November is National Diabetes Month. Let’s take a moment to increase our awareness on diabetes and prediabetes and ways you can continue to live healthy.
Type 2 diabetes (adult onset) is a chronic disease that occurs when your blood sugar is too high. It affects about 37 million Americans. Uncontrolled or poorly managed diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and other serious conditions. Type 2 diabetes is more common in Asians, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, Hispanics and African Americans. Being overweight or obese also greatly increases your risk for developing Type 2 diabetes. Additional risk factors include family history, blood lipid levels, age and prediabetes status.
If you have Type 2 diabetes, take steps to manage diabetes by improving your health as soon as possible.
Know your diabetes ABCs:
• A is for A1C test, which measures your average blood sugar level over the past three months. You want to make sure your blood glucose levels don’t get too high. The A1C goal for many people with diabetes is below 7.
• B is for blood pressure. If your blood pressure is too high, it makes your heart work too hard. The blood pressure goal for most people with diabetes is below 140/90.
• C is for cholesterol. There are two types of cholesterol — LDL (bad cholesterol) and HDL (good cholesterol). High total cholesterol can lead to reduced glucose tolerance and high HDL levels can further increase risk for diabetes.
Learn to live healthy with diabetes:
• Manage stress, as stress can raise your blood sugar. Try deep breathing, taking a walk, meditating or listening to your favorite music.
• Ask for help if you feel down. Reach out to a good friend or ask your health care provider for a recommendation to a mental health counselor or support group.
• Eat healthy. Choose foods low in calories, saturated fat, sugar and salt. Eat foods high in fiber, include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and drink water instead of juice and soda.
• Be active. Set aside time to be active most days of the week for at least 30 minutes.
• Take medicines for diabetes as prescribed by your doctor.
• Check your feet every day for cuts, blisters, red spots and swelling.
• Brush and floss your teeth every day to keep your mouth, teeth and gums healthy.
• Monitor your blood sugar one or more times a day and your blood pressure regularly.
• See your health care team at least twice a year, more often to treat problems early.
Prediabetes means your blood sugar is higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes. Nine out of 10 people don’t know they have prediabetes. It’s important to know if you have prediabetes so you can take action to reverse it and prevent being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. You can take a simple test that only takes one to two minutes, to see if you are at high risk for having prediabetes: livinghealthy.hawaii.gov/prevent-diabetes-2/.
If your results indicate that you might have prediabetes, It’s important to follow up with your doctor and take steps to reduce your risk. Prediabetes is reversible!
If your risk is low, great! Continue to maintain a healthy weight, be physically active, get plenty of sleep, cut back on alcohol and don’t use tobacco products. Eat healthy meals and snacks with fruits, vegetables, healthy proteins and whole-grain foods. Keep processed foods, that are full of added sugar, salt and saturated fat, at a minimum.
Many organizations in Hawaii offer Diabetes Prevention Programs, a lifestyle change program that teaches you how to live healthier and manage your weight so you can prevent getting diabetes. Without a lifestyle change program, 15 to 30 percent of people with prediabetes go on to develop Type 2 diabetes within five years, and 70 percent of prediabetics develop Type 2 diabetes eventually. You can find a program on your island here: livinghealthy.hawaii.gov/prevent-diabetes/find-a-cdc-approved-dpp/.
You can make small lifestyle changes to prevent diabetes. If you already have diabetes, you can learn simple skills to continue to live healthy. For more information, visit the Hawaii Department of Health’s Prevent Diabetes Hawaii campaign: livinghealthy.hawaii.gov/prevent-diabetes-2/.
* Kristin Mills is a public health educator with the state Department of Health’s Maui District Health Office. No Ka Oi Health is published on the fourth Thursday of every month.
