Thursday, July 10, 2008

how to...

Kailani over at An Island Life has a group writing project going with the prompt of "how to." I've been thinking about what I know enough about to write a "how to" post on. I thought of such subjects as, "how to put off doing the laundry for a whole week" or "how to spend the day blogging"... oh wait... those would be the same subject. Instead, I decided to write on something everyone should know about and consider how it might personally affect them.

How To Contract Diabetes

I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes last November. Now that I know a lot about this disease, I know exactly how I got it. Here's how you, too, can get Diabetes in 3 easy steps.

1. Ignore your family's history when it comes to Diabetes. I had relatives on both my mom's and dad's side of the family that had and even died from Diabetes.

2. Have an unhealthy diet. Yep, that was me. More carbs than protein. Too many sweets. And yes, I even dabbled in fried foods.

3. Don't exercise. I've had my moments, but making exercise a regular part of my life... HA!

There you go. Pretty easy, huh? You would think it would be more complicated, but it really isn't. That may be why Diabetes diagnoses continue to rise. More than six percent of the population has either Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes and each year 1.3 million people over the age of 20 are diagnosed with the condition. One of the fastest growing age groups is children as it's obvious that too many children in our society do not eat well and do not exercise regularly, and therefore they are over weight.

Of course, you don't want to contract Diabetes. The solution is almost as simple. Take the three easy steps listed above and do the opposite.

1. Find out your family history. If there is diabetes in your family, then you are at greater risk. If you had pregnancy gestation diabetes, you are at risk. If you are African-American or Hispanic, you are at greater risk.

2. Make a healthy diet a lifestyle. Eat high fiber foods and healthy fats. Avoid artificial sweeteners. A good, in-depth study has found that just one can of diet soda a day can increase your risk of becoming prediabetic. The study suggested that the sweet taste of the artificial sweeteners may actually confuse the brain and cause us to gain weight.

3. Exercise! Studies say that regular exercise can decrease the risk of Diabetes by 60%. Losing weight in your waist is also key. Simply walking 30 minutes a day is considered exercise and helps you lose that waist weight.


Diabetes is a serious condition and recognized as one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. If you think you may have Diabetes or pre-Diabetes (elevated blood sugars as an indicator that if lifestyle changes aren't made, Diabetes is imminent), I highly recommend you make an appointment with your doctor. Waiting can be very detrimental to treatment and management. Find out now!

There are many different symptoms to having this condition and you can find out what they are and/or read more about Diabetes at a number of excellent web sites on the subject. I suggest that you google the word Diabetes and pick any of the top ten listings.

Fortunately, my Diabetes has been kept under control with medication, diet, and exercise. It has been quite a change for me and I'm still not where I want to be with the diet and exercise -but I continue to work at it. I'm working towards a healthier me. How about you?

** some information taken from Good Morning America

15 comments:

Susan said...

Great post and one I needed to read!!!
Susan

Momma Roar said...

"I'm working towards a healthier me"

YAY for you!!!! You won't regret it.

This was a great post - making people aware!!

Just Mom said...

And you know what? A healthier diet isn't as difficult as I once thought it would be. I've been on South Beach for the past 1 1/2 months. So-o-o-o-o easy switching to good carbs and reducing the amount of sugar in my diet.

Unknown said...

Yup its hereditary (sp?) my mom's mom had it and my dad has it so I have to watch for it Great post

Anonymous said...

What a great post! I never really thought about how easy it could be to contract, and i'm certainly guilty of at least the last two things...

Melissa said...

Great post! I do have diabetes in my family... my grandfather had it. My poor kids have it coming from both sides... my Father in law is diabetic...

Sue Seibert said...

My middle daughter is often called Sunshine...and she loves that song, as well. Her husband was diagnosed with diabetes in January, and I know I should not ignore the fact that it's in my family too. And I SHOULD exercise!

Anonymous said...

Good post, Di. A word to the wise should be sufficient. And you've certainly stated the problem and solution very well. I’m thankful that you have your diabetes under control and look forward to living a healthier life style.

Barb said...

Great blog - proud of you!

Unknown said...

My FIL is "pre-diabetic" so we've learned a lot about diabetes in the last 2 years. We've all tried to make dietary changes. It's hard, but worth. Good for you, Diana!

Anonymous said...

My dear granddaughter,you know how I have felt about diabetis. My grandmother on my father's side died with the disease and 2 of his sisters. Also my sister had it so bad and died, now two of her grandchildren have innherited it. I think you blog was great and very timely,

Anonymous said...

The one thing I've learned (having a son with Type 1 Diabetes), is good eating habits, everything in moderation.

My husband is a Type 1 also, and he didn't take a healthy diet very seriously, until our son was diagnosed.

It is a very serious disease, that is becoming an epidemic.

Thank goodness, my son is VERY active. It's hard sometimes to keep his bloodsugar from going to LOW!!

Great post, Diana!
Thanks for helping to get the word out!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this!! My dad and all his family have diabetes. I'm only 25, and am working hard to make sure it doesn't happen to me. But I never knew about artificial sweeteners! I'll have to tell my sister that. She never eats sugar because of the family history, but thinks she is allowed to load up on artificial sweeteners.

Here's my how-to: http://simplethings1.wordpress.com/2008/07/10/how-to-create-a-silhouette-t-shirt-from-your-childs-photo/

Mozi Esme said...

Great information and a great reminder of the consequences of some of those bad choices I'm making!

Jules said...

First, I'm so sorry that you have diabetes. It can be very scary, so take care of yourself.
Secondly, thanks so much for taking the time to let the rest of us know how to avoid it.