HEALTHY LIVING
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BY JON LEWIS
TAKE CONTROL MAKING CHANGES FOR DIABETES PREVENTION THE NUMBERS ARE downright numbing: Half the adults in Shasta County are prediabetic and a third of those will contract Type 2 diabetes within five years. Diabetes affects more than 30 million people in the United States and another 84 million are prediabetic. A mere 10 percent of prediabetic people are even aware of it. A grim assessment from Shasta County’s public health department, to be sure, but within those numbers is hope. “When we find out the train of their life is heading toward diabetes, we just shift the tracks bit by bit,” says Deannie Joseph, a registered nurse and diabetes instructor at Shasta Regional Medical Center. “Each lifestyle change can completely change the direction and get them back on the track to a healthy lifestyle and quality of life.” Classified as a metabolic disease, diabetes occurs when the body’s cells fail to absorb enough glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream. In a healthy system, cells take up glucose using insulin, a hormone produce by the pancreas. In a
person with diabetes, the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin or the cells become resistant to it. When glucose builds up in the bloodstream, known as hyperglycemia, it can lead to serious health issues, including heart attack, stroke, nerve damage, kidney dysfunction and blindness. The exact cause of Type 2 diabetes is not fully understood, but researchers have identified obesity, a sedentary lifestyle and poor food choices as the chief risk factors. It is believed that some people have a genetic predisposition for diabetes, says Malinda Knowles, a nurse practitioner and board-certified diabetes instructor. “Usually someone has a family member who has had it,” Knowles says. “The gene is the gun but what pulls the trigger is your diet and lifestyle. On the positive side, there is a lot of control over these risk factors. If you keep4 continued on page 62
JANUARY 2019 www.EnjoyMagazine.net
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