This is easy to test. Eat the same meals, and test your blood sugar afterward, with and without the exercise and anything else you want to compare it with (eg. House chores) This works for me, been testing it few times. The only problem is the soreness that you might have if you don’t do it properly.
My blood sugar 6.7, had a blueberry / avocado smoothie, whey powder, cocoa, grass fed milk, to take migraine meds, lay in the dark. I did Soleus Pushups for 10 min, before laying down, blood sugar goes up after 2 hrs. Especially if doing nothing. I expected the reading to be 8 or so waking up after a couple hours, it actually went down to 6.4.
Thats interesting, you’ve shown a ‘real world’ example. Your way sounds doable and practical. I think another practical way might be whilst watching TV in the evening, to sit up straighter when adverts come on and do soleus pushups then. It would all add up..and once you started, your more likely to continue a bit longer.
@@marianmurphy5385 All good. My latest tests all normal. A1C normal. Cholesterol normal, Complete reversal of type 2. Soleus pushups or Walking after every meal for 5 to 10 minute, and Mediterranean way of eating. Plus walk 3 to 4 miles every day. Resistance training on bowflex. Consistent exercise, zero sugar in ay form, use stevia, good fats EVOO, avocados, nuts legumes, figs, fiber rich complex carbs. Keto, carnivore, none of it worked long term. Tried them all. Only thing that brought me normal is Mediterranean way, fiber rich Complex carbs. EXERCISE every day.
@@marianmurphy5385 All good latest tests 100% normal. A1c normal. Compete reversal of type 2. Cholesterol normal. Mediterranean way of eating and exercises.
This seems like an exercise you could train yourself to do if you work at a desk job for hours and need some movement to counteract the inactivity. I wouldn't think it would work as one's sole form of exercise or activity. It is still beneficial to get up and move around for a few minutes every half hour or hour. The soleus pushup is just one more thing to add to your arsenal of tools to benefit your health.
So it is interesting that I did this for a minute or two while working after watching a video and realized almost a 10 point drop. As a result I must question your knowledge and comprehension.
I like the way you explained it without getting carried away saying it as a miracle cure or ground breaking invention. I gather that it is good than doing nothing. Good.
Thank you for this. This sounds helpful after a meal on a long flight or train when I can't just take a walk like I usually do to help with my blood sugar.
For sure. But however as you can see from research, to see Benefits one has to do this for a long time. Instead I would recommend cutting back on sitting time as much as possible
The is a book called "The Rocking Chair Exercise Book" in which the author mention it was common to see people at the porch of a house and the ones who were sitting on a rocking chair tented to be more fit than the ones sitting on the floor. The author mentioned it could be explained because while rocking in this kind of chairs the were various muscles used like the core and others. Looking at the soleus movement explained in this video seems like the same movement made for impulse and make the chair rock and could also explain in part what the author of the book claims.
That makes me wonder about the amazing knowledge that our ancestors had, considering that they did not have scientists, engineers or specialists to do it for them. Rocking chairs for elderly people was a way to get them moving and pumping their blood and muscles.
Which is why I don't recommend this even though the studies have shown positive benefit as you will find in this video. However if a person has other limitations that they cannot perform any other exercise, this can be helpful for them
This is great! Thank you, Dr.Nithyanandam; I'll share this will all my metabolically challenged clients. (I'm a nutritionist specializing in metabolic syndrome & the Modern Mediterranean diet.)
@@DebbieTDPThe term may have been coined by an American, but this dietary pattern has been around for thousands of years (the locals call it "food") and studied in depth by non-American researchers.
@@connermiddelmann7088 I'm Italian and i live in Italy. I've had parents and grandparents and I know what they ate in their youth! Trust me i know the studies and the myths around it. Ancel Keys lied. The message that is conveyed is that of a country, Italy, in which a healthy diet based on a long series of typical products that now need to be protected has always been traditionally followed. This thesis, however, is not as solid as it may seem at first glance. «“Italians have always fed themselves following the principles of what we now call the 'Mediterranean diet'”» is one of the «irrefutable truths» of Italian cuisine, even if in reality «just the opposite is true: «Italians have never followed the Mediterranean diet'", wrote Alberto Grandi, professor of Food History at the University of Parma, in the book Denomination of origin invented (Mondadori, 2020). It's easy to say "Mediterranean diet" The first thing that needs to be clarified is the very meaning of "Mediterranean diet". Treccani defines it as a «dietary regime practiced, with significant variations, in the countries bordering the Mediterranean basin». Therefore, talking about a single Mediterranean diet, without distinguishing from country to country, already seems like a stretch. But let's move on. According to the encyclopedia, the Mediterranean diet «involves a significant consumption of cereal products (bread, pasta) and fruit and vegetables, accompanied by a moderate consumption of legumes and fish and red wine», with olive oil as a condiment basis and a «reduction of dietary fats». Products such as meat, cold cuts and cheeses - often at the center of politicians' speeches - already do not seem to integrate well with these indications (we will talk more about this later). If we go back in time, we discover that the concept of the "Mediterranean diet" was not theorized by Italian or European researchers, but by American scholars. During the 1950s, the epidemiologist Ancel and his wife Margaret Keys wondered why a population like that of the United States, with more abundant nutrition than that of other countries, had more cardiovascular diseases than undernourished populations. Studying the dietary practices of some countries along the Mediterranean, including Italy, Spain and Greece, the Keys published a research, entitled The seven countries study , in which they theorized, numbers in hand, that a lower consumption of saturated fats it reduced the risk of developing a series of pathologies. In the following decades, the Keys' intuition was studied and explored in depth by hundreds of researchers around the world. Today, on the one hand, there are those who criticize the research method used in the 1950s, accusing the Keys of having, for example, omitted some data that could have weakened their theory and of not having found real cause-effect links , but only correlations. On the other hand, much research has been published which shows that following a certain diet - the one outlined above by Treccani 's definition - is actually good for your health. Here it is interesting to note , however, how many versions of the "Mediterranean diet" have developed over time. Some researchers talk about it using general descriptions, others referring to the dosages of individual foods, still others using the so-called "food pyramid", where the foods to be consumed most frequently are placed at the base (Image 1). Image 1. A version of the food pyramid of the Mediterranean diet - Source: Veronesi Foundation Talking about just one Mediterranean diet therefore seems simplistic. Beyond this, imagining the Mediterranean diet as a faithful reproduction of the eating habits followed in a mythical past along the Mediterranean is wrong. An "ideal", not a photograph The Mediterranean diet, in all the variations with which it can be understood, did not represent the nutritional reality of any geographical part of Italy in the 1950s, a statement that is also valid today. «The research conducted by the Keys spouses was not intended to delve into the origins of a specific cuisine, but, much more concretely, to provide some dietary indications capable of improving the general state of health of an individual», explains Grandi in the book Denominazione of invented origin . «The Keys had invented recipes and certainly had not intended to refer only to Italy, as regards the origin of the ingredients, but, in fact, to the entire Mediterranean basin. Ultimately their proposal was to replace animal fats with vegetable ones and to eat more vegetables and more fish." Studies conducted by some anthropologists show what the real nutritional conditions of the populations in Southern Italy were in the years following the Second World War. «The current model of the Mediterranean diet does not correspond to the historical reality of any geographical area of the Mediterranean. Even in the first half of the twentieth century and until the 1950s, southern populations had a diet based on corn bread, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, legumes, and used pork fat for seasoning", explained the anthropologist Vito Teti, who taught cultural anthropology at the University of Calabria, in an in-depth study for Treccani in 2015. «The “Mediterranean trinity” (oil, wheat and wine) - writes Teti - remained a heavy legacy, which characterized, however, the cuisine of the rich is only the dreams of the working class. The seasoning with "porcine fat" enjoyed significant and not short-lived success almost everywhere. In many inland and mountainous areas of the South, poor farmers consumed pork fat and ate "poorly seasoned herbs" even after the Second World War. In Abruzzo, Molise, Campania and Calabria, even in the early years of the twentieth century, both badly packaged or spoiled oils and rancid pork fat were reported. Pasta, with the exception of home-made pasta at parties, still represented a kind of luxury at the beginning of the 1950s." From the 1960s onwards, Testi underlined, in the regions of Southern Italy the consumption of products such as meat, fish, fats and sugars has gradually increased significantly, while that of bread, cereals, vegetables and oil. A departure therefore from the Mediterranean diet which, given its origins, should therefore be understood more as an "ideal" to be achieved at the table, rather than as a snapshot of what has happened in Italian cuisine throughout its history. UNESCO recognition In 2010 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) approved the inclusion of the Mediterranean diet in the list of "intangible cultural heritage", i.e. that which brings together traditions and products not attributable only to monuments or collections of objects. However, the official UNESCO website specifies that "the Mediterranean diet is much more than a simple list of foods or a nutritional table". «It is a lifestyle that includes a series of skills, knowledge, rituals, symbols and traditions concerning the cultivation, harvesting, fishing, breeding, conservation, cooking and above all the sharing and consumption of food», adds the UN agency. Furthermore, this diet would have contributed to the "construction of an identity that has now gone well beyond territorial or food borders", and therefore cannot be traced back to individual countries, such as Italy. Indeed: among the states to which recognition of the Mediterranean diet as cultural heritage has been extended there is also Portugal, which does not overlook the Mediterranean Sea. Among the countries involved are Italy, Spain, Greece, Morocco, Cyprus and Croatia. Most of the countries bordering the Mediterranean therefore seem to be excluded. At the time, not all experts had commented favorably on UNESCO's choice. «In terms of image and commercial return, I understand that it can be a positive undertaking, but on a cultural level I struggle: the “Mediterranean diet” is an expression that says everything and says nothing», for example, the historian declared in 2010 Massimo Montanari , scholar of medieval history and one of the leading experts in Italy on the history of food, author of many books on the subject. «If we focus on food and want to define what the "Mediterranean diet" really is from a technical point of view, then I no longer understand, because the Mediterranean diets are many and all different. On a historical and cultural level, I don't understand what could fit into this label, which, let's not forget, is an American invention."
Italian researchers call it a myth. Then there's the propaganda of scientists bought to affirm something that isn't true but sold as such. the period in which the Mediterranean diet model was being built, populations were still experiencing situations of food insecurity and were preparing to make choices that would distance them from a regime considered precarious and insufficient. Massimo Cresta, one of the leading scholars of nutrition in the southern regions and African countries, analyzes food consumption in Rofrano nel Cilento, in a period from 1954 to 1995. The work carried out in the area by Cresta and by the various doctors and collaborators during the first year it was filmed by the Istituto Luce which made a valuable documentary ( Inchiesta Alimentari a Rofrano , 1954, directed by Virgilio Tosi) which is fortunately available online today. In his numerous monographs, the result of research carried out with scholars from various disciplines (Eugenio Cialfa, Gabriella Barberini, Pierluigi Calandra, Piero Passarello, Francesco Vecchi and others), Cresta examines, therefore, with reference to the first half of the twentieth century and the fifties, the relationships between nutritional and social malaise, environmental conditions, developmental anomalies, and the biological situation of individuals. This is how he comments at the end of a systematic and continuous survey over forty years, the results of certain investigations, probably over-emphasized and publicised: «How disappointing for today's nutritionists, lovers of the "Mediterranean diet", to think that the “Mediterranean diet” which was consumed in “lands like Cilento” was not based on olive oil and wheat, but on chestnuts, corn and pork fat" (M. Cresta, Vaamminannu cu' l'uocchi spierti. A brief history of the food and other things of a mountain community in Rofrano 1954-1995 , 1995, pp. www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/la-dieta-mediterranea-realta-mito-invenzione_(L'Italia-e-le-sue-Regioni)/
I did this for about 5 mins my legs were sore.. am prediabetic my blood sugar went from 6.7 to 4.4 i was shocked.. been doing this everyday now to keep my blood sugar in good range
So far, based on the study, around 45min to see a difference. However, if you are sitting and you want to do this exercise, something is better than nothing, in my opinion.
Thank you. Here is a video that will answer your question about walking after meals Is Sitting Causing High Blood Sugar After Meals? Understanding Postprandial Hyperglycemia ruclips.net/video/eYZvXKl5kaQ/видео.html
How can anyone do SPU for 30 minutes to 1 hour multiple times everyday after each meal? Nobody seems to precisely mention exactly for how long and for how many times in a day this should be done. Only then can the practical utility of this exercise be tested.
@@srikanthnithyanandammd Last yr I was doing a work out of 90 mins, and my hba1c shoed 5.5 , but since there is no sweating and raise in heart beat I thought its just coincidence. U dont get feel that u r exercising but some how it is working I think.
In summary, I would recommend this exercise to help control blood glucose spike after a meal provided a person is not able to do light exercise after a meal. This does not replace your daily exercise which is at least a minimum of 30min of brisk walking daily. This exercise can be beneficial if you have a sedentary job and cannot do light exercise after meal. ruclips.net/video/eYZvXKl5kaQ/видео.html
The only time I would recommend doing this exercise is when you cannot be active after eating. Otherwise I would recommend patients to go for even a casual walk after eating instead of doing this exercise as in my opinion, whole body exercise is far more superior than just soleus pushups.
Will stair climbing also activate this muscle similar to soleus pushup? The knee is at a bent position when running up stairs so I imaging it activates this muscle better than running on a flat surface
It would be hard to recruit only the soleus when you are standing. But when you are standing anddoing an activity, in my opinion, that is far more superior than just doing soleus pushups. We have to see soleus pushups are ways to decrease sugar spikes if you are sedentary and not to replace your daily activity.
Performing standing soleus push-ups can be very challenging due to the difficulty of isolating the soleus muscle when standing. However, based on the findings of the study, there are significant benefits from doing seated soleus push-ups for hours. Despite this walking or any cardio is a better overall exercise compared to soleus push-ups. While soleus push-ups may have potential benefits for controlling blood sugar, walking or any cardio can improve overall fitness and consequently increase longevity.
Research indicates that there are numerous positive effects of exercise. However, when it comes to preventing heart disease in individuals with diabetes, a focus on fitness is crucial. Instead of placing emphasis on just this exercise, it is recommended to prioritize aerobic exercise in order to enhance fitness levels. Therefore, aerobic exercise should be the primary focus.
I usually would recommend this exercise if there is not an option to be active. This exercise should not replace activity, in my opinion. With that said, think about your daily life. If you force to spend most of your time sedentary, those are all excellent times to perform this exercise.
Hello Doctor, do we do this exercise immediately after consuming food i.e. lunch /dinner or should it be done after a gap of 30-40 min, so that food is digested?
If it is soleus push-ups you can do right away. However if you are planning to do low intensity exercise like walking or so, give it like 10min before you do it. Again it all depends on the food quantity
This exercise won’t cure diabetes. Person with type 2 diabetes can lower their medicine or sometime even discontinue medications with healthy eating and exercise ruclips.net/video/Tp5PYw8gQuY/видео.html
Hi, what should be the duration of exercise? If a person take meal and glucose level rises upto 200 then how much time we should give exercise for lowering glucose level
It depends on person to person. Usually a 20-30min moderate intensity exercise should suffice. However it depends on many factors on whether the exercise can your bring the blood sugar all the way back to normal even though exercise is always helpful to burn the sugar in your body. One of the main factors would be the carbohydrate load of the meal and the amount of fat content in the meal as people can have multiple spike with high carb and fat meal like pizza. Doing a 20-30min of moderate intensity exercise should always be helpful inspite of whether it would bring your blood sugar all the way back to normal. Here are a few videos that might help: ruclips.net/video/eYZvXKl5kaQ/видео.html ruclips.net/video/cHZWpYY-UxY/видео.html
The research was conducted in the manner described. However, as I explained in the video, engaging in this particular exercise may not be worthwhile. Instead, it is advisable to participate in activities that involve the entire body for a duration of 20-30 minutes, as they can offer numerous benefits.
I am curious if sitting in a rocking chair and pushing off would be as beneficial. The main benefit is that it is easier to remember to do. Remembering is so difficult. I am sure this could be answered by someone with a continuous blood sugar monitor.
That’s an interesting thought. First I would try to do the Rocking for 1hr and see if it is doable. If you are able to do it with ease then chances are you are using the soleus muscle predominantly. Then you can be your own control and see if that makes a difference in your blood sugar. You can check your blood sugar every 30min to see if you notice a drop in your blood sugar significantly when compared to sitting alone.
What would be interesting is what the effect would be of doing let’s say standing calf raises after ingesting that glucose. Yes it would recruit the gastroc and that’s the point. How does gastroc recruitment compare to soleus. There was a Japanese study a few years ago that cshowed only climbing 240 steps on a staircase after dinner significantly reduced blood sugar. So similarly Can doing 100 or 500 standing calf raises have the same effect instead of doing 3 hours of soleus? I can’t think of anyone who will do 3 hours of soleus xpush ups regularly. What do you say doc about the differences in the exercises ?
Great question. This is very preliminary research and it cannot be said confidently that soleus pushups are superior to other exercises. There needs to be future studies to compare the effects. However can serve as a good exercise for disabled people and even those recovering from illness or injuries. For now, I recommend doing an exercise involving large muscle groups and not replacing that with soleus pushups. Soleus pushups should be considered an option only if someone cannot do any other activity. Again this is a personal opinion as a practicing doctor. ruclips.net/video/eYZvXKl5kaQ/видео.html
There is a machine called the “seated calf raise” that every gym in America has. On the gym machine, you can add resistance by adding weight. This will be far more effective than doing body weight movements.
It would be very hard to recruit only the soleus with a seated calf raise machine like that. You can still make sure by creating a knee bent and to focus targeting the soleus muscles but once you add resistance then you are targeting your gastroc more. This exercise is not to build calf muscles but rather use this fatigue resistant muscle to help with glucose spike. Hope that clears the confusion.
He is totally wrong…Insulin resistance is cause for diabetes….To do away with insulin resistance there are only two ways….is prolong fasting at least 14 hours and also exercise.During exercise muscles utilise glucose without insulin….The bigger the muscles the more glucose is utilised…so more important are thigh muscles which are much bigger than soleous muscle…….so that it is the walk or running etc which can lower glucose more effectively than weaker soleous muscle……During walk there is drop of one mg sugar in one minute…..Soleous can’t do this.
This was a research study and based on that study, people did for 3 hrs and they were non athletes. However this is not a must to do exercise like I have mentioned in my video . I would stick with our usual recommendations of exercise.
@@srikanthnithyanandammd HA ! I KNEW that’d get your attention ! He is an MD online and his handle is Dr. Joe. I am fed up with everyone giving ridiculous advice. When I asked for details, he responded and told me to do it 30 minutes after eating and to do it for 30-45 minutes. The only thing that I have found to fight this nasty disease is doing “ Keto with I.F. “ Because nothing else works. And I am fed up with it ! So, you and Dr. Joe get together and decide if ANYTHING will help other than keto and I.F. I even tried Carnivore. Carnivore made my blood sugar go UP !!!!! Nothing but meat and water and it went up !
This is easy to test. Eat the same meals, and test your blood sugar afterward, with and without the exercise and anything else you want to compare it with (eg. House chores)
This works for me, been testing it few times. The only problem is the soreness that you might have if you don’t do it properly.
Great to hear. If you want to share numbers that would be great
My blood sugar 6.7, had a blueberry / avocado smoothie, whey powder, cocoa, grass fed milk, to take migraine meds, lay in the dark. I did Soleus Pushups for 10 min, before laying down, blood sugar goes up after 2 hrs. Especially if doing nothing. I expected the reading to be 8 or so waking up after a couple hours, it actually went down to 6.4.
Sorry I am not able to understand. Did blood sugar go down??
@@srikanthnithyanandammd Yes down.
Thats interesting, you’ve shown a ‘real world’ example. Your way sounds doable and practical. I think another practical way might be whilst watching TV in the evening, to sit up straighter when adverts come on and do soleus pushups then. It would all add up..and once you started, your more likely to continue a bit longer.
@@marianmurphy5385 All good. My latest tests all normal. A1C normal. Cholesterol normal, Complete reversal of type 2. Soleus pushups or Walking after every meal for 5 to 10 minute, and Mediterranean way of eating. Plus walk 3 to 4 miles every day. Resistance training on bowflex. Consistent exercise, zero sugar in ay form, use stevia, good fats EVOO, avocados, nuts legumes, figs, fiber rich complex carbs. Keto, carnivore, none of it worked long term. Tried them all. Only thing that brought me normal is Mediterranean way, fiber rich Complex carbs. EXERCISE every day.
@@marianmurphy5385 All good latest tests 100% normal. A1c normal. Compete reversal of type 2. Cholesterol normal. Mediterranean way of eating and exercises.
This seems like an exercise you could train yourself to do if you work at a desk job for hours and need some movement to counteract the inactivity. I wouldn't think it would work as one's sole form of exercise or activity. It is still beneficial to get up and move around for a few minutes every half hour or hour. The soleus pushup is just one more thing to add to your arsenal of tools to benefit your health.
Well said. Completely agree
So it is interesting that I did this for a minute or two while working after watching a video and realized almost a 10 point drop. As a result I must question your knowledge and comprehension.
For those of us stuck at desk jobs this is something to consider.
Totally agree
It would be very interesting for someone on a continuous glucose monitor to conduct an informal check and get back to us with there results!
I agree.
Appreciate this informative and useful video.
Thank you.
Marching in place for 20 minutes works great for me!
Awesome. That’s a good exercise
I like the way you explained it without getting carried away saying it as a miracle cure or ground breaking invention. I gather that it is good than doing nothing. Good.
Thank you.
Thank you for this. This sounds helpful after a meal on a long flight or train when I can't just take a walk like I usually do to help with my blood sugar.
Perfect. Please Share your experience after few months
I like your scientific approach.
Thank you.
Thanks Dr. Very nicely and methodically explained.
Thank you. Glad it was helpful
Sir. Can I soleus pushups while watching tv or mobile like in a comfortably sitting back rest position ?
For sure. But however as you can see from research, to see
Benefits one has to do this for a long time. Instead I would recommend cutting back on sitting time as much as possible
@@srikanthnithyanandammd ok thanks.
@@srikanthnithyanandammd ok thanks.
This exercise was done originally with a little board(2-3 inches high to isolate soleus muscles
Thank you for your input. Can you explain this further?
The is a book called "The Rocking Chair Exercise Book" in which the author mention it was common to see people at the porch of a house and the ones who were sitting on a rocking chair tented to be more fit than the ones sitting on the floor. The author mentioned it could be explained because while rocking in this kind of chairs the were various muscles used like the core and others. Looking at the soleus movement explained in this video seems like the same movement made for impulse and make the chair rock and could also explain in part what the author of the book claims.
That’s interesting. I have to look into that book.
That makes me wonder about the amazing knowledge that our ancestors had, considering that they did not have scientists, engineers or specialists to do it for them. Rocking chairs for elderly people was a way to get them moving and pumping their blood and muscles.
Very well explained
Thank you
Thanks For This exercise
You are welcome
Very informative. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
Really it’s a great info DOC.
You made it crystal clear that this alone will not create any wonders to lower the blood sugar level.. 👍🏼
Thank you
How one can do continuously for 3 hours? There are so many indoor/outdoor activities to be done everyday.
Which is why I don't recommend this even though the studies have shown positive benefit as you will find in this video. However if a person has other limitations that they cannot perform any other exercise, this can be helpful for them
Thank u for this video n demo
Im going to move about more after my meals instead of sitting down. I hope this exercise helps me . Thank u
You are welcome
Very thorough explanation. V grateful .
Thank you
Thank you
This is great! Thank you, Dr.Nithyanandam; I'll share this will all my metabolically challenged clients. (I'm a nutritionist specializing in metabolic syndrome & the Modern Mediterranean diet.)
Thank you. Love your work. We need more professionals like you to help with the metabolic syndrome pandemic.
The Mediterranean diet is an American invention 😅.
@@DebbieTDPThe term may have been coined by an American, but this dietary pattern has been around for thousands of years (the locals call it "food") and studied in depth by non-American researchers.
@@connermiddelmann7088 I'm Italian and i live in Italy. I've had parents and grandparents and I know what they ate in their youth!
Trust me i know the studies and the myths around it.
Ancel Keys lied.
The message that is conveyed is that of a country, Italy, in which a healthy diet based on a long series of typical products that now need to be protected has always been traditionally followed. This thesis, however, is not as solid as it may seem at first glance. «“Italians have always fed themselves following the principles of what we now call the 'Mediterranean diet'”» is one of the «irrefutable truths» of Italian cuisine, even if in reality «just the opposite is true: «Italians have never followed the Mediterranean diet'", wrote Alberto Grandi, professor of Food History at the University of Parma, in the book Denomination of origin invented (Mondadori, 2020).
It's easy to say "Mediterranean diet"
The first thing that needs to be clarified is the very meaning of "Mediterranean diet". Treccani defines it as a «dietary regime practiced, with significant variations, in the countries bordering the Mediterranean basin». Therefore, talking about a single Mediterranean diet, without distinguishing from country to country, already seems like a stretch. But let's move on. According to the encyclopedia, the Mediterranean diet «involves a significant consumption of cereal products (bread, pasta) and fruit and vegetables, accompanied by a moderate consumption of legumes and fish and red wine», with olive oil as a condiment basis and a «reduction of dietary fats». Products such as meat, cold cuts and cheeses - often at the center of politicians' speeches - already do not seem to integrate well with these indications (we will talk more about this later). If we go back in time, we discover that the concept of the "Mediterranean diet" was not theorized by Italian or European researchers, but by American scholars. During the 1950s, the epidemiologist Ancel and his wife Margaret Keys wondered why a population like that of the United States, with more abundant nutrition than that of other countries, had more cardiovascular diseases than undernourished populations. Studying the dietary practices of some countries along the Mediterranean, including Italy, Spain and Greece, the Keys published a research, entitled The seven countries study , in which they theorized, numbers in hand, that a lower consumption of saturated fats it reduced the risk of developing a series of pathologies. In the following decades, the Keys' intuition was studied and explored in depth by hundreds of researchers around the world. Today, on the one hand, there are those who criticize the research method used in the 1950s, accusing the Keys of having, for example, omitted some data that could have weakened their theory and of not having found real cause-effect links , but only correlations. On the other hand, much research has been published which shows that following a certain diet - the one outlined above by Treccani 's definition - is actually good for your health. Here it is interesting to note , however, how many versions of the "Mediterranean diet" have developed over time. Some researchers talk about it using general descriptions, others referring to the dosages of individual foods, still others using the so-called "food pyramid", where the foods to be consumed most frequently are placed at the base (Image 1).
Image 1. A version of the food pyramid of the Mediterranean diet - Source: Veronesi Foundation
Talking about just one Mediterranean diet therefore seems simplistic. Beyond this, imagining the Mediterranean diet as a faithful reproduction of the eating habits followed in a mythical past along the Mediterranean is wrong.
An "ideal", not a photograph
The Mediterranean diet, in all the variations with which it can be understood, did not represent the nutritional reality of any geographical part of Italy in the 1950s, a statement that is also valid today. «The research conducted by the Keys spouses was not intended to delve into the origins of a specific cuisine, but, much more concretely, to provide some dietary indications capable of improving the general state of health of an individual», explains Grandi in the book Denominazione of invented origin . «The Keys had invented recipes and certainly had not intended to refer only to Italy, as regards the origin of the ingredients, but, in fact, to the entire Mediterranean basin. Ultimately their proposal was to replace animal fats with vegetable ones and to eat more vegetables and more fish."
Studies conducted by some anthropologists show what the real nutritional conditions of the populations in Southern Italy were in the years following the Second World War. «The current model of the Mediterranean diet does not correspond to the historical reality of any geographical area of the Mediterranean. Even in the first half of the twentieth century and until the 1950s, southern populations had a diet based on corn bread, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, legumes, and used pork fat for seasoning", explained the anthropologist Vito Teti, who taught cultural anthropology at the University of Calabria, in an in-depth study for Treccani in 2015.
«The “Mediterranean trinity” (oil, wheat and wine) - writes Teti - remained a heavy legacy, which characterized, however, the cuisine of the rich is only the dreams of the working class. The seasoning with "porcine fat" enjoyed significant and not short-lived success almost everywhere. In many inland and mountainous areas of the South, poor farmers consumed pork fat and ate "poorly seasoned herbs" even after the Second World War. In Abruzzo, Molise, Campania and Calabria, even in the early years of the twentieth century, both badly packaged or spoiled oils and rancid pork fat were reported. Pasta, with the exception of home-made pasta at parties, still represented a kind of luxury at the beginning of the 1950s."
From the 1960s onwards, Testi underlined, in the regions of Southern Italy the consumption of products such as meat, fish, fats and sugars has gradually increased significantly, while that of bread, cereals, vegetables and oil. A departure therefore from the Mediterranean diet which, given its origins, should therefore be understood more as an "ideal" to be achieved at the table, rather than as a snapshot of what has happened in Italian cuisine throughout its history.
UNESCO recognition
In 2010 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) approved the inclusion of the Mediterranean diet in the list of "intangible cultural heritage", i.e. that which brings together traditions and products not attributable only to monuments or collections of objects. However,
the official UNESCO website specifies that "the Mediterranean diet is much more than a simple list of foods or a nutritional table". «It is a lifestyle that includes a series of skills, knowledge, rituals, symbols and traditions concerning the cultivation, harvesting, fishing, breeding, conservation, cooking and above all the sharing and consumption of food», adds the UN agency.
Furthermore, this diet would have contributed to the "construction of an identity that has now gone well beyond territorial or food borders", and therefore cannot be traced back to individual countries, such as Italy. Indeed: among the states to which recognition of the Mediterranean diet as cultural heritage has been extended there is also Portugal, which does not overlook the Mediterranean Sea. Among the countries involved are Italy, Spain, Greece, Morocco, Cyprus and Croatia. Most of the countries bordering the Mediterranean therefore seem to be excluded.
At the time, not all experts had commented favorably on UNESCO's choice. «In terms of image and commercial return, I understand that it can be a positive undertaking, but on a cultural level I struggle: the “Mediterranean diet” is an expression that says everything and says nothing», for example, the historian declared in 2010 Massimo Montanari , scholar of medieval history and one of the leading experts in Italy on the history of food, author of many books on the subject. «If we focus on food and want to define what the "Mediterranean diet" really is from a technical point of view, then I no longer understand, because the Mediterranean diets are many and all different. On a historical and cultural level, I don't understand what could fit into this label, which, let's not forget, is an American invention."
Italian researchers call it a myth.
Then there's the propaganda of scientists bought to affirm something that isn't true but sold as such.
the period in which the Mediterranean diet model was being built, populations were still experiencing situations of food insecurity and were preparing to make choices that would distance them from a regime considered precarious and insufficient. Massimo Cresta, one of the leading scholars of nutrition in the southern regions and African countries, analyzes food consumption in Rofrano nel Cilento, in a period from 1954 to 1995. The work carried out in the area by Cresta and by the various doctors and collaborators during the first year it was filmed by the Istituto Luce which made a valuable documentary ( Inchiesta Alimentari a Rofrano , 1954, directed by Virgilio Tosi) which is fortunately available online today. In his numerous monographs, the result of research carried out with scholars from various disciplines (Eugenio Cialfa, Gabriella Barberini, Pierluigi Calandra, Piero Passarello, Francesco Vecchi and others), Cresta examines, therefore, with reference to the first half of the twentieth century and the fifties, the relationships between nutritional and social malaise, environmental conditions, developmental anomalies, and the biological situation of individuals. This is how he comments at the end of a systematic and continuous survey over forty years, the results of certain investigations, probably over-emphasized and publicised: «How disappointing for today's nutritionists, lovers of the "Mediterranean diet", to think that the “Mediterranean diet” which was consumed in “lands like Cilento” was not based on olive oil and wheat, but on chestnuts, corn and pork fat" (M. Cresta, Vaamminannu cu' l'uocchi spierti. A brief history of the food and other things of a mountain community in Rofrano 1954-1995 , 1995, pp.
www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/la-dieta-mediterranea-realta-mito-invenzione_(L'Italia-e-le-sue-Regioni)/
Super sir
Thank you.
very well explained, thx 😊
Thank you
Good info
Thank you.
Was this tried with some other excercise? What is to say that another exercise under the same conditions cannot bring similar results?
Great question. So far I am not aware of any. I am sure there will be studies comparing other exercises with soleus push-ups. It might be ongoing.
Well explained, Tx
Do some backwards walking as this is a great exercise and really pumps those calf muscles.
Great point. However soleus pushups concept is completely different. Thank you.
I did this for about 5 mins my legs were sore.. am prediabetic my blood sugar went from 6.7 to 4.4 i was shocked.. been doing this everyday now to keep my blood sugar in good range
Awesome
Doctor,How much duration at a stretch needed to get ample benefits
So far, based on the study, around 45min to see a difference. However, if you are sitting and you want to do this exercise, something is better than nothing, in my opinion.
Doc, great info.. need one suggestion, how much minimum walk is recommended after a meal? And at what pace? Should the heart beat zone be in cardio?
Thank you. Here is a video that will answer your question about walking after meals Is Sitting Causing High Blood Sugar After Meals? Understanding Postprandial Hyperglycemia
ruclips.net/video/eYZvXKl5kaQ/видео.html
How can anyone do SPU for 30 minutes to 1 hour multiple times everyday after each meal? Nobody seems to precisely mention exactly for how long and for how many times in a day this should be done. Only then can the practical utility of this exercise be tested.
Which is why I don’t recommend this exercise inspite of research significance.
Hello Doctor is desk mini bike helpful for blood sugar control ? if I do a work out for 1 hr to 90 mins . will it help my blood sugar to go down ?
100% are you planning to incorporate that at your work?
@@srikanthnithyanandammd Last yr I was doing a work out of 90 mins, and my hba1c shoed 5.5 , but since there is no sweating and raise in heart beat I thought its just coincidence. U dont get feel that u r exercising but some how it is working I think.
Dr. Sir,
Just to check so v r good to do this exercise for diabetes control ?
In summary, I would recommend this exercise to help control blood glucose spike after a meal provided a person is not able to do light exercise after a meal. This does not replace your daily exercise which is at least a minimum of 30min of brisk walking daily. This exercise can be beneficial if you have a sedentary job and cannot do light exercise after meal.
ruclips.net/video/eYZvXKl5kaQ/видео.html
When can do this excercise to lower blood sugar sir
The only time I would recommend doing this exercise is when you cannot be active after eating. Otherwise I would recommend patients to go for even a casual walk after eating instead of doing this exercise as in my opinion, whole body exercise is far more superior than just soleus pushups.
Will stair climbing also activate this muscle similar to soleus pushup? The knee is at a bent position when running up stairs so I imaging it activates this muscle better than running on a flat surface
yes, for sure, but the research was solely focussed on soleus. with stair climbing and other exercise, we activate a lot of other muscles too.
I don't eat carbs, but this exercise is not working for me to lower blood sugar.
I haven't done for 3 hours though 😢
Please skip this exercise and do
Different mode of exercise.
After eating how long I can walk to lower sugar kindly say
Keep a sustainable routine. I would recommend a minimum 10min of brisk walking if you could sustain that. If you can, then do a 30min walk
After eating if i walk how much glucose level is reducing
It depends on each individual. But you are improving insulin sensitivity. If you do this everyday, your average blood sugar would be low
Doing it standing can give you the same or better results?
It would be hard to recruit only the soleus when you are standing. But when you are standing anddoing an activity, in my opinion, that is far more superior than just doing soleus pushups. We have to see soleus pushups are ways to decrease sugar spikes if you are sedentary and not to replace your daily activity.
Which is better ? Standing or Sitting Soleuspushups
Performing standing soleus push-ups can be very challenging due to the difficulty of isolating the soleus muscle when standing. However, based on the findings of the study, there are significant benefits from doing seated soleus push-ups for hours. Despite this walking or any cardio is a better overall exercise compared to soleus push-ups. While soleus push-ups may have potential benefits for controlling blood sugar, walking or any cardio can improve overall fitness and consequently increase longevity.
My only concern is will this help in lowering the sugar level atleast a bit
Research indicates that there are numerous positive effects of exercise. However, when it comes to preventing heart disease in individuals with diabetes, a focus on fitness is crucial. Instead of placing emphasis on just this exercise, it is recommended to prioritize aerobic exercise in order to enhance fitness levels. Therefore, aerobic exercise should be the primary focus.
Sir watch your vedio I do this exercise I feel my diabetes low down can you tell me which time better this exercise or can everytime do exercise
I usually would recommend this exercise if there is not an option to be active. This exercise should not replace activity, in my opinion. With that said, think about your daily life. If you force to spend most of your time sedentary, those are all excellent times to perform this exercise.
Hello Doctor, do we do this exercise immediately after consuming food i.e. lunch /dinner or should it be done after a gap of 30-40 min, so that food is digested?
If it is soleus push-ups you can do right away. However if you are planning to do low intensity exercise like walking or so, give it like 10min before you do it. Again it all depends on the food quantity
Will it permanently cure the Diabetics within couples of months or for indefinitely we have to keep continued....?
This exercise won’t cure diabetes. Person with type 2 diabetes can lower their medicine or sometime even discontinue medications with healthy eating and exercise ruclips.net/video/Tp5PYw8gQuY/видео.html
My morning b.s. was 136. After 20 mins. Of this my sugar went up to 143. I did another 20 mins. And it was 141. I hadnt eaten either.
Are you concerned that your sugar didn’t drop?
Can we say by operating sewing machine by legs this exercise happens automatically
Probably not based on how your knee might be angled. But still your soleus will be involved and you will be getting benefits.
Hi, what should be the duration of exercise? If a person take meal and glucose level rises upto 200 then how much time we should give exercise for lowering glucose level
It depends on person to person. Usually a 20-30min moderate intensity exercise should suffice. However it depends on many factors on whether the exercise can your bring the blood sugar all the way back to normal even though exercise is always helpful to burn the sugar in your body. One of the main factors would be the carbohydrate load of the meal and the amount of fat content in the meal as people can have multiple spike with high carb and fat meal like pizza. Doing a 20-30min of moderate intensity exercise should always be helpful inspite of whether it would bring your blood sugar all the way back to normal. Here are a few videos that might help:
ruclips.net/video/eYZvXKl5kaQ/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/cHZWpYY-UxY/видео.html
After meal when to start walk to lower blood sugar
Would usually recommend within 30min after meal but atleast 1hr before meal.
How much glucose level is reducing sir
Do this 3 hours? Without stopping??
The research was conducted in the manner described. However, as I explained in the video, engaging in this particular exercise may not be worthwhile. Instead, it is advisable to participate in activities that involve the entire body for a duration of 20-30 minutes, as they can offer numerous benefits.
What is happening, my blood sugar is going up by 20 points most of the time....not going down?
Please explain this further on what you are doing and how you are checking the sugars
Can you please do the same video in Hindi language
Appreciate your request. Unfortunately I won’t be able to do it in a different language currently. Sorry about that
I am curious if sitting in a rocking chair and pushing off would be as beneficial. The main benefit is that it is easier to remember to do. Remembering is so difficult. I am sure this could be answered by someone with a continuous blood sugar monitor.
That’s an interesting thought. First I would try to do the Rocking for 1hr and see if it is doable. If you are able to do it with ease then chances are you are using the soleus muscle predominantly. Then you can be your own control and see if that makes a difference in your blood sugar. You can check your blood sugar every 30min to see if you notice a drop in your blood sugar significantly when compared to sitting alone.
Thank you Dr for this advise.
People with continuous glucose monitor can test this in real time to see if it works.
Yes. But accuracy is still questionable with cgm alone. But yes definitely the trend can be seen
What would be interesting is what the effect would be of doing let’s say standing calf raises after ingesting that glucose. Yes it would recruit the gastroc and that’s the point. How does gastroc recruitment compare to soleus. There was a Japanese study a few years ago that cshowed only climbing 240 steps on a staircase after dinner significantly reduced blood sugar. So similarly Can doing 100 or 500 standing calf raises have the same effect instead of doing 3 hours of soleus? I can’t think of anyone who will do 3 hours of soleus xpush ups regularly. What do you say doc about the differences in the exercises ?
Great question. This is very preliminary research and it cannot be said confidently that soleus pushups are superior to other exercises. There needs to be future studies to compare the effects. However can serve as a good exercise for disabled people and even those recovering from illness or injuries. For now, I recommend doing an exercise involving large muscle groups and not replacing that with soleus pushups. Soleus pushups should be considered an option only if someone cannot do any other activity. Again this is a personal opinion as a practicing doctor.
ruclips.net/video/eYZvXKl5kaQ/видео.html
Tha
No you brother❤❤❤❤❤❤
You are welcome
few young doctors who know their stuffs.
Thank you
Thanks for the video, but the music doesn't add anything. If anything this cheezy music distracts me from what you are saying.
Thank
You for the suggestion
Sir are feedback daibetis pationt
Sorry your question is not clear
There is a machine called the “seated calf raise” that every gym in America has. On the gym machine, you can add resistance by adding weight. This will be far more effective than doing body weight movements.
It would be very hard to recruit only the soleus with a seated calf raise machine like that. You can still make sure by creating a knee bent and to focus targeting the soleus muscles but once you add resistance then you are targeting your gastroc more. This exercise is not to build calf muscles but rather use this fatigue resistant muscle to help with glucose spike. Hope that clears the confusion.
That would not be more effective or efficient.
Muzzle
Thank you
He is totally wrong…Insulin resistance is cause for diabetes….To do away with insulin resistance there are only two ways….is prolong fasting at least 14 hours and also exercise.During exercise muscles utilise glucose without insulin….The bigger the muscles the more glucose is utilised…so more important are thigh muscles which are much bigger than soleous muscle…….so that it is the walk or running etc which can lower glucose more effectively than weaker soleous muscle……During walk there is drop of one mg sugar in one minute…..Soleous can’t do this.
Please listen to this video again. I never mentioned soleus exercise was the best exercise.
How possible to do this exercise for continuously three hours….any athlete only can do ….
This was a research study and based on that study, people did for 3 hrs and they were non athletes. However this is not a must to do exercise like I have mentioned in my video . I would stick with our usual recommendations of exercise.
audio and speech , pronunciation is very poor
Appreciate the feedback
Dr. Joe says you are WRONG !
Who is Dr. Joe? Can you explain further?
@@srikanthnithyanandammd HA ! I KNEW that’d get your attention ! He is an MD online and his handle is Dr. Joe. I am fed up with everyone giving ridiculous advice. When I asked for details, he responded and told me to do it 30 minutes after eating and to do it for 30-45 minutes. The only thing that I have found to fight this nasty disease is doing “ Keto with I.F. “ Because nothing else works. And I am fed up with it ! So, you and Dr. Joe get together and decide if ANYTHING will help other than keto and I.F. I even tried Carnivore. Carnivore made my blood sugar go UP !!!!! Nothing but meat and water and it went up !
Too long get to the point.
Appreciate your feedback