Today is the National American Diabetes Association Alert Day. What is that you ask? This day is a one-day “wake-up call” to inform the American public about the seriousness of diabetes and encourages all to take the diabetes risk test and learn about your family’s history of diabetes.

Why do I care so much about diabetes you wonder?
I care for a lot of reasons.

1. It runs in my family. Not like a few… but like… A LOT of people in my family have had it or have it. I am telling you from a clinicians perspective and a granddaughter, niece and daughters perspective… it SUCKS. Most people don’t realize the long term health consequences of having uncontrolled blood sugars. (This is why people nickname diabetes, “the silent killer” because you can walk around for years with elevated blood sugars without suffering major consequences and then.. WHAM. It all piles on.
Some side effects I’ve seen of uncontrolled sugars:
Kidney failure (saw my grandpa go to 4 hours of dialysis, 3 times a week before his heart gave out), the pain and suffering of neuropathy (Gradual onset of numbness, prickling or tingling in your feet or hands, which can spread upward into your legs and arms. Sharp, jabbing, throbbing, freezing or burning pain. Extreme sensitivity to touch.). I’ve seen my tough grandfather sit in a chair and just rub his legs over and over and over trying to get blood to his feet. I’ve seen my dad unable to get a full nights sleep in YEARS because of his foot pain.
I’ve seen amputations (one of my grandpa’s brother have had them due to diabetes and my grandpa and his brother were about to start with some of his own.) Not pretty.

2. I care because I see children and teenagers referred to me from doctors who are prediabetic and overweight as young as 8 years old. Eight. Years. Old.

3. I care because I see adult patients, who if they could only change a few things to their diet and physical activity, could prevent SO MUCH damage from happening to their body.

Here are some interesting stats on diabetes… the most alarming one bolded below.

Some stats on type-two diabetes:
Did you know??
– 1.4 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes every year?
– In 2012, 86 MILLION Americans age 20 and older had pre-diabetes; this is up from 79 million in 2010. 8.1 MILLION are undiagnosed.
– Diabetes remains the 7th leading cause of death in the United States in 2010.

So much of type-two diabetes, pre-diabetes and its complications can be controlled or prevented by preventative health care. How so you ask?

Prevention tips
– Go to your doctor yearly and get a fasting blood sugar. Goal is to be under 99mg/dL but closer to 80mg/dL is better. If its not, seek a Registered Dietitian for help. You need education. Not a fast quick fix diet or shake program.
– Have a family history of diabetes and/or your BMI is over 26? Get an annual Hemoglobin A1c test done. This test lets you know what see your glucose levels over the past 3 months versus just at one point in time. Goal is under 5.7. Levels 5.8-6.4 are in prediabetic range, 6.5 and above are diabetic.
– Lose weight. The higher your BMI, the more at risk you are. This doesn’t mean you have to weigh what you did in high school, but some weight loss goes a long way in warding off diabetes. Even a 7-10% weight loss can shows drops in blood sugar and Hemoglobin A1C!
– Exercise, exercise, exercise. Regularly. Year long!
– DITCH the sugar! This includes sugar in coffee, sodas, juices, candies, etc. I could go on for days on this topic but eating or drinking pure sugar, day in and day out, wears on your pancreases and causes your levels of insulin to keep spiking. Over time this leads to weight gain and higher blood sugars.

Are you at risk?

Celebrate this Diabetes alert day by taking the quiz: http://www.diabetes.org/are-you-at-risk/diabetes-risk-test/?loc=alertday , booking an appointment with your doctor to discuss your risks and test results and book an appointment with a Registered Dietitian for help in making those life long changes.

http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/#sthash.SuUjPOKd.dpuf

~Kelly Devine Rickert, Registered Dietitian
www.devinenutrition.com