Joint Base San Antonio, Texas (Nov. 8, 2016) -- November is Diabetes Awareness Month and Army Medicine is encouraging Soldiers and their families to commit to healthy lifestyle changes that could reduce your risk of this debilitating illness.
Diabetes is an illness that results from blood glucose levels, or blood sugar, being too high in your bloodstream. Glucose is needed for energy but having too much glucose in your blood is not healthy.
"Having diabetes results in blood sugar levels being higher than normal and is caused by either a relative or absolute insulin deficiency," explained Dr, Joseph Wood, Chief of Virtual Health and a Staff Physician for the Endocrine, Diabetes, and Metabolism Clinic at the Eisenhower Army Medical Center.
The pancreas produces insulin which helps glucose to be absorbed by your cells that turn it into energy. Diabetes causes the pancreas to makes lower than normal levels of insulin or your cells develop an insulin resistance and glucose then builds up in your bloodstream.
"The elevation in blood sugar causes damage throughout the body, with damaging effects to the small blood vessels around the heart, brain, nerves, and kidneys leading to atherosclerotic arteries. Having type 2 diabetes is also often associated with hypertension and abnormal lipid levels which exacerbate the risk for chronic complications," said Wood.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States and causes more deaths than AIDS and breast cancer combined. One in 11 Americans has diabetes and over 86 million are at risk.
"Long term complications from poorly controlled diabetes are heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney failure/dialysis, nerve damage/neuropathy, amputations and erectile dysfunction in men," Said Wood.
Diabetes is a major cause of heart disease and stroke and is the leading cause of kidney failure in the U.S. and patients who poorly control diabetes have the same risk of a heart attack as someone without diabetes who has already had a heart attack.
There are three major types of diabetes. Gestational diabetes (GDM) that occurs when a mother has high glucose levels during pregnancy and usually goes away after pregnancy. Type 1 diabetes is where very little or no insulin is produced, generally develops in children, and daily injections of insulin are required to control the glucose levels in the blood.
Type 2 diabetes accounts for at least 90 percent of all diabetes cases. It is a condition where the pancreas still makes insulin but the body's cells cannot use it properly, it occurs at any age, is frequently associated with being overweight or obese, and can initially be managed through exercise and diet.
Patients are at a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes if they have a family history of diabetes, are overweight, eat an unhealthy diet, have high blood pressure, and do not exercise.
"The easiest way to reduce the risk of developing diabetes is healthy nutrition and physical activity," said Wood. "If you have already been diagnosed with type 1 or 2 diabetes you should reduce stress in your life, eat highly nutritious foods that are natural and unprocessed, and exercise regularly. "
The best methods to lower your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes are found in the Army Performance Triad of Sleep, Activity, and Nutrition.
Social Sharing