Diabetes is one of the leading causes of disability and death in the United States. It can cause blindness, nerve damage, kidney disease, and other health problems if it’s not controlled.
One in 10 Americans have diabetes — that’s more than 30 million people. And another 84 million adults in the United States are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The good news? People who are at high risk for type 2 diabetes can lower their risk by more than half if they make healthy changes. These changes include: eating healthy, getting more physical activity, and losing weight.
How can American Diabetes Month make a difference?
We can use this month to raise awareness about diabetes risk factors and encourage people to make healthy changes.
Here are just a few ideas:
- Encourage people to make small changes, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
- Talk to people in your community about getting regular checkups. They can get their blood pressure and cholesterol checked, and ask the doctor about their diabetes risk.
- Ask doctors and nurses to be leaders in their communities by speaking about the importance of healthy eating and physical activity.
How can I help spread the word?
We’ve made it easier for you to make a difference. This toolkit is full of ideas to help you take action today. For example:
- Add information about preventing type 2 diabetes to your newsletter.
- Tweet about American Diabetes Month.
- Host a community event where families can be active while learning about local health resources.
- Add this Web badge to your website.
Get Involved
Take action to increase awareness about diabetes and healthy lifestyles.
- Partner with your local gym or YMCA to host a Diabetes Prevention Party focused on healthy eating and physical activity. Give away gym passes, fitness class certificates, or workout gear. Ask gym staff to do demonstrations or teach a free class.
- Find out which local churches have a health ministry. Offer to give a presentation on how to prevent type 2 diabetes at their next event.
- Host a cooking demonstration featuring diabetes-friendly recipes. Get local nutritionists involved.
- Include healthy Thanksgiving recipes in your next newsletter or company email along with quick tips on how to prevent type 2 diabetes.
- Post tips on type 2 diabetes prevention on your employee bulletin board.
- Encourage your members or employees to get active. Organize lunchtime walks or invite local gyms to showcase their fitness classes and programs.
Take care of your type 2 diabetes every day to help keep your blood glucose (sugar) levels within your target range. Even small changes—whicheventually become part of your normal day—may help you control your blood sugar levels.
Top Foods to Treat Diabetes. If you want to reverse type II diabetes or prevent diabetes, I suggest you add the following foods into your diet. High fiber foods help slow down glucose absorption. Aim for at least 30g of fiber per day from vegetables, avocados, berries, nuts, and seeds.
Be smart about sweets
- Reduce your cravings for sweets by slowly reduce the sugar in your diet a little at a time to give your taste buds time to adjust.
- Hold the bread (or rice or pasta) if you want dessert. ...
- Add some healthy fat to your dessert. ...
- Eat sweets with a meal, rather than as a stand-alone snack.
Hold the bread (or rice or pasta) if you want dessert. Eating sweets at a meal adds extra carbohydrates so cut back on the other carb-heavy foods at the same meal. Add some healthy fat to your dessert. Fat slows down the digestive process, meaning blood sugar levels don't spike as quickly.
In the long run, not controlling diabetes can also damage the vessels that supply blood to important organs, like the heart, kidneys, eyes, and nerves. This means that heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, vision problems, and nerve problems can happen to people with diabetes.
According to the 2017 National Diabetes Statistics Report, over 30 million people living in the United States have diabetes. That’s almost 10 percent of the U.S. population. And diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, causing, at least in part, over 250,000 deaths in 2015. That’s why it’s so important to take steps to reverse diabetes and the diabetes epidemic in America.
Type 2 diabetes is a dangerous disease that can lead to many other health conditions when it’s not managed properly, including kidney disease, blindness, leg and food amputations, nerve damage, and even death. (1)
Type 2 diabetes is a completely preventable and reversible condition, and with diet and lifestyle changes, you can greatly reduce your chances of getting the disease or reverse the condition if you’ve already been diagnosed. If you are one of the millions of Americans struggling with diabetes symptoms, begin the steps to reverse diabetes naturally today. With my diabetic diet plan, suggested supplements and increased physical activity, you can quickly regain your health and reverse diabetes the natural way.
The Cause of Diabetes
Diabetes is an illness related to elevated blood sugar levels. When you stop releasing and responding to normal amounts of insulin after eating foods with carbohydrates, sugar and fats, you have diabetes. Insulin, a hormone that’s broken down and transported to cells to be used as energy, is released by the pancreas to help with the storage of sugar and fats. But people with diabetes don’t respond to insulin properly, which causes high blood sugar levels and diabetes symptoms.
It’s important to note that there’s a difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Here’s an explanation of the two types of diabetes and what causes these conditions:
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is commonly called “juvenile diabetes” because it tends to develop at a younger age, typically before a person turns 20 years old. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. The damage to the pancreatic cells leads to a reduced ability or complete inability to create insulin. Some of the common causes that trigger this autoimmune response may include a virus, genetically modified organisms, heavy metals, vaccines, or foods like wheat, cow’s milk and soy. (4)
The reason foods like wheat and cow’s milk have been linked to diabetes is because they contain the proteins gluten and A1 casein. These proteins can cause leaky gut, which in turn causes systemic inflammation throughout the body and over time can lead to autoimmune disease.
Type 1 diabetes is rarely reversed, but with the right dietary changes major improvements in blood sugar levels can be seen and a person can often reduce his or her dependence on insulin and medications.
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, and unlike type 1 diabetes, it usually occurs in people over the age of 40, especially those who are overweight. Type 2 diabetes is caused by insulin resistance, which means that the hormone insulin is being released, but a person doesn’t respond to it appropriately. Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder that’s caused by high blood sugar. The body can keep up for a period of time by producing more insulin, but over time the insulin receptor sites burn out. Eventually, diabetes can affect nearly every system in the body, impacting your energy, digestion, weight, sleep, vision and more. (5)
There are many underlying causes of type 2 diabetes, and the disease usually develops because of a combination of factors, including: (6)
- having a poor diet
- being overweight
- having high levels of inflammation
- living a sedentary lifestyle
- experiencing high amounts of stress
- having a family history of diabetes (especially a parent or sibling)
- having high blood pressure or a history of heart disease
- having a hormonal condition (like hyperthyroidism, polycystic ovary syndrome or Cushing’s syndrome)
- being exposed to toxins, viruses or harmful chemicals
- taking certain medications (like those that disrupt insulin production)
Thankfully, there are ways to reverse diabetes naturally.
Blogger: Egypt A. Assanti {aka} Big Sister Southern Heat- ESD Baroness
