Program offers research-based method for weight management

DAVENPORT, Iowa - Profile by Sanford is now open at 3010 E. 53rd Street in Davenport. This is the second store Iowa.  The Hawkeye state's first Profile store is in Clive and opened in July.

Profile launched in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, opening its first store front in November 2012. Today, it has 16 locations in five states with several more planned openings by the end of 2014.

Profile was designed using a large body of clinical research to ensure a sustainable means to healthy weight loss. A clinical and scientific advisory board comprised of Sanford Health physicians and researchers oversaw the development of the Profile system.  Sanford Health is the largest, rural, not-for-profit health care system in the United States.

"This state-of-the-art weight-loss system has brought clinically-proven results to communities across the Dakotas, Minnesota and Nebraska," said local store manager Justin Roberson. "I'm eager to see the results this nutritional program will have here in Davenport."

The rapidly growing Profile system utilizes meal-replacement products, nutritionally complete food and qualified health coaches. In addition to members consuming both Profile-produced and grocery-store food, coaches develop customized plans for their clients and offer advice on nutrition, exercise and behavior.

Profile continues to focus on program advancements through the launch of new food products, such as three new pizza varieties available this fall. Profile is also on the cutting edge of technology, expanding to better assist members with measuring daily activity. A new fitness tracker will provide additional measurable data that will be helpful to members and coaches in helping to monitor progress toward goals.

In addition to face-to-face meetings, coaches are able to efficiently track members' progress through the use of smart wireless technology. Each member is outfitted with wireless devices to measure progress, including tools to track body weight, measurement and blood pressure. These devices automatically upload to a secure server, where members and coaches can monitor improvement on the web or mobile applications. Printed options are also available to members.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 60 percent of the U.S. population is considered overweight or obese.

To learn more, visit profileplan.net or call (877) 373-6069.

About Sanford Health
Sanford Health is an integrated health system headquartered in the Dakotas and is now the largest, rural, not-for-profit health care system in the nation with locations in 126 communities in nine states. In addition, Sanford Health is in the process of developing international clinics in Ghana, Mexico and China.

Sanford Health includes 43 hospitals, 140 clinic locations and 1,360 physicians in 81 specialty areas of medicine. With more than 26,000 employees, Sanford Health is the largest employer in North Dakota and South Dakota. The system is experiencing dynamic growth and development in conjunction with nearly $1 billion in gifts from philanthropist Denny Sanford. These gifts are making possible the implementation of several initiatives, including global children's clinics, multiple research centers and finding cures for type 1 diabetes and breast cancer. For more information, visit sanfordhealth.org.

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There are medications available to help manage type 2 diabetes and lower blood sugar levels. A diabetes-friendly diet and regular exercise can also help to keep type 2 diabetes under control. But some researchers suspect that there could be a more natural source of blood sugar control to help manage diabetes: cinnamon.

Some studies have investigated the effect of cinnamon on blood sugar levels, but there aren't enough of them or enough carefully compiled results ? or consistency in those results ? to draw hard and fast conclusions yet. "There's not very much research on it," explains Philip A. Kern, MD, an endocrinologist and director of the Barnstable Brown Diabetes and Obesity Center at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington. But there is potential.

The studies that have tried to measure the effects of cinnamon on blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes have been small and not well controlled. In general, a reliable study is one that is large (at least 500 to 1000 patients), has patients randomly assigned to different groups, and is double blind ? meaning neither the researchers nor the subjects know who is getting the treatment. That type of detailed and careful research just hasn't been done on the subject of cinnamon's role in diabetes, says Dr. Kern, adding that the results of the small studies that have been conducted "are all over the place."

"Some say that the cinnamon does lower blood sugar or improves some other measure ? some studies report a benefit, and some studies don't report a benefit," says Kern. His initial reaction was dubious, he admits, but after studying what little research is available, the effects of cinnamon are "probably something deserving of a larger study."

For instance, one study suggests that cinnamon may be effective in lowering blood sugar levels because it has a similar effect on the body as insulin, the hormone that people with type 2 diabetes produce in insufficient amounts. 

Cinnamon: A Dash or a Dollop?

The amount of cinnamon needed to produce a positive effect is unclear. In some of the clinical trials, diabetic patients were given about 1 gram of cinnamon in a capsule ? that amount of pure cinnamon is about the size of the tip of your pinkie finger.

Swallowing that much cinnamon powder would be downright painful (and probably not taste very good), so Kern says you shouldn't try to ingest cinnamon on your own in an effort to lower blood sugar. You also shouldn't chow down on a big cinnamon bun or sip a cinnamon latte, thinking you're getting a health benefit ? even if additional research concludes that cinnamon is of benefit in lowering blood sugar and managing diabetes, Kern says you're still not getting a free pass for the sugar and calories.

So what's the take-away message? Kern believes it's not so much that people with diabetes should eat more cinnamon, but that "maybe [it] has a property that might be beneficial." He adds, "If you could figure out exactly what it is about cinnamon, you could design a drug that would target that beneficial property."

So, Kern says, if anything does come of cinnamon as a blood sugar-lowering agent, the recommendations for patients with diabetes will be in the form of a new medication that has captured the properties of cinnamon, not necessarily dietary changes.

For more diabetes news, follow @diabetesfacts on Twitter from the editors of @EverydayHealth.

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Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack recently continued his fight against misguided cuts to Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) that provide care to many Iowans living in rural areas. Loebsack helped lead a bipartisan effort with 45 Members of Congress in calling on the President to refrain from including arbitrary cuts to CAH in his upcoming budget proposal.

"(Critical Access Hospitals) play an important role in communities by providing access to primary, emergency, and acute care services," the lawmakers wrote. "As you consider the FY 2016 budget, we believe that indiscriminate cuts to CAHs, similar to those included in previous budgets, are not the answer."

A copy of the letter can be seen here.