1.What is Diabetes? Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose is too high. Blood glucose is your main source of energy and comes from the food you eat. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas, helps glucose from food get into your cells to be used for energy. Sometimes your body doesn’t make enough insulin or any insulin or doesn’t use insulin well. Glucose then stays in your blood and doesn’t reach your cells.
Type I diabetes: Occurs when the body does not produce insulin. Occurs in children and young adults, and requires insulin injections.
Type II diabetes: Occurs due to body resistance to insulin combined with not having enough insulin.
What Increases the Risk of Diabetes? Diabetes happens more often in Hispanic/Latino Americans, African-Americans, and Native Americans. Gestational diabetes, if you had diabetes while you were pregnant raises your chances of getting type 2 diabetes later in life. Family history of diabetes and overweight increases the risk of diabetes
Common Symptoms of Diabetes:
Urinating often/ feeling very thirsty
Feeling very hungry – even though you are eating
Extreme fatigue and 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)
Complications of Diabetes:
– Foot Complications, such as numbness in the feet or amputations.
– Kidney Disease (Nephropathy): Keep your diabetes and blood pressure under control to lower the chance of getting kidney disease.
– Gastroparesis: The stomach takes too long to empty its contents (delayed gastric emptying).
– Eye damage and dental disease.
– Having diabetes raises your risk for stroke. Your chances of having a stroke are 1.5 times higher than in people who don’t have diabetes.
How to check for Diabetes
Test your A1C: This test measures your average blood glucose for the past 2 to 3 months.
Fasting Plasma Glucose: This test checks your fasting blood glucose levels.
Oral Glucose Tolerance Test: A two-hour test that checks your blood glucose levels before and 2 hours after you drink a special sweet drink.
Plasma Glucose Test: This test is a blood check at any time of the day when you have severe diabetes symptoms.
Prevention
Get more physical activity. Get plenty of fiber, foods high in fiber include fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains and nuts. Skip junk food and just make healthier choices. Check your sugar level often with your doctor.
Myth: If you are overweight or obese, you will eventually develop type 2 diabetes.
Fact: Being overweight is a risk factor for developing this disease, but other risk factors such as family history, ethnicity and age also play a role.
Myth: Eating too much sugar causes diabetes.
Fact: Type 1 diabetes is caused by genetics and type 2 diabetes is caused by genetics and lifestyle factors such as food.
Myth: Fruit is a healthy food. Therefore, it is ok to eat as much as you can.
Fact: Fruit is a healthy, contains fiber and lots of vitamins and minerals. However, fruits raise blood sugar and you need to talk to your dietitian about the amount, frequency and types of fruits you should eat.
Myth: People with diabetes should eat special diabetic foods.
Fact: A healthy meal plan for people with diabetes is generally the same as a healthy eating for anyone.
American Diabetes Association. (2002). Evidence-based nutrition principles and recommendations for the treatment and prevention of diabetes and related complications. Diabetes care, 25(1), 202-212.
Arathuzik, G. (January, 2014) An Overview of Diabetes Meal Planning. Egg Nutrition Center pg.7
Sokol-McKay, D. A. (2010). Vision rehabilitation and the person with diabetes [Special issue: Diabetes care]. Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, 26(3), 241–249.