November is both Diabetes Awareness Month and Tobacco Cessation Month. That's a health awareness and illness prevention lineup that is worth teaming together.
Why? Smoking is a risk factor for increased risk of developing diabetes for you, your family, and all the older military retirees that you know.
How serious is diabetes? According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 25 million adults suffer from diabetes in the United States; it is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S.
To recap, diabetes is a dangerous disease that causes blood sugar levels in the body to be way too high. The consequences include the potential for many serious health conditions.
The health problems associated with diabetes are almost too numerous to list. Let's start with include heart and kidney disease.
Of special concern are problems with poor blood flow in the legs and feet. This can be a serious problem in our retiree population. Insufficient blood flow leads to foot infections, ulcers, and possible amputation of toes or feet.
Diabetes increases the risk for retinopathy, an eye disease that can cause blindness.
And there's something called peripheral neuropathy, which is damaged nerves in the arms and legs that cause numbness, pain, weakness, and poor coordination. In the worst cases, it's also possible a finger or other part of the arm may have to be amputated.
Sound like fun?
Obviously it's not. But diabetes is largely associated with life style factors--poor diet and lack of exercise--that are largely correctable.
Smoking is one of those life style factors.
Smoking is recognized as a cause of type 2 diabetes, which is also known as adult-onset diabetes. (Type 1 diabetes, also known as insulin-dependent diabetes, is usually treated with insulin injections. Type 2 is most often treated with life style changes--diet and exercise--insulin is usually not needed.)
According to the 2014 Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Heath (the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service), smokers have a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than do nonsmokers. The potential to develop diabetes increases with the number of cigarettes smoked per day.
What exactly is going on when you smoke? Smoking increases inflammation in the body. In short, the chemicals in cigarette smoke damage cells; the result is swelling of the cell and interference with the cell's ability to function properly, including eliminating waste products.
In addition, smoking creates something called oxidative stress; this occurs as chemicals from cigarette smoke, which is loaded with toxic substances, combine with oxygen in the body. The result is damage to cells. The scientific evidence strongly suggests that both inflammation and oxidative stress are related to an increased risk for developing diabetes.
The evidence also suggests that smoking is associated with a higher risk of abdominal obesity, which is excess belly fat around the waist. Abdominal obesity is associated with the production of cortisol, a hormone that increases blood sugar. Smokers often have higher concentrations of cortisol than nonsmokers.
When people with type 2 diabetes are exposed to high levels of nicotine (and tobacco smoke is loaded with nicotine), insulin, which is a hormone that lowers blood sugar, is less effective. If you have insulin-dependent diabetes and smoke, most likely you will a need a larger dose of insulin to control your blood sugar.
If you know someone with diabetes and who also smokes, support them to help quit smoking or using any other type of tobacco. The health benefits of quitting begin right away.
People with diabetes who quit smoking have better control of their blood sugar. The CDC says that insulin can start to become more effective at lowering blood sugar levels in just eight weeks after quitting smoking.
Here's the bottom line up front, smokers have a 30 to 40 percent higher risk to develop diabetes than non-smokers.
Tried to quit smoking and didn't succeed? Don't give up. Most smokers who try to quit don't succeed on their first attempt, and it's well recognized that multiple attempts at quitting, and sometimes aids such as nicotine patches, are required. Talk with your physician about the best approach.
Remember, your health and the health of your family are readiness issues. Diabetes is especially a problem for older individuals; encourage the retirees in your family to make the appropriate lifestyle changes.
Diabetes prevention is largely in your hands. Get plenty of exercise, eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables, and get plenty of sleep. And say no go to tobacco.
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