Your doctor has told you that you have diabetes or that you’re on the verge of getting it. Why should you consider yourself lucky? Because this is one major disease you can control.
When it comes to your health, not being aware of your health and diabetes can be detrimental to you. Discovering you have been diagnosed with diabetes is a positive fact because out of 16 million Americans who have it, nearly one third of them are getting sicker because they do not know they have it. Fortunately today diabetes which once killed victims by wasting them away can be controlled if not cured.
One major cause of developing Type 2 diabetes is obesity caused by an inactive lifestyle. Some estimates indicate that 80 percent of people with with this type of diabetes are obese. One other risk factor is having a parent or sibling with the disease. Other factors include being an Afro-American, a Hispanic, or a Pacific Islander. Another risk factor is having higher than normal (but not necessariy diabetic) levels of glucose, and having high blood pressure or cholesterol levels.
Although your family or ethnic background is not your choice, a choice you can make is to change the style of life you are living to control Type 2 diabetes- or even to entirely prevent it. And the changes you make in your lifestyle do not have to be dramatic changes. Interesting to note is that in a recent government study boderline diabetics who lost just seven percent of their body weight, switched to a low-calorie, low-fat diet, and exercised only moderately, such as a brisk walk for 2.5 hours weekly reduced their chances of getting the disease by an amazing 58 percent. Many Type 2, but not Type 1 diabetics can keep the disease under control without drugs.
If you do have diabetes, you have to live with it every day. It is also necessary to pay careful attention to your eating, your glucose levels, and you must take your medicine if medicine was prescribed. If you are careful, however, with all of this, you can lead a normal life.
One helpful tool for control your diabetes is a software program that runs on your PC called Diet Power. Diet Power can help diabetics control their intake of carbohydrates and sugars.
Diet Power can also keep a graph of blood sugar readings, body measurements, and other data. And of course Diet Power helps you control one of the most important risk factors in your diabetes- your weight.
Tags: Diabetes, diabetes and health, diabetes control, diabetes cure, diabetes health, diabetes management, diabetes prevention, diabetes weight control, health, Health&Fitness, weight control and diabetes