Diabetes Prevention

 The rate of Type II diabetes has almost doubled in the past 10 years, according to the results of a recent survey by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Alarmingly, the actual number of people with diabetes is probably higher, because the survey relied on people to self-report – and many are diabetic and don’t even know it!
These results should not surprise us. The rate of Type II diabetes is bound to increase as Americans continue to gain weight and have unhealthy food habits.
The scary truth is that by the time you reach age 60, you have a one in three chance of being diabetic and one in two chance for certain ethnic groups. But you can avoid becoming a statistic by taking preventive action. In fact, what you may not realize is that before you become a diabetic you are for many years a pre-diabetic which means you have higher than normal blood sugar, but not high enough for you to be designated a diabetic.
The real solution is to know if you are pre-diabetic and intervene to not only stop the progression to diabetes but to begin the reversal and possible eradication. This was proven in a landmark federally funded study of 3,234 participants that began in 1996 and ended in 2001 where a diverse group of Americans who were overweight with impaired glucose tolerance and at risk of developing full blown diabetes proved they could successfully undertake intervention to delay the onset of diabetes or prevent it altogether.
This was accomplished by simply having a healthier diet, losing just seven percent of body weight, and undergoing moderate exercise. The results blew the lid off some longstanding assumptions when they were first published in 2002. In effect they showed that many of the 57 million Americans at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes could be spared some or perhaps all of the suffering from the progression from pre-diabetes to diabetes. By contrast, if the pre-diabetic population did nothing to change behavior, they would in all likelihood develop type 2 diabetes within ten years; possibly go on to have heart attacks or strokes; potentially lose their limbs, eyesight, and kidney functioning; and probably die years before their time.
For more information, contact Chace R. Unruh, D.C., at 661-288-0022.