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HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS - GOOD HEALTH — November 17, 2016
A Special Advertising Section November 17, 2016
focusing on
Diabetes and Weight Management
Your life matters get to know diabetes and its impact on your health and your family
A
nyone can be diagnosed with diabetes — no matter your age, race, or ethnicity.
Diabetes is a metabolic disease that causes the body to be unable to produce any or enough insulin, resulting in elevated levels of glucose in the blood. More than 29 million people in the United States have diabetes, but one out of four of them don’t know they have it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States; most of those cases are a result of poorly controlled type 2 diabetes. Typical symptoms may include chronic fatigue, excessive thirst, increased urination, blurred vision, unexplained weight loss and slow-healing infections,” says Linda Ly, M.D., a physician specializing in family medicine. “Anyone experiencing these symptoms should see a physician.” Dr. Ly says that diabetes symptoms may develop so gradually they may, at first, be hard to identify. “Diabetes is sometimes called a ‘silent disease’ because in the early stages, symptoms may be dis-
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missed as unimportant,”she adds. Characterized by high levels of sugar (glucose) in the bloodstream, unmanaged diabetes can lead to serious health complications including diseases of the eyes, kidneys and coronary arteries. “Type 1 diabetes is the inability of the pancreas to produce insulin. This most often occurs in childhood and young adulthood,” Dr. Ly says.“With type 2 diabetes, which usually occurs at a more mature age, the pancreas is initially able to produce insulin, but the body doesn’t use it properly.” Risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes include obesity, a family history of diabetes, advancing age and if you’re African-American or Hispanic. Treatment usually involves weight loss, exercise and doctor-monitored medication. “If you feel you’re at risk, see your doctor. Left untreated, diabetes can have devastating physical and emoContinued on page S-3
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