disease BY FAITH LEWIS
TOO MUCH BLOOD SUGAR HAVING DIABETES ISN’T SO SWEET
glucose is in your blood. A healthy What’s your blood sugar right blood sugar level is less than 100 mg/dL now? What would happen if (milligrams of glucose per 100 milliliyou ate that slice of pizza? Most ters of blood) after not eating for eight people wouldn’t be able to answer that. hours. “Fasting blood sugar of 100-125 But for the 34.2 million Americans is prediabetes; greater than 126 is conliving with diabetes, it’s something sidered diabetic,” says Dr. Issa Fakhouthey ask themselves ri, an internal medicountless times cine physician with every day. Before Kaiser Permanente meals. After meals. in Stockton and KaiAmericans (10.5% of the populaBetween snacks. If tion) have diabetes. ser Permanente’s they feel dizzy, irriclinical lead for diatable, or have a headbetes care in the Central Valley. Carbs: ache. What most people can do withCarbohydrates are the sugars, starchout thinking, a diabetic must analyze. es, and fibers found naturally in fruits What is diabetes? If you’re going to unand veggies, dairy products, and grains. derstand diabetes, you’ll need to brush Carbs are broken down into glucose by up on a little vocabulary first. Blood the body and are an important fuel for sugar: This is a measure of how much
34.2 million
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2020 SJ HEALTH AND MEDICAL GUIDE
