Diabetes Diagnoses Latest Rising Trend
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CDC: Eight Percent of U.S. Diabetic
Have you noticed how everything seems to be “on the rise”? The cost of food is on the rise, the cost of oil is on the rise, tuition, housing, cost of living…The only thing that seems to be on the decline is the dollar. This rising trend has gotten a whole lot of media attention, but there’s one other rising trend that hasn’t garnered the same attention as the rising prices in fuel or milk – the number of diabetes diagnoses. |
According to a new report released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately eight percent of the United States population has diabetes – that’s about one in 24 people! In fact, in the last two years, three million people were diagnosed with diabetes. This surge in diagnoses has doctors urging the government to shine a greater light on diabetes and what can be done to prevent it.
As most of us know, diabetes tends to run in families, which makes its prevention just that much more difficult. Difficult, yes, but given the fact that the majority of new cases are Type II – the type that’s been linked to obesity, lack of exercise and poor nutrition – lifestyle changes can greatly diminish the likelihood of inheriting diabetes.
Now, these suggestions are nothing you haven’t heard before. But considering the fact that there’s been a surge in diabetes cases, many of them linked to poor lifestyle habits, perhaps a refresher course is in order. And perhaps the surge in diabetes cases is the wakeup call necessary to make the changes necessary.
Exercise
You know it’s important to your physical and mental health, but it’s of particular importance to diabetes sufferers. Diabetics produce either too little or too much insulin in the regulation of blood sugar and must take a number of precautions to maintain those blood sugar levels. But studies suggest that insulin levels are maintained at a more balanced level when regular exercise is a part of those precautions. I define regular exercise as moderate activity every day, for at least 30 minutes.
Diet
If you’ve seen the diabetes food pyramid, you know that it doesn’t vary much from the standard food pyramid: minimizing, if not eliminating, processed foods and saturated fat consumption from your diet, while increasing the number of whole grains, fish and other quality carbohydrates, proteins and fats into your diet. Nuts are a particularly good choice for diabetes sufferers. Studies suggest that consuming five or more one ounce servings of nuts a week significantly increases one’s immunity from diabetes compared to those who don’t eat nuts. Almonds and pistachios, in particular, are among the most nutritious of nuts.
Lose Weight
While eating right and exercising regularly are great lifestyle habits to adopt, weight loss is typically the motivation behind its adoption (i.e. Most of don’t start eating well because we feel it a moral obligation to live healthfully, in other words). Whatever the motivation, a healthy weight is a particularly good thing for diabetes sufferers because study after study says that overweight men and women are more likely to develop or be at risk for developing diabetes than those who stay lean.
I don’t put a whole lot of stock in infomercial magnates and what they have to say at 2 in the morning, but the following statement by an infomercial salesman has stayed with me lo these many years: How you eat today is how you’ll look and feel tomorrow. If more people live by this rule today, I have no doubt we’ll see far fewer diabetes diagnoses tomorrow.
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- Bad News for Diabetes Sufferers
- Obesity Raises Diabetes Risk More Than Inactivity, Study Finds
- High Fructose Equals No Glucose? Study Says High Fructose Corn Syrup Can Lead to Diabetes
- New Diabetes Drug “Comes At A Price”…
- Sleeping Habits Linked to Diabetes Risk, According to Study
 
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Posted: June 30th, 2008 under Diabetes.
