Good morning, this is your Wellness Wake Up Call with Kristin Bogdonas, nutrition and wellness educator with University of Illinois Extension.
Every November the American Diabetes Association celebrates National Diabetes Month. Celebrate World Diabetes Day on Tuesday, November 14 using the theme diabetes and well-being! In the United States, 38.4 million people (11.6% of the population) have diabetes, which affects people of all ages. There are 2 main types of diabetes and involve medication, diet, and lifestyle changes to help control it. Diabetes takes a lot of organization and planning. There can also be a financial burden that comes with managing diabetes. Health care can cost up to 2.6 times higher than for someone without diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90 to 95 percent of diabetes and occurs when the body doesn't produce or use insulin effectively. Type 2 diabetes is more common in adults but is also being diagnosed more frequently in younger adults and children because of extra weight and an inactive lifestyle. Some people with type 2 diabetes may be able to manage their diabetes with meal planning and regular physical activity, while others may require oral medication and/or insulin. Diabetes is a progressive disease which means treatment plans will likely change as the disease progresses.
There are many risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes, including being overweight, having a family history of diabetes, and not being physically active to name a few. Although you can’t control your family history or ethnicity, you can control some of the other risk factors, like diet and physical activity. Making some lifestyle changes can decrease your risk for type 2 diabetes. Other protective factors would include getting 150 minutes of physical activity each week, eating a diet rich in fiber, heart healthy fats, and lean proteins, swapping sugary drinks for low-calorie options, reaching a healthy weight, and finding positive techniques to handle daily stressors. Hormones that are released due to stress may affect your blood glucose so it’s important to keep stress in check.
Before developing a diagnosis of diabetes, many people are told that they have prediabetes. About 98 million American adults (more than 1 in 3) have prediabetes. This means they have blood sugar levels that are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be classified as type 2 diabetes. If you are curious if you have prediabetes, talk with your doctor. You can get an a1c blood test which will tell you if you have prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. Make sure to see your doctor at least once a year to help identify risk factors before they progress to disease! If you have any symptoms of types 2 diabetes, which include increased thirst and urination, blurred vision, fatigue, weight loss, and increased appetite, make sure to talk to your doctor to see if you should be tested.
If you have diabetes, you are at an increased risk of developing other diseases, including hypertension, cardiovascular disease (including heart attack and stroke), kidney disease, nerve damage, eye problems, and more. Managing diabetes takes motivation, persistence, knowledge, and skill. Managing diabetes means keeping blood glucose levels within a range that lessens the chances of complications. The effort it takes to accomplish this will look different for different people. If you are curious if you are at risk for prediabetes, you can take the one-minute prediabetes risk test developed by the American Diabetes Association and CDC. If you have diabetes and need help managing it, talk to your doctor or ask to see a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. You can also check out the IL Extension Diabetes website for tips and recipes!
This week, take the 1-minute test online to find out your risk and explore the diabetes resources on our website. For links to these resources and a recording of today’s episode, visit wvik.org/wellness. You can also subscribe to Wellness Wake Up Call today wherever you listen to podcasts and never miss out on these weekly wellness tips.
Thank you for listening! I hope you have a happy and healthy day ahead. The content for this episode was provided by Rachel Mannen, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, and nutrition and wellness educator with University of Illinois Extension.
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