The Diabetes Pro

A recent study from Duke University Medical Center has shown that a moderate amount of exercise can reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a collection of factors that combine to put individuals at higher risk for developing heart disease, stroke, and, of interest to us, diabetes.

What are these risk factors? They include: a large waist circumference — over 40 inches in men, 35 inches in women; high levels of triglycerides –over 150; low amounts of HDL — below 40 in men, 50 in women; high blood pressure, and high blood sugar. If you’ve got 3 of the 5 factors, you can be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome.

As we are becoming increasingly sedentary — does anybody move anymore? — this is becoming an increasingly common diagnosis. However, according to the research team at Duke Medical Center, a person can lower risk of metabolic syndrome by exercise. They recommend walking 30 minutes a day, six days per week.

You’ll go approximately 11 miles in an average week, which sounds like quite a distance — but it works out to less than 2 miles a day. You’ll benefit even if you don’t make any dietary changes — just don’t start eating more! The most obvious result will be a trimmer waistline, but regular exercise can also help decrease blood pressure.

Every little bit helps. Duke cardiologist William Kraus said, “Some exercise is better than none; more exercise is generally better than less, and no exercise can be disastrous.”

Consistency is apparently more important than intensity: researchers posit that there may be more value in moderate exercise performed every day rather than intense exercise every few days.

What does a good diabetic diet mean? Surprisingly, it’s not what many people think. Being a diabetic does not mean an austere life of hardship, where you can’t enjoy any good stuff. Instead, what constitutes a sensible diet for a diabetic is, in large part, what’s a sensible diet for everyone else.

Eating a variety of foods is a good starting point: selecting from all four food groups is essential. The average American diet doesn’t include enough fruits and vegetables, relying instead on too much meat and grains. Achieving balance will help anyone’s diet.

Incorporating more fruits and vegetables is a wise nutritional choice. These items are low in fat — provided you don’t drench your green beans with half a stick of butter! — and also low in calories. Both help provide much needed fiber.

Food selection is one part of the equation: you want nutrient-dense, high-fiber foods. The amount you eat is also important. Pineapple might be a really healthy choice — but if you sit down and eat six cups of chopped pineapple, you’re going to be in real trouble. Not only are you going to send your sugar through the roof, you’re going to have the queen mother of all stomachaches! Moderation is key. If you’re working with a nutritionist or diet specialist, they can advise you on appropriate serving sizes to meet your dietary needs. Otherwise, you may want to start by reading the information here.

If there’s one piece of medical information everybody and their best friend is sure they’re an expert on, it’s what the symptoms of diabetes are. It’s well known that frequent urination and a constant thirst are common diabetes symptoms.

However, running to the bathroom six times a day doesn’t necessarily mean you’re diabetic. There are other causes for frequent urination, from drinking too much coffee to pregnancy and far beyond.

What you should look for, if you’re concerned about diabetes, is the following behaviors:

• frequent urination
• strong, constant thirst
• being very hungry
• a sense of tiredness or fatigue
• a sense of being irritable or ‘cranky’
• blurry vision
• unusual weight loss — you haven’t been eating less or doing more, and still, the pounds come off!

The key here is that none of these items, one time or in isolation, is necessarily a symptom of diabetes. You could be very hungry because you didn’t eat the day before — but as soon as you have a sandwich, you’re fine. What we’re talking about is a prolonged, repeating pattern of these symptoms.

This is information you need to share with your doctor. They’ll do tests, including an analysis of your blood sugar levels, to see if what appears to be the symptoms of diabetes is in fact that — or if the symptoms are related to another, unrelated condition.

Diabetes is in the news again — did you see? Two recent studies on people who are considered ‘pre-diabetic’ — exhibiting a tendency toward diabetes, yet without fully manifesting the disease — established that there are simple lifestyle changes one could make to stop or slow the progression toward diabetes.

Note that I said simple. Not easy. Nothing here is impossible, but some of it is challenging.

Still, when you consider the possibility of forestalling Type 2 Diabetes, it might be worth it to:

• Cut your fat intake. No more than 30% of your daily calories should be fat. In an average diet, that’s 50-60 grams of fat.
• Cut saturated fat intake down to less than 10% of your daily calories. This is the tough one: we’re looking at 15-20 grams of saturated fat. That’s not very much at all.
• Exercise! You knew that was coming. The goal is 2 ½ hours of moderately intensive exercise: get up and get moving. Playing video games is not exercising — and I don’t want to hear how fit your thumbs are!
• Eat more fiber. This is your fruits and veggies. Your mom was right: some stuff is good for you. You want at least 25 grams of fiber every day. Nuts, legumes and whole grains also offer fiber.
• Whole grains are your friend. Eat at least three servings every day (which will also help you achieve that whole eat more fiber thing). Whole grain intake helps with blood sugar control.
• Lose weight. Now, if you’re doing all this other stuff, the weight grain won’t be too tricky. Exercise more, a healthy diet, and increased fiber intake can help the pounds drop off. Even a small lose can have a huge positive effect.

The researchers found that individuals who followed these steps and received support from family members, friends, and study staffers were able to reduce their risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes by almost 60%. That’s the type of news we like to read about!

If you’re not pregnant, have never been pregnant, or have no interest in being pregnant, chances are you’re not concerned with gestational diabetes. However, for the estimated 4% of all pregnant women who have gestational diabetes, there are lots of questions and concerns about how this disease affects them and their baby during and after their pregnancy.

Gestational diabetes occurs when women who never had diabetes before manifest high blood sugar levels during pregnancy. Generally, this is diagnosed in the latter stages of pregnancy — the second or third trimester. Most women who are diagnosed with gestational diabetes are diagnosed between the 24^th and 28^th week of their pregnancy.

In some ways, gestational diabetes is similar to diabetes unrelated to pregnancy. Insulin levels are of paramount concern: when the mother cannot produce adequate amounts of insulin, excess blood sugar is the result. This can lead to hyperglycemia.

Gestational diabetes usually manifests after the baby has gone through some of the most critical developmental stages. This reduces the risks of certain types of birth defects, but there are still issues to be concerned about. Babies of mothers who have gestational diabetes may receive extra glucose from the mother’s elevated blood sugar levels. Babies use a tremendous amount of energy while they’re growing in their mother’s womb, but this is just too much for them to use. The excess is stored as fat.

We’ve all heard about big, bouncing babies — but the truth is a baby can be too large. Oversized babies can force a mother to have to have a C-section birth rather than a vaginal delivery. Additionally, these babies may have breathing problems and also have a higher risk of developing diabetes as children.

After the baby is delivered, gestational diabetes generally goes away. However, there are some factors that mothers with gestational diabetes need to be aware of. First and foremost, it is critical that a mother with gestational diabetes work closely with her health care provider to manage the condition. This helps optimize the chances for a healthy baby.

If a C-section delivery is required, the mother should be aware of the longer recovery period associated with this surgery.

Additionally, if a woman developed gestational diabetes during one of her pregnancies, she has a far greater chance of developing gestational diabetes during subsequent pregnancies. Close consultation with a health care provider is certainly recommended in these cases, to ensure that the mother’s condition is monitored.

Many women who have gestational diabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes years later. There seems to be a link between the tendency to have gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes. While obviously, there’s no way to definitely prevent diabetes, women who have gestational diabetes have an opportunity to make lifestyle choices which can help minimize the risk of developing type 2 diabetes further down the road. These healthy lifestyle choices can also help the family’s new baby start out life on a good nutritional footing, developing the habits now that will serve them well for a lifetime!