Diabetes

Diabetes

November is American Diabetes Month. Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, blindness and amputations, and a major cause of heart disease and stroke. Nearly 24 million Americans have diabetes and about six million of those don’t even know they have the disease.

Obesity is directly linked to diabetes and as it rises, so do the numbers of diabetics. Type 2 diabetes (also known as adult-onset diabetes) is believed to be largely the result of an increase in obesity levels.

Prevention: Stop eating so much sugar and junk food.

Junk foods are primarily made up of sugar and simple carbohydrates (the body converts carbohydrates to sugar). These spike insulin levels and then quickly drop. When those levels nosedive, your body thinks it must have more sugar which leads to sugar cravings or a sweet tooth, starting the process all over again. This constant rising and falling of insulin levels is what causes diabetes.

What is prediabetes?

Prediabetes is a condition in which an individual has blood glucose (sugar) levels higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. Having prediabetes does not make developing type 2 diabetes unavoidable. It does, however, significantly increase the risk.

Recent studies have shown that people at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes can prevent or delay the onset of the disease by losing 5 – 7% of their body weight. This happens by making healthy eating choices and getting regular exercise of at least 20 minutes a day. The term “exercise” here specifically means elevating the heart rate significantly for 20 minutes with vigorous activity.

Diabetes Education and Resources

Control Your Diabetes for Life: http://www.ndep.nih.gov/i-have-diabetes

Small Steps. Big Rewards. Prevent Type 2 Diabetes: http://www.ndep.nih.gov/am-i-at-risk/index.aspx