Diabetes and Obesity

Diabetes

Back when I was in college and then working in the health world of Geriatric care I had done quit a bit of research on obesity and diabetes, specifically type 2. The two; obesity and diabetes seem to go hand in hand more times than not.

According to the Center for Disease Control, we are eating ourselves into a diabetes epidemic. The International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) says that, “Diabetes and obesity are the biggest public health challenge of the 21st century.” The supporting statistics they cite are staggering:
As of 1999, diabetes affected 16 million (six percent) of Americans – an increase of 40 percent in just ten years.

  • During the same period, the obesity rate climbed from 12 percent to almost 20 percent.
  • Last year the diabetes and obesity rates increased 6 percent and 57 percent.
  • Every three seconds, someone is diagnosed with diabetes.
  • Of the children born in 2000, one in three will eventually develop diabetes. (source)

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The number just keep on increasing.Screen Shot 2014-04-05 at 8.42.13 AM

Is There a Link Between Obesity and Diabetes?

Of the people diagnosed with type II diabetes, about 80 to 90 percent are also diagnosed as obese. This fact provides an interesting clue to the link between diabetes and obesity. Understanding what causes the disease will hopefully allow us to prevent diabetes in the future.

Being overweight places extra stress on your body in a variety of ways, including your body’s ability to maintain proper blood glucose levels. In fact, being overweight can cause your body to become resistant to insulin. If you already have diabetes, this means you will need to take even more insulin to get sugar into your cells. And if you don’t have diabetes, the prolonged effects of the insulin resistance can eventually cause you to develop the disease. (source)

diabetes infographic

 

Prevent Obesity, Prevent Diabetes

To reduce the chances that you will develop diabetes, maintain a healthy weight and increase your physical activity. You may also want to try a diabetes vitamin, specially formulated for people with diabetes.

If you are overweight, even a small weight loss (five to 10 percent) can prevent diabetes – or prolong the chance that you will develop the disease – even if you fall into a high risk category, according to The Obesity Society. And if you have diabetes, this small weight loss can reduce the amount of medication you need, as well as help prevent common complications associated with diabetes, such as blindness, stroke and heart attacks.

To aid in weight loss, a high fiber, low carbohydrate diet and 20 to 30 minutes of moderate activity per day are recommended. Always consult with your physician before beginning any new workout or diet program, especially if you have been diagnosed with diabetes. (source)

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Shaklee has a GREAT program when it comes to Diabetes Management:

There are only three ways to slow and/or reverse the progression of this disease process:

1) Safe and Effective Weight Loss (I’ll be posting more about this at the end of the month for letter W: weight loss

2) Increased Insulin Production (which is the way insulin injections and many diabetic medications alleviate the problem), and reverse or eliminate the insulin resistance. Increasing insulin levels is not an ideal way of treating insulin resistance because the high insulin levels actually increase the risk of stroke and heart disease.

3) Eliminating the Insulin Resistance –  the unique benefit of Shaklee’s Glucose Regulation Complex. The Product:  Glucose Regulation Complex contains the trace mineralschromium, magnesium, vanadium, and zinc; the antioxidant alpha lipoicacid, the amino acid taurine, and the botanical banaba leaf extract. (source: Dr. Chaney, Shaklee)

shaklee glucose regulation complex

Shaklee Glucose Regulation Complex provides natural support for normal glucose metabolism. It helps to transport glucose into cells, making your system more efficient and effective at utilizing blood sugar, and helping to retain normal blood sugar levels.

If you would like more information regarding any of Shaklee’s other great supplements that help with Diabetes please leave me a comment or email me at gatheredinthekitchen@yahoo.com

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure here.

3 Comments

  1. I am hypoglycemic so no sugar, starch or caffeine-do I cheat-yup at times I do. Everywhere I go there is chocolate, goodies at my grasp. I don’t even have to reach for it. The portions people get are bigger, the ease to get junk food and fatty stuff is easier, Instant stuff to make instead of cooking it is right there and they have placed more sugar and salt in everything, things we do not even realize has sugar(Italian dressing). At the same time people are getting fatter and this food is easier to get to, the “stars” and entertainment are getting thinner and thinner and use unhealthy ways to remain thin. They also fool people and say they just exercise and eat well when most have gone under the knife for one thing or another. This preoccupation with food is scary.

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