Diabetes Alert Day

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Tuesday is American Diabetes Alert Day. It serves in bringing awareness to the ever escalating health concern. 

Diabetes is a chronic condition that raises blood sugar levels, which can lead to heart disease, kidney failure and nerve damage. Diabetes is prevalent throughout Appalachia and affects around 40 million Americans, nationwide.

“There are two kinds of diabetes,” Genesis Healthcare System Endocrinologist Dr. Tufail Ijaz said. “90 percent of diabetic patients have type 2 diabetes and 10 percent have type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes just happens due to autoimmune diseases against our pancreatic insulin producing cells. And type 2 diabetes is mostly due to lifestyles or genetic causes. So in our lifestyle, if you don’t exercise, don’t eat healthy food and if you gain weight, then you are prone to develop type 2 diabetes.” 

With today’s lifestyle of driving everywhere and eating conveniently, diabetes is on the rise and generating a huge burden on the healthcare system. However, diabetes can be better controlled through a more disciplined approach to diet and exercise.

“If somebody has prediabetes or a family history of diabetes or just developing diabetes, the first thing is to change our lifestyle,” Ijaz said. “So exercise plays a very important role. A minimum of exercise should be at least 30 minutes of brisk walking at least 5 days a week. That’s the minimum. And then we need to change our diet. We need to eat a more healthy diet so… basically decrease our starches, our carbohydrates intakes, fats intake, increase our vegetables, fruits, proteins.”

Additionally, medical advancements in technology and pharmaceuticals have come a long way in the past decade to help patients better monitor and treat their condition. So if you think you are susceptible to developing diabetes, your family doctor can perform a quick check to see if your blood sugar levels are elevated.