Diabetes Death Rate One in Eight By 2010
The number of people with diabetes is on the increase, due to unhealthy lifestyles and obesity. The charity Diabetes UK reported that, this year, the number of people in the UK with diabetes has risen past 2 million for the first time. This is due to a substantial rise in the number of cases of Type II diabetes, which is directly related to lifestyle factors.
The chief executive of Diabetes UK, Douglas Smallwood, said that:
We need to do all we can to raise awareness of the seriousness of diabetes and help people understand how a healthy lifestyle can help reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
As demonstrated by the figures above, diabetes can be deadly. Here are the facts about diabetes, and some simple ways to reduce your risk (or your loved ones' risk) of developing it:
What Diabetes Is
Diabetes (full name "diabetes mellitus") is a condition where the body doesn't produce enough insulin to cope with the amount of glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream. There are two types:
- Type 1 - the body is unable to produce any insulin. This usually develops before age 40, and is not related to lifestyle factors. 5 - 15% of people with diabetes have Type I.
- Type 2 - the body can make some insulin, but not much, or the insulin produced doesn't work properly (insulin resistance). This is the type of diabetes linked with being overweight. It generally appears in people aged over 40, but children as young as seven have now been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
Dangers of Diabetes
More people die from diabetes than from breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.
Diabetes can cause:
- heart disease
- strokes
- kidney failure (nephropathy)
- vision problems (retinopathy) or blindness
- greater risk of infections
- the need for limb amputations
Reducing the Risk
Diabetes Type 2 is overwhelmingly associated with obesity, poor nutritional choices and lack of exercise. Some easy ways to reduce your risk of developing diabetes are:
- Get regular exercise. This could be as simple as going for a walk every day (this also helps manage existing diabetes). But once you've achieved a basic level of fitness, aim to meet - or exceed! - the recommended guidelines.
- If you smoke, quit. Smoking can lead to high blood pressure, which causes heart disease - a major risk factor for type II diabetes.
- Eat a healthy diet. Following common sense nutritional guidelines (like cutting your saturated fat and sugar intake, and getting plenty of wholegrains and fruit and veg) will help.
- If you're overweight, make sensible food and exercise choices to lose weight for good. (Women with a waist measurement over 31.5 inches, and men with a waist measurement over 37 inches, are at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.)
If you have a family history of diabetes, a waist size over the above limit and if you're older than forty, get your doctor to give you a diabetes test. As with many conditions, detecting diabetes early can be life-saving. The test just involves a pin-prick to your finger to get a blood sample to test glucose levels, and takes a couple of minutes. (See the image at the top of this post.) You can even buy kits to test yourself at home.
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Yikes, I scarcely dare wade in on this one after my long debate with Cereal on this topic last week.... so all I will say is that there is controversy about whether eating grains, whole or otherwise is a good idea for diabetics.
The argument against starchy carbohydrates for diabetics is illustrated by Dr Briffa's post on the subject. He did get a lot of flack for the insinuations he made about the motivations of a certain diabetes organisation, but aside from that he makes the point well.
It's interesting that the American Diabetes Association has shifted their advice slightly now, at least agreeing that a low carb diet can be effective in treating diabetes.
ReplyI know several people with diabetes, and some who have been cured of it through nutritional therapy.
The good news is that diabetes is absolutely preventable, using the guidelines above. Quality exercise, a healthy nutrition palate, and healthy lifestyle choices will help you prevent conditions like diabetes, among many many other conditions.
Doctors like Douglas Smallwood above are accustomed to telling their clients that a "healthy lifestyle can help reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes." (or any condition for that matter)
I'm not a doctor, but I think "reduce the risk" is too weak a statement that is used for fear of legal prosecution (and rightly so!). Dis-ease is absolutely preventable if you work hard for your health.
We have to stop treating conditions like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease like a virus that can be "caught." We are responsible for our own health, and we can't blame our poor health on factors that are outside of our control all the time.
To your health and success,
John Sifferman NSCA-CPT
ReplyAlthough I am familiar with the data, I still find it shocking. I still find it shocking that a heroin addict still sticks that needle in their arm, knowing that it will eventually kill them. The need to eat, and being addicted to food, in my opinion are not the same, but I believe that line has been crossed by far too many. It doesn't matter what we say to people, or how strongly we word it. Unlike Seven of Nine, they will not comply :-)
ReplyI think majority of people still do not realise that these are their own choices that cause diabetes type 2. We here read health blogs, but we are still a tiny percent of the population.
ReplyHi Matt!
I agree with your second statement, but am unsure of the first. I would like you to be correct, because that way, with education, there would be hope for improvement. I am skeptical however.
ReplyPeople don't realise quite how serious diabetes is.
ReplyOne of the major problems diabetics face is that there is so much hidden sugar in all our food - especially diet food. But I think another very underestimated problem has to do with the amounts of sleep we're getting and what that does to our bodies ability to process sugar. I wrote about some really interesting research about this from the National Sleep Institute at
http://www.ditch-diets-live-light.com/sleep-and-obesity.com
The more I read about sleep the more I believe it's honestly an under estimated factor in both diabetes AND weight.
ReplyMy grandpa had type 2 diabetes and he suffered from all sorts of complications from it. The reason? He chose to completely ignore the fact that he had diabetes at all. He went into complete denial and never checked his blood sugar and never took his medication. He developed glaucoma and had circulatory issues. I'm not sure if it was his diabetes that ultimately led to his death, but it probably contributed to it. The key to preventing complications from diabetes is to be proactive and keep on top of your blood sugar levels so that they never get too high.
ReplyThe problem is that people with Diabetes have to want to change in order to cure it. "Medicine promises healing but delivers only lifelong management" (RawSchool.com/philosophy.htm). Prescriptionmedications and constantly monitering blood sugar is good, but it only manages the problem and never reaches a solution. People have cured diabetes but you cannot eat processed food. Our bodies are not meant for it. Instead of sugar try Agave Nector, or Raw Honey, or Molasses, or Stevia Extraxt.
These taste better than sugar and are low glycemic level, especially agave.
No Yellow 5 or Blue 5, No Corn Syrup or Hydrogenated Oils. Only organic cream, milk, etc.
You will be surprised at how great you feel!
ReplySTOP eating BEEF.Beef has 877 different strains of bacteria that the experts have not identified.So that would definately cut down on alot of diseases.And the Medical association needs to Cut down the drug option for diseases.Not everything needs pills of some sort to cure.Alot has to do with them people who take the pill for diabetes ---get off your butts and walk or get in your wheel chair and excercise it doesnt matter how you do it as long as you do it everyday.AND SERAQUEL PATIENTS STOP TAKING DRUGS IF IT CAUSES ANOTHER DISEASE.PILLS ARE NOT A SOLUTION.WHAT YOU SHOVE INTO YOUR BODY IS
ReplyI am a T2 diabetic. I cut out all grains/starches and in 3 months got my A1c and lipid panel to normal range. I also lost 25lbs effortlessly for the first time in years. The food pyramid is dead wrong for diabetics. Low carb dieting has saved my life and I must eat this way for the rest of my life to maintain these normal levels.
ReplyDiabetes is on the rise because people are not as concerned about their diets as they should be. Parents are very lenient with their kids when it comes down to fast food and sugary snacks. Healthy eating habits and exercise is all that it takes for most people to reduce their risk of developing this illness.
ReplyNot all diabetes case are cause by diet alone, for instance Type 1 can be inherited. But it is true that every diabetic patient need to control on their diet.
ReplyMany people are successfully controlling their diabetes with the Zone diet and lifestyle. Many others have successfully overcome insulin resistance (a pre-diabetic condition) with the program. The Zone's eating plan is basically the same as the recommendations of the renowned Joslin Diabetes Center at Harvard.
It would be great to see more health professionals offering good sound proven advice on the prevention and management of Tybe II Diabetes. Unfortunately, many professionals haven't really been taught how to prevent it. I have many friends who, upon learning they have Type II Diabetes, have attended hospital sponsored diabetes management education seminars only to be instructed about how to eat cake, cookies, peas, and mashed potatoes, the very things that pushed them into insulin resistance and diabetes, in a manner the will fit their new diabetes diagnosis.
More appropriate education is needed and the Zone lifestyle is one tool which should be in the forefront of diabetes prevention and management. It would help millions of people live healthier lives and would save a lot of lives, not to mention do a huge favor to the healthcare system which will be stretched to its limits as the baby boomers age and develop Type II Diabetes and other serious diseases which could be prevented with a clinically proven healthy lifestyle such as the Zone.
ReplyPeopel don't realize that hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia causes all of your cell function to be compromised so every system is affectted when people get diabetes.
Too much sugar, too much fat, and too little exercise.
Reply