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Diabetes Awareness Month
DIABETIES AWARENESS
“Diabetes is truly the epidemic of our time,” says James Gavin, M.D., chief executive officer and medical officer of Healing Our Village, an Atlanta-based advocacy company. “Ebola’s important. HIV/AIDS is important. But diabetes is the epidemic of our time. No organ is spared with diabetes.
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• One person dies every 10 seconds from the ravages of diabetes. With diabetes, strokes, heart attacks are more common • It is a major chronic disease that drives our trillion-dollar health-care budget • Diabetes favors minorities. It simply likes to be in us. This is important because when you look at the outcomes, amputations are more common in African Americans • Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in diabetes, and premature death from coronary heart disease is greater in African Americans than in whites, Hispanics, and Asians. • The companion epidemics are diabetes and obesity. Body mass and weight gain are the leading contributors to the formation of diabetes. The higher your body weight, the more likely you’ll develop diabetes.
Approximately 111 million U.S. adults are overweight or obese.
Though researchers can’t say for sure diabetes causes depression and they don’t fully understand the diabetes-depression connection, multiple studies conclude people with diabetes are at heightened risk of developing the mood disorder. A Harvard Medical School study went a step further, suggesting insulin resistance may alter brain chemistry to make diabetics more susceptible to it.
Diabetes increases your risk of heart disease and stroke by accelerating the development of clogged and hardened arteries. Foods containing the following can work against your goal of a heart-healthy diet and should be avoided:
• Saturated fats. High-fat dairy products and animal proteins such as beef, hot dogs, sausage, and bacon contain saturated fats. • Trans fats. These types of fats are found in processed snacks, baked goods, shortening and stick margarines. Avoid these items. • Cholesterol. Sources of cholesterol include high-fat dairy products and high-fat animal proteins, egg yolks, liver, and other organ meats. Aim for no more than 200 milligrams of cholesterol a day. • Sodium. Shoot for less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day. However, if you also have hypertension, you should consume less than 1,500 milligrams of sodium a day.
