Dealing With Diabetes
Whether you or a loved one has diabetes or you wisely want to learn
how to prevent the disease, the staff at Overlook has all the answers you need.

The statistic is staggering: In the United States today, more than 23 million adults and children have diabetes, a chronic disease in which the body does not properly use insulin, one of the main hormones involved in converting sugar, starches, and other food into the energy our bodies need. Worse still: That number is on the rise. “The incidence of diabetes is rapidly increasing throughout the world, and people are starting to develop the disease earlier—in their forties and sometimes even in their teens,” says Sharon Selinger, MD, chief of endocrinology at Overlook Hospital. “This increase is directly linked to the fact that we are leading more sedentary lives and getting heavier due to improper diets.” Just as alarming is an estimate that cites that only 17 million diabetics have actually been diagnosed—which means there are more than 5 million people out there who have diabetes and don’t even know it.

What’s Your Type?

Although the cause of diabetes is still somewhat shrouded in mystery, doctors do know that both genetics and lifestyle factors play a big role in who develops the disease and who does not. Diabetes occurs in three distinct forms: Type 1, resulting from the body’s inability to produce insulin, which prevents cells from processing the glucose needed for fuel; Type 2, the most common form of the disease, happens when the body cannot properly use insulin (known as insulin resistance) and combines with an insulin deficiency; and pre-diabetes, in which a patient’s blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

The symptoms of diabetes include frequent urination, excessive thirst, extreme hunger, unexplained weight loss, increased fatigue, irritability, and blurry vision. But pre-diabetes and full-blown diabetes are often symptomless (or the symptoms are easily overlooked), which is why the American Diabetes Association recommends a blood glucose-screening test for anyone over 45 and overweight, or for anyone with a significant family history of the disease.

Let’s Talk Prevention

There are many things you can do to prevent diabetes, and even patients with strong family histories of diabetes can control whether they develop the disease in their forties or in their eighties. In fact many patients with pre-diabetes have actually been able to halt the progression of the disease and even bring their blood glucose levels back to normal. So what’s the secret to preventing diabetes? Simple lifestyle changes, made up of five key components:

• Get active. We all know how beneficial working out can be for managing your weight (a major risk factor for diabetes), but you may not know that regular physical activity actually lowers blood sugar and boosts the body’s sensitivity to insulin, which in turn will help keep your glucose levels within a healthy range. “Not only can increasing your activity level and managing your weight help prevent diabetes, it’s also been found to be useful in treating mild blood sugar issues,” explains Selinger.
  


• Fill up on fiber. Not only can a high-fiber diet reduce your risk of developing diabetes by improving the way your body controls its blood sugar, but fiber has also been found to lower your risk of heart disease (a big bonus). Plus, since eating high-fiber foods like fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts, and seeds can make you feel fuller faster, they can help you lose weight as well.