Healthy Habits, - Healthy Life

Healthy Habits,

Brought to you by the Clark County Health Department. Your source for trusted information on various health, wellness, and safety topics!

By Katie Cook, BSN, RN

Losing weight unintentionally High blood sugar caused by diabetes vessels which leads to narrowing (atherosclerosis). flow to organs and tissues, which over time kidney disease, and vision problems.

While type 1 diabetes (juvenile onset) production, type 2 diabetes is generally Talk to your provider to learn how to prevent at your next appointment.

The Clark County Health Department is happy to promote health and wellness to our county residents. In this twice-monthly column, we hope to provide readers with reliable health information. This series will be on heart health, including what it is, protective factors against heart disease, and habits to keep us happy and healthy.

Do you know what diabetes is? According to the World Health Organization (WHO), diabetes is classified as a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin (typically called type 1 diabetes) or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces (type 2). Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood glucose. Hyperglycemia (elevated blood sugar) is a common effect of uncontrolled diabetes and over time leads to serious damage to many of the body’s systems, especially the nerves and blood vessels.

The likelihood of a person having diabetes or knowing someone who does is extremely high. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), roughly 11.6% of the population in 2021 had diabetes. That is a little over one in 10 people. Of the 38.4 million adults with diabetes, 29.7 million were diagnosed and 8.7 million were undiagnosed. The percentage of Americans age 65 and older with diabetes remains high, at 29.2%, or 16.5 million seniors (diagnosed and undiagnosed).

People should be screened for diabetes at their yearly physicals, or every time they have labs drawn. The tests that typically help diagnose diabetes are hemoglobin A1C and blood glucose tests. Your A1C level can also be impacted by other health conditions like anemia, kidney disease, or medications you may be on. Your provider will typically call and discuss abnormal results with you.

A normal blood glucose level is between 70-100 mg/dL. The test is typically performed when you have been fasting, or have not eaten or drank anything besides water or black coffee in the eight to 10 hours prior to the test. If your glucose test is random, meaning you have been eating or drinking as you normally would, the number will typically be higher.

Management of type 2 diabetes (what used to be called adult onset diabetes) usually starts with lifestyle modifications such as:

❤ Maintaining a healthy weight

❤ Staying physically active (150 minutes of moderate exercise weekly)

❤ Eating healthy foods, avoiding sugar and saturated fat

❤ Not smoking tobacco If lifestyle modifications do not work, medications such as metformin are typically prescribed by your primary care provider. If your body is still not responding, you may need to add in short- or long-acting insulin injections. These medications and any lifestyle modifications are carefully monitored by you and your healthcare team. If you know you have high blood sugar and are pre-diabetic, symptoms of diabetes may occur suddenly. In type 2 diabetes, the symptoms can be mild and may take many years to be noticed.

Symptoms of diabetes include:

❤ Feeling very thirsty

❤ Urinating more often than usual

❤ Blurred vision

❤ Fatigue

❤ Losing weight unintentionally High blood sugar caused by diabetes causes a buildup of fatty deposits in the blood vessels which leads to narrowing (atherosclerosis). Narrowed arteries restrict blood flow to organs and tissues, which over time can cause complications like nerve damage, kidney disease, and vision problems.

While type 1 diabetes (juvenile onset) is typically unavoidable due to the lack of insulin production, type 2 diabetes is generally avoidable with a healthy lifestyle.

Talk to your provider to learn how to prevent diabetes and resulting heart conditions at your next appointment.