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Take
steps to head off diabetes
July 05, 2007
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
Our
federal government spends tens of billions of dollars each
year to treat Americans with diabetes. A good number of those
cases could be prevented at little or no cost at all.
And let’s face it: Anyone who can delay or prevent the
onset of diabetes is far better off. Complications from diabetes
are cruel, including coronary artery disease and damage to
the eyes, kidneys, nerves and feet, among other problems.
Diabetes is a disease that causes a build-up of glucose -
a form of sugar – in the blood. Glucose by itself isn’t
a bad thing. When food is digested, most of it is broken down
into glucose, the form of sugar our bodies need for energy.
A hormone – insulin – helps to move the glucose
out of the bloodstream and into cells where it can be burned
for fuel.
It’s when the sugar can’t get from the blood to
the cells that problems arise.
In type 1 diabetes, the body doesn’t produce any insulin
at all. Current thinking is that type 1 diabetes is caused
by an autoimmune disorder that destroys the cells in the pancreas
responsible for producing insulin. Most people with type 1
diabetes – a minority of all people with diabetes –
develop it as children or young adults. They need daily insulin
injections to survive.
By far, though, the most common form of the disease is type
2 diabetes. It typically affects overweight, older adults,
but it’s being diagnosed more often now in children
and teens as well. The treatment may include oral medication
to lower blood sugar levels, but weight loss can be all it
takes to make symptoms disappear. There’s also a late-pregnancy
form of diabetes that usually disappears after the baby is
born.
Then there’s the limbo-land known as pre-diabetes.
People with this condition have higher-than-normal blood glucose
levels, but they don’t quite reach the level of diabetes.
The U.S. government estimates that 40 percent of Americans
40 to 74 years of age had pre-diabetes in 2000, many going
on to develop full-blown diabetes within ten years.
There’s a lot all of us can do to keep our blood sugar
under control. It’s the same advice that protects us
from other chronic diseases and conditions:
* Lose weight. Do it sensibly, not with fad diets such as
Atkins and other high-protein approaches. The only diet formula
worth following is one that cuts calories while emphasizing
foods that support health for a lifetime.
* Eat the highest quality diet. That means meals rich in fiber
from whole grains, vegetables, fresh fruits, beans and peas,
seeds and nuts. If you drink milk, make it nonfat or buy fortified
soy or rice milks. Avoid red meats, cut way back on meat in
general, and fix more meatless meals. Restrictions on sweets
have eased up for diabetics compared to what was advised 20
years ago, but the added calories and low nutritional value
make them a liability.
* Get moving. We all need regular, vigorous physical activity
– a nightly, brisk walk is one convenient and pleasant
option for many of us.
If you do have diabetes, you need individualized medical advice
and a care plan that includes a consultation with a licensed,
registered dietitian. You should also be well-informed about
the disease. Two good online resources include the National
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at
http://www2.niddk.nih.gov/
as well as the American Diabetes Association at http://www.diabetes.org/home.jsp.
If you don’t have diabetes, do everything in your power
to keep it that way.
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