Take Charge of Your Health - Defeat Type 2 Diabetes
Making a few simple changes in your lifestyle now
may help you avoid the serious health complications of diabetes in the future,
such as nerve, kidney and heart damage.
-Mayo Clinic Newsletter
November is American Diabetes Month and a good time to focus on the current epidemic-level increase in type 2 diabetes* in the United States. For the millions who are at risk, it's time to get educated, find resources, and make sure those around us are aware of their risk, too. The three biggest risk factors in diabetes are being overweight-over 2/3 of those in the US fall into this category, having a family history of diabetes, or having been diagnosed with pre-diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition that affects the way our body metabolizes sugar (glucose), which is an important source of our body's fuel. With type 2 diabetes, we resist the effects of insulin-the hormone that regulates the movement of sugar into our cells, or don't produce enough insulin to maintain normal glucose levels.
The good news is that diabetes prevention can be as simple as healthier eating, getting regular exercise, and losing a few pounds (ok, that's not easy, but is good for us none-the-less!). If you are like us, knowing the why behind these recommendations may provide some incentive for staying with your personalized approach to diabetes prevention. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) the following five tips will help:
Get more physical activity - Aerobic exercise and resistance training can help control diabetes by facilitating weight loss and lowering blood sugar.
Get plenty of fiber in your diet - Fiber (fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, and nuts) improves blood sugar control, lowers risk of heart disease, and promotes weight loss by helping you feel full earlier.
Go for whole grains - Look for the word "whole" in the first few words on the packaging ingredient list because whole grains maintain blood sugar levels better than other grains.
Lose extra weight - Every pound you lose can improve your health. One study reported that those who lost a modest amount of weight (7% of initial body weight) and exercised regularly reduced the risk of developing diabetes by nearly 60%!
Make healthier food choices - The effectiveness of low-carb, glycemic index, or other 'fad' diets aren't known relative to preventing diabetes, and may cause you to give up essential nutrients and crave such foods. It is better to make variety and portion control part of your healthy eating plan.
If you wonder who should be tested for type 2 diabetes, the ADA offers the following recommendations:
Anyone with a body mass index higher than 25 (23 for Asian Americans), regardless of age, who has additional risk factors, such as high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels, a sedentary lifestyle, a history of polycystic ovary syndrome or heart disease, and who has a close relative with diabetes.
Anyone older than age 45 is advised to receive an initial blood sugar screening, and then, if the results are normal, to be screened every three years thereafter.
Women who have had gestational diabetes are advised to be screened for diabetes every three years.
Anyone who has been diagnosed with prediabetes is advised to be tested every year.
As far as what tests are used to test for diabetes, the most common is the A1C (glycated hemoglobin) blood test. This test measures the percentage of blood sugar attached to hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying protein in our red blood cells) and indicates our average blood sugar level for the past two to three months. The higher the blood sugar level, the more hemoglobin with sugar attached will exist. An A1C level of 6.5% or higher on two separate tests indicates diabetes. An A1C between 5.7 and 6.4 % indicates prediabetes. Below 5.7 is considered normal.
Signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes often develop slowly and include increased thirst, frequent urination, increased hunger, unintended weight loss, fatigue, blurred vision, slow-healing sores, frequent infections, or darkened skin (usually in armpits and/or neck). Since these symptoms may also be tied to other medical diagnoses, it is important to check with your physician to see what testing or treatment may be right for you. Type 2 diabetes was commonly known as adult-onset diabetes, but today more children are being diagnosed, probably due to the rise in childhood obesity. While there is no cure for type 2 diabetes, losing weight, eating well, and exercising can help manage the disease, and if that isn't enough, your physician can prescribe diabetes medications or insulin therapy.
*Type 1 diabetes will be addressed in another blog.