Diabetes
➤ Our bodies need sugar for energy
➤ Insulin helps sugar get to our cells
➤ When you don’t make enough
insulin, or you can’t use the insulin
you make, the sugar stays in the
blood and doesn’t get to our cells
➤ Diabetes means that you have too
much sugar is in your blood
DANGERS OF DIABETES
TYPES OF DIABETES
Type 1 diabetes
➤ Generally starts as a child or young adult
Type 2 diabetes
➤ Generally starts after age 30
➤ 90% of diabetics are Type 2
Gestational diabetes
➤ Starts during pregnancy
➤ These women have a greater chance of
developing diabetes later in life
Risks Factors
–A family history of diabetes
-Age, especially after 45 years of age
-Not being physically active
-Being overweight
-Being of African American, American
Indian, Alaska Native, Hispanic/ Latino, or
Asian/Pacific Islander background
-Being a woman who had gestational
diabetes or who delivered a baby
weighing nine or more pounds
SIGNS OF DIABETES
-Being very thirsty or very hungry
-Needing to pass urine a lot—often at night
-Having blurry vision from time to time
-Feeling very tired much of the time
-Losing weight without really trying
-Having very dry skin or sores that are slow
to heal
-Getting more infections than usual
-Losing feeling or getting a tingling feeling in
the feet
PREDIABETES
➤ Without making changes to improve health,
people with prediabetes will develop type 2
diabetes
➤ 86,000,000 people in the U.S., more than 1 in
3 adults, has prediabetes
➤ Doing just two things can help prevent or delay
type 2 diabetes:
`Lose 5% to 7% of your body weight, which
would be 10 to 14 pounds for a 200-pound
person; and
`Get at least 150 minutes each week of
physical activity, such as brisk walking.
MANAGING DIABETES
-Manage stress
-Eat smaller meals every 4-5 hours
-Eat a variety of foods
-Fill half your plate with vegetables and fruit
-Fill half your plate with lean protein and
whole grains
-Eat less fat, sugar, and salt
-Quit smoking and use less alcohol
CONTROLLING GLUCOSE
➤ Keep your blood glucose level close to
normal to prevent or delay health
problems caused by diabetes
➤ Generally this is 70-130 before meals
➤ Less than 180 two hours after a meal
➤ Take medication
➤ Get routine health care – both medical
and dental
➤ Watch for low blood sugar
HIGH BLOOD SUGAR?
➤ Signs: Having a dry mouth, being thirsty,
having to urinate often, feeling tired, having
blurred vision, or losing weight without trying
➤ Test it
➤ If your sugar is high, it is often caused by
➤ Eating too much food, being less active
than usual, taking too little diabetes
medication, being sick, or being stressed
➤ Over time, high blood glucose can damage
body organs. If the blood sugar is too high, a
person can slip into a coma and die
