This is my 3 part series about diabetes. The rates of diabetes has been on the raise in communities of color. That is one of the reasons I felt February would be a good time to speak on this type of health challenge.
I believe awareness of your blood sugar level is a very good thing for everyone. If your blood sugar level is high you need to know it is time to make lifestyle changes and seek the appropriate wellness support and medical attention. Knowing you are pre-diabetic or diabetic could literally save your life.
In part one I'd like to focus on the Ugly of Diabetes!
The Ugly (consequences and complications)
Diabetes is a serious, chronic disease. In fact, two out of three people with diabetes will die from cardiovascular-related episodes, such as a heart attack or stroke.But diabetes affects many major organs, including your heart, blood vessels, nerves, eyes and kidneys. Some of the other complications of diabetes include:
- Heart and blood vessel disease. Diabetes dramatically increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and narrowing of blood vessels (atherosclerosis).
- Nerve damage (neuropathy). Excess sugar can cause tingling, numbness, burning or pain that usually begins at the tips of the toes or fingers and gradually spreads upward. Eventually, you may lose all sense of feeling in the affected limbs.
- Damage to the nerves that control digestion can cause problems with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation. For men, erectile dysfunction may be an issue.
- Kidney damage. Diabetes can sometimes lead to kidney failure or irreversible end-stage kidney disease, which may require dialysis or a kidney transplant.
- Eye damage. Diabetes increases the risk of serious eye diseases, such as cataracts and glaucoma, and may damage the blood vessels of the retina, potentially leading to blindness.
- Slow healing. Left untreated, cuts and blisters can become serious infections, which may heal poorly. Severe damage might require toe, foot or leg amputation.
- Hearing impairment. Hearing problems are more common in people with diabetes.
- Skin conditions. Diabetes may leave you more susceptible to skin problems, including bacterial and fungal infections.
- Sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is common in people with type 2 diabetes. Obesity may be the main contributing factor to both conditions. Treating sleep apnea may lower your blood pressure and make you feel more rested, but it's not clear whether it helps improve blood sugar control.
- Alzheimer's disease. Type 2 diabetes increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease, though it's not clear why. The worse your blood sugar control, the greater the risk appears to be.
I will be writing two for next next Thursday... if you have any questions or want to attend the seminar. Go to lastweightlossplan.com and click on the red weight loss seminar button and enroll.
Remember with the right lifestyle changes, you can totally reverse a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis. If you’d like to learn more about how to reverse diabetes. Text your name and email to 904.236.5858 to be added to the guest list for the “How to Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Seminar”