Sweet Success in Staving off Diabetes

Enlarge Image Image Gallery A healthy diet is crucial for preventing and controlling diabetes. GETTY IMAGES

It’s never too early to develop the healthy habits that can prevent diabetes, a disease that is all too common in the United States. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), 18.2 million Americans are diabetic, and another 16 million have pre-diabetes—elevated blood glucose levels that indicate they are developing the disease. In fact, a child born in the United States today has a one-in-three chance of developing diabetes during his or her lifetime, according to a 2003 report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The good news is that many factors that can reduce the risk of diabetes are within our control. A healthy diet and regular exercise will help prevent diabetes. For those already diagnosed as diabetic, these healthy habits can help reduce symptoms, and a number of herbs and supplements are worth exploring, as well.

What is Diabetes?

Awareness of this disease dates back to the first century or earlier, but only within the last 100 years have scientists been able to pin the problem on insulin, a hormone that is produced by the pancreas.

Insulin ushers glucose from the blood into the body’s tissues. In type 1 diabetes, also called insulin-dependent diabetes, the pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin. This form of diabetes often begins in childhood or adolescence, so it is sometimes referred to as juvenile diabetes.

With type 2, or non-insulin-dependent diabetes, the pancreas produces insulin, but the body’s tissues do not respond to it. Reacting to the high levels of glucose in the blood, the pancreas produces even more insulin.

In both types of diabetes, the tissues are starved because they don’t receive enough glucose, leading to hunger and fatigue. Because the kidneys must excrete the excess glucose in the blood, frequent urination and excessive thirst are early symptoms of diabetes.

Treatment for both forms of diabetes aims at keeping blood glucose within normal limits. People with type 1 diabetes must inject themselves with insulin. Those with type 2 diabetes can often control their blood glucose by following a careful diet, exercising regularly and losing excess weight. In more severe cases, oral medications also are needed.

Diabetes needs to be treated because it decreases life expectancy. It doubles the risk of heart attack and stroke. Diabetes is also a leading cause of blindness, nontraumatic amputations and kidney failure. In the United States, it is the sixth most common cause of death.

Many estimates indicate that nearly one-third of people with diabetes have yet to be diagnosed, often because early symptoms such as fatigue and frequent urination are subtle and may go unnoticed. This stealth disease can sneak up on you, finally declaring itself with its most serious symptoms—a heart attack, for instance. Fortunately, testing for diabetes is relatively simple and inexpensive. Many doctors now order a fasting blood glucose test as part of routine annual exams.