Diabetes Awareness Month: When Is It And What Happens?

Diabetes Awareness Month: When is it and what happens?

Diabetes Awareness Month: When is it and what happens?
Reviewed by Natalie Olsen, RD, LD, ACSM EP-C
Every November, people with diabetes, health care professionals, and patient organizations across the United States take part in National Diabetes Month. The event is to raise awareness of diabetes, and the impact it has on millions of Americans.
National Diabetes Month is important as more than 29 million Americans have diabetes , yet 1 in 4 of these people are unaware that they have the condition.
What is the theme for National Diabetes Month 2017?
In 2017, the theme for National Diabetes Month is Managing Diabetes - It's Not Easy, But It's Worth It .
The theme for 2017 serves to remind people with diabetes that although managing the condition is difficult, they're not alone.
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) explain that 2017's theme highlights the importance of managing diabetes to prevent diabetes-related health problems.
For example, people with diabetes are twice as likely to have a stroke or get heart disease compared with people who do not have diabetes. They are also more likely to develop these conditions at an earlier age than people without diabetes.
People with diabetes are at increased risk of kidney problems because high blood sugar levels can damage the kidneys over time. This damage can occur long before a person starts to experience any obvious symptoms.
Diabetes can cause damage to the nerves and blood vessels, leading to serious, difficult-to-treat infections, particularly in the feet. In some cases, ampu Continue reading

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The diabetes wakeup call that got this young Philly doctor to change his life

The diabetes wakeup call that got this young Philly doctor to change his life
Like a lot of new physicians, a busy residency left me with little time for exercise or a balanced meal. Id never been overweight, but suddenly my waistline was expanding.
But I wasnt too worried after all, I was only in my 20s. What could a few temporary pounds do to hurt me?
It was a story I had often heard from patients, onlynow it was playingout in my own life.
But to my surprise, I learned at a routine checkup that I had prediabetes elevated blood sugars that can eventually progress to diabetes if untreated. Over time, without proper management, diabetes can take a toll on your entire body. It can ravage your nerves, take your limbs, imperil your kidneys, clog your arteries, and render you blind. There are few other diseases as destructive as diabetes and fewer as common. Diabetes already affects nearly 30 million Americans with another 84 million , or a third of adults in America, having prediabetes. Ninety percent of those with prediabetes dont even know they have it.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes,comprising90 percent of all diabetes cases in the U.S. The less common form, Type 1 diabetes, is an autoimmune condition that usually, but not always, starts in childhood. Type 2 diabetes is a byproduct of insulin resistance, meaning that insulin works less effectively, so you need more of it.
And while it is true that the risk of developing Type 2 increaseswith age, we are seeing more people younger than I was, even children, with what once was called adult-onset Continue reading

Why It’s Important To Understand Diabetes and Kidney Health

For many of us, staying healthy is not a destination, it’s a journey. In addition to being moms we wear many hats: sister-in-law, daughter, wife, daughter-in-law, and maybe even a coach! We often put ourselves last on the list of priorities, especially if we’re looking after our own parents too.
It is so easy to stop caring for yourself or to get overwhelmed trying. But, when you stop caring for yourself, your ability to care for your child is impacted and your ability to enjoy motherhood may be affected.
Many of us have just come off a busy festival season with Diwali, Karva Chauth and even Eid in the fall. As we head into winter, following Diabetes Awareness Month, it’s a good time to take stock of our health and well-being.
You may know that being South Asian puts you at an increased risk of diabetes, but did you know that people with diabetes, high blood pressure or who have a family history of kidney disease are at increased risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD)? [ia]
Our kidneys are vital organs to our health, regardless of age.
Here are just some of the things our kidneys do every day[ib]:
Remove waste and excess fluids from the body
Regulate the balance of fluids, salt, potassium and other minerals that are necessary for good health
Release hormones, which regulate blood pressure, red blood cell production and many other important tasks in the body
There are many risk factors for chronic kidney disease. Some you can control, such as smoking and lifestyle choices, while others are outside your control such as age or ethnicity.[ii] People of Aboriginal Continue reading

One Test May Spot Cancer, Infections, Diabetes and More

One Test May Spot Cancer, Infections, Diabetes and More
Researchers are starting to diagnose more ailments using DNA fragments found in the blood
Along with red blood cells, white blood cells and a panoply of hormones, every drop of your blood contains tiny shards of DNA spewed out of various cells in your body as they die. Recent massive increases in the speed and efficiency of the instruments used to analyze these fragments of genetic information have led to some impressive advances in the development of so-called cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testsparticularly when it comes to prenatal testing of a developing fetus. But the best may yet be to come.
Whenever cells die for one reason for another, theyll release DNA into the blood, says Kun Zhang, professor of bioengineering at the University of California, San Diego. If you can recognize where they come from, there are multiple possibilities to detect the damage in different parts of the body. Because cfDNA tests only require a simple blood draw, they may one day greatly improve a physicians ability to diagnose a wide range of illnesses at their earliest stages, when they are often easier to treat. They could also reduce the need for painful biopsies to monitor the health of a new organ after a transplant. In the words of one researcher, cfDNA could become the ultimate molecular stethoscope that opens up a whole new way of practicing medicinein much the same way that the acoustic stethoscope forever changed diagnostic opportunities after its introduction in the 1800s.
The first commercial application of cfDNA sequencing deb Continue reading

Weight-Loss Surgery Leads to Diabetes Remission

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Weight-Loss Surgery Leads to Diabetes Remission
Gastric bypass surgery may treat type 2 diabetes in selected patients.
Weight loss surgery has shown more effectiveness in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who underwent gastric bypass surgery resulting in better insulin production in 6 months to a year without the need of further medication. This is rationalized due to dramatic weight loss and calorie cutting along after surgery. Thus, comprehending why gastric bypass is the most effective metabolic surgery to treat diabetes, why obese patients are noticeably less hungry post weight-loss surgery, and why improvement in diabetes after surgery may experience worsening within a matter of years are important considerations to account.
Several theories have been proposed to explain the causes of glycemic control post weight loss surgery. Some of the most common bariatric surgeries conducted are sleeve gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, and gastric banding. The first two reduces the size of the stomach and the latter slows the flow of food into the GI tract. Although all three resolve T2D, gastric bypass has proven to be the most effective one. In the UK, an observational study showed that all participants who underwent gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, and gastric banding were in remission at 43, 17, and 7 times higher respectively than no surgery. In comparison, gastric bypass yields more weight loss and effectiveness with nearly 2-fold higher remission rates than banding. Moreover, the N Continue reading