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Diabetes and Me

Sensenbrenner Primary Care / Education  / Diabetes and Me

Diabetes and Me

Type 2 Diabetes is a condition that disrupts how your body metabolizes sugar. It causes your body to resist insulin’s signal to draw sugar out of the bloodstream and into the tissues that function off of it. Your pancreas futilely attempts to compensate by producing more and more insulin but eventually, it begins to atrophy and ceases hormone production. This process takes years to happen but silently damages your eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart, and vascular system along the way.

Did you know?

  • If you have type 2 diabetes, your risk for having a heart attack is as a high as someone who has already had a heart attack.
  • The number one risk factor for end-stage kidney failure (i.e. being on dialysis) is diabetes.

Additionally, if you have pre-diabetes then your blood sugar levels are higher than they are supposed to be, but they are not yet technically in the diabetic range. Although pre-diabetes sounds benign, it significantly increases your risk for developing type 2 diabetes and should not be dismissed.

You can reduce your risk for developing pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes through diet and exercise changes. Developing sustainable healthy-eating patterns is critical to keeping your blood sugar within a healthy range. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK) recommends consuming a wide array of nutritious foods from all food groups. However, individuals who are at risk for diabetes should limit: fried foods, foods high in salt, sweets such as candy or baked goods, and beverages with added sugar include juice and sports drinks. Also, it is important to look at food labels because processed foods contain deceiving amounts of salt, fat, and sugar.

The NIDDK also recommends controlling portion sizes using the plate method. The plate method is a way to measure your portions by putting non-starchy vegetables on half of the plate, a protein on one-fourth of the plate, and a grain or other starch on the last one-fourth. This method is based off of a 9-inch plate. Controlling your portions and managing over-eating is an effective way to lose weight and reduce your risk for developing diabetes.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease

At Sensenbrenner Primary Care, we want all of our patients to thrive! We want to assist you in your journey to whole-body health and help you avoid preventable diseases like type 2 diabetes.

For more information:

https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes
https://medlineplus.gov/howtopreventdiabetes.html
https://medlineplus.gov/prediabetes.html
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Stephen Fogg

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