it "counterintuitive" that artificial sweeteners, which are not meant to be absorbed by the digestive tract, end up apparently altering its performance.

To see if the effect extends to humans, the team first looked at 381 people in a nutritional study headed by Segal. They found links between artificial sweetener use, symptoms of obesity and elevated blood sugar, and the kinds of altered gut bacteria seen in the mice.

In particular, the study noted a 20-fold increase in the numbers of Bacteroides fragilis bacteria, linked to inflammation in the gut.

Finally, as a proof of concept, the team enrolled five adult men and two adult women who didn't use artificial sweeteners in a one-week experiment. In the experiment, the volunteers ate the FDA's recommended allowance of saccharin, about 120 milligrams daily; they had their blood sugar levels checked every five minutes and underwent a daily glucose tolerance test.

Sweetener made from stevia plants, here in a research greenhouse at Michigan State University, has gained popularity as an alternative to artificial varieties. Photograph by Kevin J. Miyazaki, Redux

"Notably, even in this short-term seven-day exposure period, most individuals (4 out of 7) developed significantly poorer glycemic [blood sugar] responses," says the study. Normal mice fed fecal samples from the four human volunteers with glucose intolerance developed the same condition.

Along with a historical shift toward processed foods over the past century, the move toward artificial sweeteners "coincides with the dramatic increase in the obesity and diabetes epidemic," the study concludes. "Our findings suggest that [artificial sweeteners] may have directly contributed to enhancing the exact epidemic they themselves were intended to fight."

Microbiome Mystery

"This study reinforces the idea that what we eat directly influences our gut microbiota, which, in turn, is intimately linked to many facets of our health," says Stanford University microbiologist Justin Sonnenburg. He called for closer examination of the results, pointing to the uncertainty over the mechanism behind the changes in the gut bacteria seen in the study. (Related: "The Quantified Microbiome Self.")

For starters, when people eat artificially sweetened foods, only milligrams of the sweetener ends up in their gut, compared to most of the sugar eaten in normally sweetened foods, notes Stanford University's Christopher Gardner, another co-chair of the 2012 AHA/ADA artificial sweetener safety review. If the gut bacteria are eating artificial sweeteners, then very small amounts of the material seem to have a disproportionately large effect on the community of microbes, he says.

The missing piece in the study is a mechanism for the artificial sweeteners to directly spur a population boom in some gut bacteria and a population bust in others.

The researchers acknowledged that they don't understand how artificial sweeteners would stimulate the growth of potentially harmful intestinal bacteria. It's possible, but untested, that the sweeteners may change conditions in the gut in some way that spurs the growth of the microbes, even if the microbes are not eating the additives.

Elinav says the results also point to the very individual nature of how people respond to changes in diet, noting the three out of seven people whose blood sugar remained unaffected in the last part of the study.

"Eventually, we may be moving toward an era of personalized nutrition," he says, where individuals' diets are tuned to their digestive tract's tendencies. (Related: "Discovering My Microbiome.")

Personalized nutrition, like personalized medicine, is a hot topic among health experts, says Wylie-Rosett, but there are fairness issues to consider: "We want to see we don't move toward an era of diet haves and have-nots. Obesity, unfortunately, has a larger effect on the have-nots."

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Spate of new research points to the potential harms of artificial sweeteners

Recent studies suggest that consuming too many artificial sweeteners could elevate blood sugar levels and raise one's risk of heart disease or stroke.

Sept. 8, 2022
By Aria Bendix (Breaking health reporter for NBC News Digital)

New research adds to mounting evidence that artificial sweeteners may be harmful to your health.

A study published Wednesday in the BMJ (British Medical Journal), which involved more than 100,000 adults in France, found a potential link between consumption of artificial sweeteners and heart disease.

The results showed that participants who consumed large amounts of aspartame — found in the tabletop sweeteners Equal and NutraSweet as well as cereals, yogurt, candy and diet soda — had a higher risk of stroke than people who didn’t consume the sweetener.

Similarly, people who consumed high quantities of sucralose — found in Splenda as well as baked goods, ice cream, canned fruit, flavored yogurt and syrups — and acesulfame potassium, often used in "sugar-free" soda, had a higher risk of coronary heart disease.

"Artificial sweeteners may not be a safe alternative to sugar," said Mathilde Touvier, the study’s author and a research director at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research.

Last month, a smaller study found that consuming non-nutritive sweetener — sugar substitutes that contain few calories or nutrients — could alter a person's gut microbes and potentially elevate blood sugar levels. High blood sugar can increase one's risk of diabetes, heart disease or stroke.

Prior to that, a June lab study found that artificial sweeteners prompted gut bacteria to invade cells in the intestine wall, which could ultimately raise one's risk of infection or organ failure.

Other previous research has linked artificial sweeteners to obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and increased cancer risk as well.

"The more data that comes out showing these adverse health effects, the less we're going to want to encourage people to switch from added sugars to non-nutritive sweeteners," said Dr. Katie Page, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Southern California.

But the healthiest course of action, Page said, isn't to opt for regular sugar instead.

"We really need to encourage people to eat sugar in more moderation and try to decrease sugar consumption," she said. "And the way to do that isn’t to consume more non-nutritive sweeteners."

Some sweeteners thought of as natural aren't preferable either, Page said.

"I definitely would not switch to agave," she said. "I know people think that’s healthy, but it actually has a very high fructose content."

An emerging link between sweeteners and heart disease

As a category, artificial sweeteners are low- or no-calorie additives often found in soft drinks and other highly processed foods like yogurt, granola bars, cereal or microwaveable meals. They're also sold as tabletop sweeteners like Equal, Splenda, Sweet ‘N Low and Truvia.

The sweeteners were originally billed as a healthier replacement for sugar, which is known to promote obesity and diabetes and can increase one's risk of heart disease if consumed in excess.

Touvier said her study is the first to directly assess how overall dietary consumption of artificial sweeteners impacts one’s risk of heart disease. Previous studies mostly looked at how artificially sweetened beverages impact heart disease risk.

Her team defined a large amount of sweetener as around 77 milligrams per day, on average, which is a little less than two packets of tabletop sweetener.

More than half of the participants' artificial sweetener consumption came from soft drinks, while 30% came from tabletop sweeteners. Another 8% came from sweetened dairy products like yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit topping.

Sucralose is the most commonly consumed artificial sweetener worldwide, Page said, whereas "aspartame has kind of gotten out of favor, so people aren’t consuming it as much."

She said sodas are the biggest source of artificial sweeteners in our food supply, though "a lot of the non-nutritive sweeteners people are consuming are coming from foods that you might think of as healthy."

Two prime examples: flavored yogurts and sports drinks.

The best alternative to sugary food, Page said, is naturally sweet fruit. If water isn't a satisfying substitute for soft drinks or juice, she suggested carbonated water without artificial sweeteners.

Sweeteners could disrupt your metabolism and elevate blood sugar

A growing body of research suggests that artificial sweetener may disrupt the body's ability to properly metabolize glucose, which can be a risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular health issues. 

For the study published last month, Israeli researchers asked 120 people to consume four artificial sweeteners — aspartame, saccharin, stevia and sucralose — for two weeks. Participants consumed six sachets of sweetener per day, which is within the Food and Drug Administration’s acceptable intake.

The researchers observed changes in the makeup and function of participants' gut microbes, which help break down food and ward off disease-causing bacteria. The changes were not seen in people who did not consume artificial sweeteners.

"All four sweeteners changed the microbiome, each in their unique way," said Eran Elinav, the study's author and a microbiome researcher at the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Two sweeteners in particular, sucralose and saccharin (found in Sweet ‘N Low), altered some people's ability to process glucose.

"It changed the way the bugs in their gut are functioning and that, in turn, led to increases in their glucose levels, which is of course not a good thing," Page said.

The researchers even transferred samples of gut microbes from the study participants with significant metabolism changes into mice. The mice, too, developed blood sugar alterations, Elinav said.

"That's pretty good evidence suggesting that [artificial sweeteners] have some type of effect on metabolism and on the gut microbiome," Page said.

Page said her team is now studying how artificial sweeteners affect children's risk of metabolic conditions like diabetes.

"There's been very, very few studies in children and there's data showing that the increases in non-nutritive sweetener consumption are even higher among children and adolescents," she said.

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Just so you all know that I actually practice what I preach (for the most part), I have decided to limit my artificial sweetener intake as much as possible. We shall see. :-)

Have a great week, everyone, and thank you for your support!

Blessed be… and happy cooking!

                                                            Chef Michael R

Weekend Ramble: Food as Medicine - A Conversation with Chef Amy Foote

Welcome to my Weekend Ramble!

For a number of years I was getting roughly 90% of my fish through a monthly subscription with Wild Alaskan Company. These folks not only provide amazing proteins, but the way they run their company makes their customers feel like family. Their newsletters are often filled with philosophical takes on the world around us. Monica's email from March 23, 2023 featured an interview by Kristin Gole - WAC Content Strategist with Chef Amy Foote - Director and Executive Chef of Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) Medical Campus in Anchorage, Alaska. 

Chef Amy's beliefs got me thinking and saying to myself... hey... I do something similar with my blog! My intentions have always been to help people eat better and healthier, but after reading through the interview I am seeing my efforts may very well be going a step further by actually doing some healing.

When we eat good food, we feel good. When we eat healthy food that is also good, we don't feel guilt often associated with "cheating". When we create and consume meals that leave us satisfied and happy as we leave the dinner table smiling we may very well feel a sense of pride and happiness. 

Remember a Weekend Ramble a while back where I touched on things we can and can't control regarding our disease and overall health? Our food is absolutely in our control and good food promotes happiness and healing. 

I feel good about this. Huge thanks to Monica, Kristin & Chef Amy for helping me to see that what I'm doing is important and may very well make a difference in the lives of my followers. Please read on to learn more from Chef Amy Foote.

Have a great week, everyone!

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Food as Medicine: A Conversation with Chef Amy Foote

March 22nd, 2023

How a Hospital Food Program in Anchorage Strives to Heal the Alaska Native Community

Dear friends,

While I’m still out on leave (just for a little longer!), and in honor of Women’s History Month, I want to share an inspiring conversation one of my colleagues had with Amy Foote, Director and Executive Chef of Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) Medical Campus in Anchorage, Alaska. Just for some context, the ANTHC provides comprehensive medical and health services to Alaska Native and American Indian patients through programming that strives to meet their unique needs. 

Through her work, Chef Amy uses food as medicine to help patients heal, often tapping into the culinary heritage of her patients to ensure they’re having all of their needs met. Food, after all, is so much more than a dietary requirement. Food can be medicine to the body and soul. 

I’ll let my colleague Kristin Gole, WAC Content Strategist, tell you a little more about Chef Amy and the incredible work that she does. 

***

When I first (virtually) met with Chef Amy Foote, a photo of her holding something floral and interestingly-patterned appeared on the zoom screen. I told her they reminded me of the cherry blossoms that were starting to bloom outside of my window in New Jersey. She enthusiastically painted an animated description of the herring eggs she was holding in the picture, which had been harvested on a spruce branch, then explained how she used the eggs to feed the patients she serves at the Alaska Native Medical Center in the Tribal Health Consortium Campus. It was clear we were from different worlds, but her excitement drew me in immediately.  

Chef Amy and her team serve over 5000 meals a day, but unlike other hospital food programs, she takes into account the healing properties of food — a lesson Alaska continues to teach her over and over. Her work bridges tradition and innovation in search of the larger impact food and food systems have on our lives. 

You’re originally from Montana. What brought you to Alaska?  

I worked summers in Alaska since I was 15, in Prince William Sound. After spending time back in Montana, I kept asking myself, how do I get back to Alaska? Alaska is really polarizing for people. It either moves in and sets up camp in your heart, or it doesn’t. For me it always called me back.

I totally hear you on that one. What did that call sound like for you?  

For me, it’s almost a spiritual connection, magical. There’s this surreal awe that happens living here. We just had the most amazing northern lights. They were so close to my house, it felt like you could touch them. I can come around the corner driving home and see a moose giving birth.

I can pull up in my driveway and have a grizzly bear in my yard. There are magical extremes that play off of each other. We have restricted times and then vast blasts of beauty.

There are things in Alaska you can only experience in Alaska. The ability to be really, truly alone in the wilderness. You can feel that stillness. Having that connectivity for my kids was really important to me. I wanted my kids to be self-sufficient, to be able to learn that everything you need is around you. Alaska is one of the few places that you can still do that. You walk out and you have your food source and your medicine source right there. Both of my boys stack firewood, harvest moose, catch fish. My youngest is a plant nerd in the making.

Tell me a little bit about your understanding of food as healing.

Healing through food comes in many forms. The act of growing and foraging is healing. Interacting with the land, the act of sharing and giving, is an act of healing between each other. The act of eating gives comfort, nourishment and wellness. The act of honoring the ingredients and utilization is healing. Using food for healing is actually a secret and rewarding gift of working here. 

Specifically in your line of work, how do you go about using food to heal? 

People usually have this stigma for hospital foods, but we get to actually heal people. We had a patient that was here for months. They had lots of long term healing to do after a plane crash. People get tired of eating the same thing, so I went and sat with the patient. We talked about the foods that sounded good, the foods they would consume, even their own family recipes.  

One of the big things we bring in when we can is seal [an ingredient respected and long used by native Alaskans], so I made them seal soup. They were amazed! They asked, “Where did you get seal?? How do you know how to cook seal??” 

Just watching this patient take this first spoon of seal soup and the relaxation that occurred after that — there goes your stress, there goes your anxiety, after months of being in a hospital. If you can make someone take a deep breath, it’s a huge part of healing. The medicine has its place, but if you are anxious, food can add that comfort, which provides that calmness that can allow you to heal. 

There’s also a nutritional aspect. To be able to offer the foods that are tied genetically to our patients that their ancestors ate — like seal, like caribou, like moose — that’s another aspect of healing we get to provide. We serve a lot of salmon. Salmon is tied to all of the regions of Alaska, and we’re feeding people from all over the state. 

Well, we love salmon here at WAC too! Tell me about your relationship with salmon. 

Salmon is what Alaskans live and die by. It’s how we feed ourselves, how we feed our children, how we feed our sled dogs. We even use it as a textile, like salmon leather!

A lot of fishing happens in Alaska, and one of the things I frequently hear about is the frustration of discarded litter, of carcasses and eggs after a fishing trip. But all of those are nutrient dense and completely edible foods. So last year we started a program and began to collect donations of heads, spines, eggs (what’s called spoon meat). We turned it into fish head soup. There’s a lot of collagen in it. It’s really great healing, and that’s what you want in a hospital.  

It’s women’s history month, so I have to ask, what is it like being a female in a male-dominated industry? 

After over 30 years, it has been an evolution. In my earlier years, I was frequently the only woman in the kitchen. This required working twice as hard, proving myself each and every moment of each and every day. 

Eventually, there was a point where I felt like I’d proven myself enough. I got tired of proving myself to people and I wanted to take those lessons and help others learn and grow and blossom. I went into more of a teaching, mentoring role. 

I’m a builder. I’m known for pushing people out of their comfort zones and challenging them to do things they didn’t know they could do; like presenting, teaching, being in front of a crowd, carving at a station. I have folks I’ve hired that were unhoused and on the street. I hired them and mentored them into sous chef roles. I believe in constant learning, giving back, offering opportunities for growth and honoring my own teachers. I also strive to create a culture of family where we all support each other toward our common success. 

What lessons have you learned from female mentors or elders? 

Elders are the keepers of the past to help guide us to the future. I have learned many powerful lessons from female elders. Most resonant in me is to ethically harvest, take only what you need and can honor by using every bit of. Support your elders who can no longer harvest and learn from those who can. Observe quietly and learn all you can. Do everything with reciprocity, intention, respect and love.

What do you want people in the Lower 48 to know about seafood from Alaska? 

People need to look at their box of wild Alaskan fish as a box of gold. 

Knowing the survival it took for that fish to grow, the voyage to even get out to sea and survive — I want everyone to have awareness and passion for continuing to protect what allows us to have that beautiful fish, whether that’s looking at the water regulatory practices, the land, to making sure that fish can continue to come back every year. That’s really important to me. I also want people to know that fishing is the livelihood of a very awesome community of people.

And from a chef’s perspective: please don't overcook it! Wild Alaskan salmon is less fatty than a farm raised Atlantic salmon. I sometimes hear, “Oh it’s so dry,” but it’s not if you don’t overcook it! Honor that ingredient!

***

Thank you to Amy for talking with the WAC team! 

Before I sign off today, with Ramadan beginning this week, I am reminded of a wonderful New York Times article published last year about how the diverse Muslim community in Anchorage observes this period of fasting. I highly recommend this read — in fact, I just reread it myself. 

For those of you who observe Ramadan, I wish you a happy and generous Ramadan. And Happy Women’s Month to all! 

Live Wild,

Monica

Pictured above: Chef Amy Foote in her chef jacket, alongside a couple of the culinary creations that she’s developed to help nourish patients at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Medical Campus.

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Have a great week, everyone, and thank you for your support!

Blessed be… and happy cooking!

                                                            Chef Michael R

Weekend Ramble: How to Care for Your Heart With Diabetes

Quite often diabetes and heart issues go hand in hand, because much of what causes diabetes also affects our heart health. The good folks at WebMD put this list together to help you get an idea of things you can manage that will help to keep you heart safe. The list is not a cure-all, but rather a collection of guidelines and talking points to discuss with your medical team. 

How to Care for Your Heart With Diabetes

Medically Reviewed by Carol DerSarkissian, MD on March 19, 2024

Diabetes and Your Heart

If you have type 2 diabetes, show your heart some extra love. High blood sugar damages your nerves and blood vessels, which can lead to heart failure and heart attack, among other health problems. But taking the right steps to manage diabetes and keep your heart healthy can make a big difference. Control your blood sugar and manage other risk factors to protect your heart. Smart lifestyle and diet changes can help you do both.

Control Blood Pressure

People with type 2 diabetes often have other conditions that make heart problems more likely. High blood pressure is one of them. This means your blood moves through your vessels with too much force and your heart works too hard. Keep track of your blood pressure with a home monitor so you know if it’s trending too high. Typical goals for people with type 2 diabetes are to keep readings under 140/90 or 130/80. Ask your doctor what’s right for you.

Count Cholesterol

Type 2 often means you have too much of the bad kind of cholesterol, or LDL, especially a small, dense kind. You also have low levels of good cholesterol (HDL) and too many triglycerides. High cholesterol can clog your arteries, cause inflammation, and lead to a heart disease. Total cholesterol over 200 mg/dL is too high. Your doctor may suggest medicine to treat high cholesterol and triglycerides, but healthy habits, like a proper diet and exercise, are essential, too.

Move More

Exercise does wonders for your heart health and your diabetes. It helps lower blood pressure, keeps cholesterol levels in check, and controls blood sugar. For most people, a good goal is 30 minutes a day of moderate activity -- like walking -- 5 days a week. But if you’re new to exercise, check with your doctor on how to start. Activity can make your blood sugar go too low, especially if you take insulin or another diabetes medicine. Learn the signs of hypoglycemia and what to do if it happens.

Eat Heart Smart

A healthy diet helps lower inflammation, manage blood sugar, protects your heart and blood vessels, and can help you lose weight. Some eating plans, like the DASH and Mediterranean diets, are smart ways to manage diabetes and help your heart. They include:

• Lean proteins like fish and skinless chicken
• Fresh fruit and veggies, especially non-starchy ones like leafy greens
• Beans, legumes, nuts
• Whole grains
• Healthy fats like olive oil
• Low-fat dairy

Of course, avoid sugary drinks and sweets most of the time. Limit fast food.

Shake Off Salt

Salt makes your body hang on to extra water. This raises blood pressure and strains your blood vessels, heart, and other organs. Most of the sodium we eat doesn’t come from the saltshaker. More than 70% is “hidden” in restaurant or processed foods like cold cuts, pizza, and even bread. Check labels. Choose foods with less than 400 milligrams of sodium per serving.

Watch Your Weight

If your weight is normal, keep it that way. If you’re carrying extra pounds, losing them will help your heart -- especially if you carry them around your belly. Weight loss may improve your cholesterol and triglyceride levels, blood pressure, and your diabetes. Your doctor or diabetes educator will help set your personal goal. Usually, losing even 5% to 10% of your body weight is a good goal. For a 200-pound person, that means 10 to 20 pounds.

Be a Quitter

Diabetes and nicotine are a dangerous duo -- they both damage and narrow blood vessels. So it’s important to try to quit smoking. The best way is to know ahead of time how you’ll deal with nicotine cravings. There are a lot of tools and resources that can help you make a plan, and you may have to try a few methods before you find one that works. Just don’t give up! Ask your doctor for help.

(Chef Michael's note - If interested, have a look at my book that is a free read:

Don't Quit Smoking Alone! - Help & Encouragement from the Trenches of an Online Support Group)

Back Off Booze

Too much alcohol can cause big spikes in blood pressure, damage to your heart muscle, and irregular heartbeats. If you drink, do so in moderation. That means no more than two drinks a day for men and one for women. Generally, one drink is 12 ounces of beer, 4 ounces of wine, 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor, or 1 ounce of 100-proof liquor.

Ask About Aspirin

Aspirin can prevent heart problems. Doctors often suggest it for people with type 2 diabetes who have had a heart attack or stroke to stave off future heart issues. It may also help if you have peripheral artery disease, a problem that narrows arteries and cuts blood flow to your arms and legs. Ask before you start aspirin therapy. It can be dangerous if you’re prone to bleeding problems.

Sleep Soundly

Quality sleep is another key to good heart health. When you don’t get enough, you raise your risk for heart disease, as well as other conditions that can hurt your heart, like high blood pressure and obesity. Aim for at least 7 hours of shut-eye a night. Managing your diabetes can help you get good sleep. When the condition is out of control, symptoms could wake you up during the night.

Stomp Out Stress

High blood pressure, irregular heart rhythms, and other heart problems have been linked to uncontrolled stress. Plus, many people lean on unhealthy habits when they’re under pressure, like drinking, smoking, or overeating. Instead, try meditation, deep breathing, or another relaxation tool to beat stress in a healthy way.

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Have a great week, everyone, and thank you for your support!

Blessed be… and happy cooking!

                                                            Chef Michael R

Weekend Ramble: 9 Impressive Health Benefits of Onions

The incredible onion, be it yellow, red or white, is part of just about every kitchen. Rarely, though, do we give this beautiful vegetable much thought. Years ago my friend Sunny taught me that you can serve them as an outright standalone side dish. I was intrigued, to say the least. Since then onions have become my most treasured staple because of their amazing versatility.

In addition to being versatile, they also feature some amazing health benefits nearly everyone, but especially for us diabetics. Check out this article I found on HealthLine.

Written by Jillian Kubala, MS, RD — Updated on July 20, 2023
Medically reviewed by Amy Richter, RD

Onions are highly nutritious vegetables that may have several benefits, including improved heart health, better blood sugar regulation, and increased bone density.

Onions are members of the Allium genus of flowering plants, which also includes garlic, shallots, and leeks.

They’re delicious, versatile, and relatively cheap, and they boast a wide range of healthy vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds.

The medicinal properties of onions have been recognized for thousands of years. Athletes in ancient Greece supposedly used onions to purify their blood, while medieval and traditional doctors prescribed them to help treat headaches, heart disease, and mouth sores.

Read on to discover 9 health benefits of onions.

1. Packed with nutrients

Onions are nutrient-dense, meaning they’re low in calories but high in vitamins, fiber, and minerals.

One medium onion (110 grams [g]) contains:

• Calories: 44
• Protein: 1.2 g
• Carbs: 10.3 g
• Sugar: 4.7 g
• Fiber: 1.9 g
• Fat: 0.1 g
• Potassium: 3.4% of Daily Value (DV)
• Vitamin C: 9% of the DV

Onions are high in vitamin C, which may help regulate your immune health, collagen production, and iron absorption.

It’s also a powerful antioxidant that could help protect your cells from unstable, damaging molecules called free radicals.

Onions are rich in B vitamins, including folate and vitamin B6. These play key roles in metabolism, red blood cell production, and nerve function.

Lastly, onions are a good source of potassium, a mineral that may help with:

• cellular function
• fluid balance
• nerve transmission
• kidney function
• muscle contraction

The average potassium intake of Americans is less than half the recommended DV of 4,700 milligrams (mg). So, adding onions to your diet is a great way to increase your potassium intake.

2. May benefit heart health

Onions contain antioxidants and compounds that may reduce your risk of heart disease by fighting inflammation and lowering triglyceride and cholesterol levels.

They contain a large amount of quercetin, a flavonoid antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that may help lower high blood pressure.

A small 2015 study in 70 people with overweight and hypertension suggests that a daily dose of 162 mg of quercetin-rich onion extract may significantly reduce systolic blood pressure by 3.6 millimeters of mercury.

Also, a small 2014 study in 54 females with polycystic ovary syndrome found that consuming 80–120 g of raw red onions per day for 8 weeks lowered total and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.

However, more research is needed.

3. Loaded with antioxidants

Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidation, a process that may lead to cellular damage and contribute to diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

Onions are an excellent source of antioxidants and contain at least 17 types of flavonoids.

Red onions, in particular, contain anthocyanins, plant pigments in the flavonoid family that give red onions their deep color. These may protect against diabetes and certain types of cancer.

In a 2016 study involving 43,880 males, researchers found that habitual anthocyanin intakes up to 613 mg were correlated with a 14% lower risk of nonfatal heart attacks.

Similarly, the authors of a 2019 review concluded that consuming more anthocyanin-rich foods was associated with a lower risk of heart disease and of death from heart disease.

4. Contain anticancer compounds

Allium vegetables such as onions and garlic may lower your risk of developing certain types of cancer, including stomach and colorectal cancers.

In a 2015 review of 26 studies, researchers concluded that people who consumed the most allium vegetables were 22% less likely to receive a diagnosis of stomach cancer than those who consumed the least.

And in a 2014 review of 16 studies involving a total of 13,333 people, researchers suggested that people with the greatest onion intake had a 15% lower risk of colorectal cancer than those with the lowest intake.

Test-tube studies suggest that onionin A, a sulfur-containing compound in onions, may help decrease tumor development and slow the spread of ovarian cancer.

Onions also contain fisetin and quercetin, which are flavonoid antioxidants that may inhibit tumor growth.

5. Help regulate blood sugar

Eating onions may help regulate blood sugar levels, which is significant for people with diabetes or prediabetes.

A small 2010 study in 84 people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes found that eating 100 g of raw red onion significantly reduced fasting blood sugar levels after 4 hours.

A 2020 study showed that rats with diabetes who ate food containing 5% dried onion powder for 8 weeks had decreased fasting blood sugar levels and lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels than a control group.

Quercetin has also been shown to help regulate whole-body blood sugar balance by interacting with cells in the:

• small intestine
• pancreas
• skeletal muscle
• fat tissue
• liver

6. May boost bone density

Dairy gets much of the credit for boosting bone health, but other foods, including onions, may also help support strong bones.

A small 2016 study in 24 middle-aged and postmenopausal females found that those who consumed 100 milliliters of onion juice daily for 8 weeks had improved bone mineral density and antioxidant activity compared to a control group.

Also, a 2009 study in 507 perimenopausal and postmenopausal females found that those who ate onions at least once per day had a 5% greater overall bone density than those who ate onions once per month or less often.

Onions may help reduce oxidative stress, boost antioxidant levels, and decrease bone loss. This may help prevent osteoporosis and improve bone density.

7. Have antibacterial properties

Onions may help fight potentially dangerous bacteria such as:

• Escherichia coli (E. coli)
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus)
• Bacillus cereus

A 2010 test-tube study suggests that onion extract might inhibit the growth of Vibrio cholerae, a type of bacteria that is a major public health concern in some parts of the world.

Quercetin extracted from onions may also reduce bacteria growth.

One review suggests that it could inhibit the growth of several strains of bacteria, including Helicobacter pylori, a type of bacteria associated with stomach ulcers and certain digestive cancers.

Another test-tube study found that quercetin damaged the cell walls and membranes of E. coli and S. aureus.

8. May boost digestive health

Onions are a rich source of fiber and prebiotics, which are necessary for optimal gut health.

Prebiotics are nondigestible types of fiber that are broken down by beneficial gut bacteria.

Gut bacteria feed on prebiotics and create short-chain fatty acids, which may help:

• strengthen gut health
• boost immunity
• reduce inflammation
• enhance digestion

Consuming prebiotic foods may also help increase probiotics, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains, which benefit digestive health.

Onions are rich in the prebiotics inulin and fructooligosaccharides, which may help increase the number of friendly bacteria in your gut and improve immune function.

9. Easy to add to your diet

Onions are a fresh and versatile staple in kitchens around the world. They can be cooked, fried, eaten raw, and more.

To incorporate onions into your diet, you can try:

• using them in soups such as French onion soup
• using them in dips and spreads such as guacamole, salsa, and ranch
• adding them to egg dishes such as omelets, frittatas, and quiches
• making cooked toppings, such as caramelized onions, to top meat or tofu or add to savory baked goods
• using them raw as a topping for tacos, fajitas, and other Mexican dishes and savory baked goods
• adding them to salads, such as a chickpea, chopped onion, and red pepper salad
• using them in stir-fries, pasta sauces, or curries

Takeaway

Onions are nutrient-packed vegetables that contain powerful compounds that may help decrease your risk of heart disease and certain cancers.

They have antibacterial properties and promote digestive health, which may improve immune function.

What’s more, they’re versatile and can be used to heighten the flavor of any dish.

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Have a great week, everyone, and thank you for your support!

Blessed be… and happy cooking!

                                                            Chef Michael R