The importance of American Diabetes Month can’t be overstated

November brings us to the holiday rush, Thanksgiving travel — and American Diabetes Month. Just thinking about heavy holiday meals should be enough to bring our focus around to diet, exercise and this health concern. Fewer health issues in the country are more relevant right now than diabetes. From adult to childhood diabetes, type 1 and type 2, from the links to diet and the quality of our foodstuffs, diabetes is getting a lot of exposure right now.

And it needs to get a lot more still. Because it is a disease which strikes one out of eleven people in America. It is responsible for more fatalities annually than AIDS and breast cancer combined. There are more than 200,000 cases of juvenile diabetes diagnosed annually. All told, 86 million Americans are at risk for diabetes.

These are daunting and relevant statistics, but they only tell part of the story. That is why this year the theme for American Diabetes Month is “This is Diabetes.” The emphasis is on the real-life stories of Americans coping with, struggling with and oftentimes triumphing over diabetes. There will be:

• testimonies about the experience of being first diagnosed;
• the scary process of beginning a treatment regimen; and
• first-hand accounts about changes in diet, lifestyle and a general reshuffling of priorities.

Not only will it be great time to recognize our 29 million fellow citizens struggling with the disease, but we can all learn something to utilize in our own lives and help us to make better choices.

There are dozens of outlets to help contribute to the campaign against diabetes this November. From buttons to yard signs to posters, to social media platforms and community events. And of course, like all the events on our calendar commemorating the fight against diseases and disorders, we are hopeful the day will come these days on the calendar will open up again. That will mean a cure has been found. So to that end, research is always an important element and will always be a priority.

This November, explore the many avenues to lend your own voice and listen to the voices of others!

http://www.diabetes.org/in-my-community/american-diabetes-month.html

November Is American Diabetes Month — Get Involved

At Scrubin, we are involved with getting the word out about many great causes and organizations. One of the biggest for us is American Diabetes Month.

This is a disease which has been forefront of the public consciousness for some time, and with good reason. Diabetes numbers 30 million Americans among its sufferers, both adults and children. And it is estimated that more than 80 million more are “pre-diabetic” and at heightened risk to develop type 2 diabetes. If the disease is not at epidemic levels, it is not far from it.

Our diets are all too often composed of an excess of sugars, fats, cholesterol and sodium. While public awareness seems to be rising in this regard, it is still a widespread fact that much of our food is packaged and processed, and therefore potent as delivery systems for excesses of sugar. This is to say nothing of our affection for sodas and sugar-laden energy drinks.

Now, while a healthy, informed diet is not enough to stave off diabetes in every case, the simple fact is that eating healthier — limiting sugars, basing meals around protein and essential vitamins and roughage — would slash the percentage of our population who have type 2 diabetes by a tremendous degree. This is a particularly urgent matter in regards to our young people. The rate of growth for the disease in children has burgeoned by more than 33% in the past couple of decades.

Sure, there are several factors at work in this rising figure, but most researchers agree that the majority of the growth is directly tied to the rapidly escalating rates of childhood obesity. Healthy diet, regular exercise: these are the enemies of Type 2 diabetes. Make sure your kid has both!

Another unfortunate fact about our food consumption and diabetes: it is often more expensive and more difficult in the United States to eat healthy. Cheaper foods are typically mass produced, therefore usually have a lower price tag. And these are the very foods prevalent with trans-fats, sodium, high fructose corn syrup, dyes and excess sugars. As such, our more impoverished communities have been particularly hard hit by the growing rate of diabetes in the society. American Diabetes Month has a variety of outreach effortsintended to educate all our communities communities about the very real dangers of the disease.

Think you might be at risk? Your doctor can ease your fears, or get you on a path of treatment if there’s a problem.  He or she will perform a simple glucose test. If diabetes is indicated, then immediate steps can be taken: regular monitoring, insulin treatment, strict diet and life-style changes.

If you rate as pre-diabetic, then you and your health-care professional can design a firm plan to tackle the potential risk before it becomes a difficult reality.

Diabetes in America is on the rise, unfortunately, but we can make November of 2015 the moment when we turned back the tide!