The National Diabetes Fact Sheet tells us that 25.8 million children and adults have diabetes in the U.S. There are also a suspected 7 million people in the U.S. that are undiagnosed and an additional 79 million people who are
The National Diabetes Fact Sheet tells us that 25.8 million children and adults have diabetes in the U.S. There are also a suspected 7 million people in the U.S. that are undiagnosed and an additional 79 million people who are pre-diabetic.
The frightening facts are that about one in every 400 children and adolescents have diabetes and almost 10.9 million people 65 years and older have diabetes.
The symptoms of diabetes may seem harmless at first glance, and this is the reason that it sometimes goes undiagnosed. Early detection and treatment of the disease can decrease the complications, which frequently arise from this increasingly prevalent disease. Type I diabetes is characterized by frequent thirst, frequent urination, extreme hunger, weight loss and extreme fatigue and irritability.
Type II diabetes has all the same symptoms as Type I, plus frequent infections, blurred vision, slow-healing cuts and bruises, tingling or numbness in the hands and feet and recurring skin, bladder and gum infections. Women who are pregnant can develop gestational diabetes, and with all the other changes in their bodies diabetic symptoms may be overlooked. It is important to be tested during pregnancy. Risk factors for gestational diabetes include being overweight prior to pregnancy, having had gestational diabetes in a prior pregnancy and having a family history of diabetes.
In 2007, diabetes was the underlying cause of over 71,000 death certificates and was a contributing cause of over 160,000 deaths.
The complications that arise from not managing diabetes are heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, blindness due to retinopathy, kidney disease leading to dialysis, nervous system damage and peripheral arterial disease leading to amputation. Hearing loss and skin and gum disease are more prevalent in those with diabetes as well. There is hardly any aspect of your health that is not challenged by having diabetes.
How to avoid diabetes and how to control it if you already have it? Exercise improves the body’s sensitivity to insulin and helps you manage your blood glucose levels.
Aerobic exercise is any type of exercise that gets your heart rate up and keeps it up, such as swimming, cycling and walking. The benefits of cardiovascular exercise is that it improves your body tissue’s sensitivity to insulin so you metabolize blood sugar better, and it helps you fight some of the complications of diabetes such as heart disease and stroke.
Something to consider is that you want to be careful during long-distance efforts that your sugar doesn’t go down too far, and also that you watch that you don’t injure your feet if you suffer from numbness of the extremities.
As far as resistance exercise goes, such as weight training, it also has been proven to help regulate blood sugar. Again, if your feet are severely affected by diabetic neuropathy, do most of your training seated, although it is important to increase the circulation to your feet as well.
Proper eating is also an important part of keeping your sugar under control, especially as you prepare to workout. Before your workout have a protein and fat-based snack to keep your sugar levels constant. Something like yogurt or nuts is a good choice.
During the workout make sure you keep hydrated by drinking water throughout the hour or so. You should not need to eat anything if your workout is only about an hour. If you do need an energy boost, a sport drink with no more than 7 percent carbohydrate is recommended.
After the workout is a good time to take a whey-based protein drink, and then have a protein and carbohydrate meal within 45 minutes after you finish your exercise session.
Diabetes is a disease that does have some familial (inherited) basis to it, but too often people blame their grandmother and say, “It runs in the family,” rather than accepting their responsibility to keep their symptoms and complications under control with a sensible lifestyle. It is a disease that can be managed so that you can live a long and healthy life with all of your parts.
• Jane Riley, M.S., B.A., C.P.T., C.N.A., can be reached at janerileyfitness@gmail.com, 808-212-1451 or www.janerileyfitness.com.
