Diabetes Health and Prevention

Diabetes Education and Prevention
· Diabetes is a chronic disease related to the body’s ability to use insulin.
· There is Type 1 diabetes which someone is born with and is a lifelong illness.
· There is Type 2 diabetes that comes from poor diet and bad lifestyle choices.
· To prevent Type 2 diabetes people must do several things. They are:
1. Exercise at least 15 minutes a day
2. Eat the recommended amount of 20-25 grams of fiber each day.
3. Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables
4. Minimize simple sugars like candy and soda.
5. Eat enough protein
6. Eat complex carbohydrates like unrefined grains and whole wheat pastas.
7. Reduce stress (LeRoith, 2012).
Why should people eat healthy?
People should eat healthy for several reasons. However, the main reason is to avoid becoming obese and suffering from obesity-related issues like Type 2 diabetes. Did you know that many people with Type 2 diabetes are obese? This may be caused by something called “Metabolic Syndrome.” That’s a term for people that have 3 out of 5 medical conditions. There are:
1. abdominal obesity,
2. high blood pressure,
3. high blood sugar,
4. high serum triglycerides and
5. low high-density lipoprotein (Farooqui & Farooqui, 2013).
What about those who have Type 1 diabetes?
· People with Type 1 diabetes are born with an immune system that destroys cells in their pancreas. These cells are called beta cells. They’re the ones responsible for making insulin (Kaufman, 2012).
· To avoid complications with Type 1 diabetes, it is important to lead a healthy lifestyle, check daily blood glucose levels frequently, and inject a dose of insulin as prescribed by the doctor each day or use an insulin pump.
· Insulin pumps provide insulin to the person continuously throughout the day. For big meals, more insulin may be used.
Regarding diversity and diabetes, people of all different races respond differently to the disease with some groups developing diabetes at a faster rate than others.
For example, Asian people may get Type 2 diabetes at lower BMIs than Europeans. Additionally, 60% of the diabetic population in the world is Asian (Kaufman, 2012). This means Asian people need to practice healthy eating and promote exercise daily amongst their families to maintain low abdominal fat.
African Americans are at high-risk for diabetes because of their cultural eating patterns that opt for high sugar, high fat and minimal fruits and vegetables. African Americans should embrace cooking with more vegetables and reduce the sodium, sugar, and fat in their diets.
Hispanic people also demonstrate a prevalence of diabetes. Almost half of Hispanic children born in the year 2000 will most likely develop diabetes during their lifetime. Risk factors include: being overweight and having a relative with diabetes among other risk factors. To prevent diabetes occurrence, Hispanics should maintain a balanced BMI and a healthy lifestyle throughout their life.
References
Farooqui, A. A., & Farooqui, T. (2013). Metabolic Syndrome and Neurological Disorders. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Kaufman, F. R. (2012). Medical Management of Type 1 Diabetes. New York: American Diabetes Association.
LeRoith, D. (2012). Prevention of type 2 diabetes: From science to therapy.