Fat. Never a good thing, right? At least not in the US, where food is super-abundant. Instead of being rightly grateful for all that food, we blame it for our weight woes. Yes, there's a growing sense that food is the enemy. Food leads to weight gain, which leads to obesity, which leads to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and on and on. (Read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma for more on what he terms "our national eating disorder.")

But apparently there's a silver lining in all that fat. Says journalist Natalie Angier for The New York Times, "to castigate fat for getting too big and to blame it for high blood pressure or a wheezing heart is like a heavy drinker blaming the liver for turning cirrhotic." That is, if the body couldn't convert energy to fat cells in an efficient manner we'd really be up the proverbial creek. In fact, evolutionary biologists have even speculated that humans' ability to store good-sized quantities of fat has aided the survival of the species and made it possible for our big brains to grow so big and, um, brainy. The fat, you see, helps us through hard times. Food for thought, huh?

I was intrigued by a recent Swedish study reporting that people on a so-called "Stone Age" diet had more stable blood sugar levels than those on a Mediterranean diet. An intriguing claim, because it's so often said that Mediterranean-style eating is super-healthful. Let's also admit it is a delicious way to eat: yes, pasta and bread is there, but it's balanced out by tons of fresh fruits, vegetables, fish and olive oil. The Stone Age way is a bit more spare: we're talkin' meat, fish, and lots of whole grains, berries and nuts. Nary a sliver of Parmesan in sight.

However, the results of yet another study, this time from Australia, indicates Mediterranean-style eating is a good choice, especially for diabetics. Researchers from the University of Melbourne say Mediterranean-born immigrants in Australia are less likely to die from heart disease than other Australians. The researchers have concluded it's all down to dietary patterns. More than forty thousand people participated in the study over a period of ten years. The numbers revealed those who ate the most Mediterranean-style foods had a thirty percent lower risk of dying from heart disease. For diabetics, the researchers speculate, the benefits could be even higher, reducing the risk of death due to ischemic heart disease.

Results have been published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Visit Reuters for a discussion of the study.

It's often said that serving food on smaller plates makes a diner inclined to eat less. Well, a Canadian researcher decided to put that theory to the test. Sue Pedersen, who is an endocrinologist at the University of Calgary, conducted a study designed to evaluate the efficacy of a specially designed "portion-control plate." The plates, designed by Diet Plate Limited of England, are marked with lines indicating how much of the day's main meal should be divided amongst the various food groups.

For six months, sixty-five study participants ate their food from regular dishes, while sixty-five others ate their food from the portion-control plates. All of the participants were type 2 diabetics and clinically obese. End result? The plates worked quite well at getting subjects to curb their appetites. After six months, those using the plates lost an average of 1.8 percent of their body weight, whereas the control group lost an average of only 0.1 percent. Interestingly, those on insulin regimens did the best of all, with an average of 2.5 percent weight loss.

The fatal flaw? What happens when the white lab coat crew aren't charting your intake any more? Call me a naysayer, but I'm predicting some major snacking in the future of those study subjects. Because special plate or not, you have to have the will to cut portion intake, and it's hard to maintain that will long-term.

The results of Pedersen's study have been published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (June 2007). Check out the Diet Plate website too.

When it comes to issues of health, perhaps the most encouraging factoid out there is this: you don't have to lose a whole lot of extra weight to experience major health benefits. This info is nothing new, of course. Heck, I remember watching Oprah espouse that very principle on her show back in the 90s. If you can't run, walk, she'd say. If you can't walk far, just walk around the block...or even the front gate. Do something for your health today!

So, what's new on this front, you ask? Well, a major study has now confirmed that modest weight loss can dramatically improve the health of people with Type 2 diabetes. The Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) study found that overweight people with Type 2 diabetes who were able to achieve around 7 to 10 percent weight loss over the course of a year experienced the following health benefits: 1.) improved blood sugar control and 2.) a reduced dependence on medications. The study involved over five thousand participants, some of whom were put on the weight-loss regimen, while others received standard medical care (that is, without an emphasis on healthy eating and exercise).

Here's the problem as I see it: how do you transfer these results to everyday life? The participants in this study who lost all that weight did so by agreeing to join the study, and they attended group meetings, ate a specially designed diet, and received advice on exercise and even had sessions with behavioral psychologists. Problem is, there's no behavioral psychologist around when you're alone at home and reaching for that second helping of pasta!

I realize that I post often about the benefits of exercise and healthy eating, but until there is a cure for diabetes (and by cure I mean a real, honest-to-goodness cure and not some snake oil you can buy online from some dude in Guam) it is truly the best defense that people with diabetes have -- save for insulin (which, as all type 1s, 2s, and "3s" know, is not a cure, either). That all being said, I came across some quick tips on the Mayo Clinic Health Letter that offer up ways to help yourself eat less.

Apparently, there is research to back-up the fact that people eat less food when it is being eaten from a smaller plate. And with smaller forks and spoons (or "Sporks" if you're at KFC -- which you probably shouldn't be in the first place if you're trying to eat healthy, but...). The opposite of this effect also takes place when people eat from bigger bowls and plates; more food is consumed.

Lesson #1 Summary: Small plate/utensils, smaller caloric intake. Large plate/utensils, larger waistlines.

The Newsletter also suggested getting rid of high-calorie leftovers. That sliver of leftover birthday cake, the two slices of pizza from Domino's, the piece of apple pie from Easter -- either get rid of them or store them in opaque containers. If you see them, you will eat them. It's really as simple as that. So, in place of those sweets, have healthier, ready-to-eat options like nuts and Jello in plain site.

Lesson #2 Summary: You are what you eat, and you eat what you see.

The final tip in the newsletter is to buy small packages of food and, if possible, serve or order in small quantities. If you buy the Super-Jumbo-Massive-Gargantuan size bag of food, guess what? You'll probably end up eating a Super-Jumbo-Massive-Gargantuan amount of food. The easy solution is to purchase foods that come in smaller containers, which will automatically cause you to eat less and therefore consume less calories. Also, another trick is to serve the appropriate portions of a certain food and then put the leftovers away immediately. Don't leave them on the table, don't leave them on the counter, and definitely don't leave them on your plate. Back in the fridge they go -- out of sight, out of mind.

Lesson #3 Summary: Buying in bulk may sometimes result in, well, bulk.

Hats off to the folks at the Mayo Clinic for this one, because these are three ways to lose weight without going on a diet and/or performing even a minute of exercise. It doesn't get much easier than that!!

Each year the American Diabetic Association sponsors an informational campaign to promote healthy eating by providing practical nutrition guidance that focuses on the importance of developing sound eating and exercise habits. The theme for this year is 100 percent "Fad Free." The campaign features learning how to identify a food fad which is a food or diet fad that claims unreasonable or exaggerated benefits. If a diet or product advertises eating only specific foods, nutrient supplements or combinations of foods that may cure disease or offer quick weight loss, it is a fad. Diet fads come and go.

A balanced diet and physical activity are essential to a healthy lifestyle over the long term of your life. Develop an eating plan for the lifelong health. Choose foods sensibly by looking at the big picture because a single food or meal will not make or break a healthy diet. Find your balance between food and physical activity. Exercise does not have to be strenuous to be beneficial.