November is Diabetes Month
Many of you reading this blog may have prediabetes or diabetes or know someone who does. National Diabetes Month is a call to action to raise awareness about diabetes prevention and management.
On November 2nd, 1982, President Reagan proclaimed November National Diabetes Month. The 1980s was a particularly strong time for diabetes awareness, partly due to the development of a new type of insulin and the availability of at-home products that allowed people with diabetes to test and monitor their blood sugar at home. In 1982, there were 11 million people in the United States with diabetes. https://tinyurl.com/3ruf484s
According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), in 2021, which is the latest statistic, over 38 million Americans have diabetes.
World Diabetes Day is November 14th, the birthday of Frederick Banting. He co-discovered insulin in 1921 to help treat diabetes.
Diabetes affects people, whether they have type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Both types of diabetes are a chronic metabolic disease. In type 1, no insulin is produced; for type 2, the body doesn’t use its insulin properly. About 5% of people with diabetes have type 1 diabetes, and about 95% of people have type 2 diabetes. With Type 1 diabetes, the body does not make the hormone insulin, the hormone that helps with sugar metabolism. In type 2 diabetes, the body resists the insulin it makes. Both types of diabetes result in high blood sugar levels, which require treatment. Type 1 diabetes treatment is insulin. Type 2 diabetes treatment can be diabetes pills and/or insulin.
Prediabetes means your blood glucose (sugar) levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Prediabetes can lead to type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes.
In the United States, over 18 years old and older, about 98 million have prediabetes. About 1 in 3 adults has prediabetes, and most people are unaware they have it. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), without acting, many people with prediabetes could develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years.
https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes-prevention/about-prediabetes-type-2/index.html
Many people ask what the common signs of diabetes are.
You may have one or many warning signs and symptoms of diabetes: (https://diabetes.org/about-diabetes/warning-signs-symptoms)
· Urinating often
· Feeling very thirsty
· Extreme fatigue
· Blurry vision
· Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal.
· Weight loss-even though you are eating more (type 1)
· Tingling, pain, or numbness in the hands/feet (type 2)
Certain factors increase your risk for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes:
1. Are overweight or obese
2. Are age 45 or older
3. Family history-have a parent or sibling with type 2 diabetes
4. Are physically inactive
5. Have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), now renamed metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)
6. If had gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy) or given birth to a baby who weighed over 9 lbs.
7. Are African Americans, Hispanic or Latino, American Indians, or Alaska Natives. Pacific Islanders or Asian Americans are also included.
To find out if you are at risk for diabetes, take the risk test,
https://diabetes.org/diabetes-risk-test
Why is it important to know more about diabetes?
If diabetes is not managed well, it can cause serious health problems such as heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, and loss of toes, feet, or legs.
Although having diabetes is serious, it can be managed to prevent health problems. Early detection and treatment of diabetes can decrease the risk of complications.
To reduce the risk of prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, the CDC recommends
Increasing physical activity
Eating a healthy diet
Losing weight if you are overweight or obese.
Increasing physical activity would include walking more, swimming, and strength training with weights or exercise bands if approved by your healthcare provider. Also, a healthy diet means eating more whole foods, such as fruit, vegetables, and nuts, and less processed food, such as potato chips or other packaged snack foods. These activities may assist in losing weight.
Other suggestions may include walking 10 minutes after each meal to lower blood sugar after meals and limiting or avoiding sweetened beverages such as cola and juice.
In my book Take Charge of Type 2 Diabetes, I provide many tips on increasing physical activity, eating a healthy diet, and releasing extra body weight.
By incorporating some positive lifestyle behaviors, you can gradually improve your health without a significant overhaul. :)