November is Diabetes Awareness Month

November is Diabetes Awareness Month and that's a good thing. But like a lot of diseases, diabetes should demand our attention all year long and not just for one month. In fact, if you look at current and projected statistics, the outlook for individuals suffering from diabetes does not bode well:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, half of all American adults are destined to develop diabetes or pre-diabetes by 2020 if they don't make significant changes to the way they currently live. That means that if current rends continue, the number of American adults with excessive blood sugar levels will increase from about 93.8 million to about 135 million in the year 2020.

And lest you think that diabetes is only a disease for adults then think again: the CDCP also points out that diabetes is fast becoming one of the most common chronic diseases in children and young adults with one-in-every-four children suffering from diabetes.

What is Diabetes?

In layman's terms, diabetes is a disease in which blood sugar (also called glucose) levels are too high. Glucose comes from the foods you eat and generally, thanks to the hormone insulin, we assimilate glucose into our systems and that provides us with energy.

Type I and Type II Diabetes

Individuals who suffer from Type I diabetes have a physical deficiency in their bodies that does not produce insulin. Conversely, individuals suffering from Type II diabetes have bodies that produce insulin, but the insulin is not assimilated or used sufficiently. So the glucose just stays in the blood.

The Result

In the long term. Having too much glucose in our blood can cause some serious issues: damage to the liver, eyes and nerves are common and on a bigger scale too much glucose can cause heart disease and stroke and in severe cases contribute to the loss of a limb or digit. My father, bless him, suffered from diabetes late in life and dealt with all the above, but the real tragedy isn't that he suffered from diabetes, the tragedy is that it could have been prevented or at least kept in check with a minimum of self-maintenance on his part. I'd wager that quite a few adults (and children for that matter) can be proactive when it comes to diabetes and in the process reduce the potential risks.

Just Do It

We hear so much about the benefits of exercise, weight control and sensible eating that we become desensitized to the rules of good health. On one hand we're bombarded by commercials that make us drool over fried chicken with bacon on top and then in the same breath we are told to watch what we eat! A health assessment that includes a strategy for eating right and exercising can be determined along with your doctor or even with a little on-line research.

As an individual and as a society, you/we need to be proactive in determining if a diabetes risk is present and that can be determined by a simple blood test. At the same time, if you suffer from fatigue, thirst and frequent urination, those may also be tell-tale symptoms that should get you headed for a check-up.

November is Diabetes Awareness Month and that's a good thing! But your health-maintenance and potential diabetes risk should be a priority all year long.