According to Diabetes365.org, there is a 7.3 million population out of 34.2 million, who are unaware of their diabetic condition. It even means they are not familiar with the severe health risks associated with poorly controlled blood sugar levels. This is the main reason to have a diabetes awareness month.
Diabetes awareness day – November 14th, 2021 was chosen to honor Sir Fredrick Banting, who along with Charles Best gave the world ‘Insulin’ in 1922 to control diabetes.
A collective effort is essential to decrease the diabetes impact on the worldwide population. It will never vanish until everyone plays their part. They need to take some lifestyle-changing steps to control sugar levels and reduce the associated health risks. November 2021 is allocated for taking a huge step towards diabetes.
Week 1 [November 1st to 7th] – Awareness
Educate yourself about the major diabetes type.
- Type I is caused because of an autoimmune disorder, especially before adulthood. Insulin is a blood sugar-regulating hormone that is released from cells. The immune system destroys these cells, so the body is unable to produce insulin.
- Type II starts at middle age. In this type, the body makes insulin but is not sufficient enough to control the blood spikes.
- Gestational diabetes is caused during pregnancy, where the body is unable to use insulin properly, just like type II.
Week 2 [November 8th to 14th] – Detection
Type II is common diabetes, so understand how to detect it.
- If the fasting blood sugar is at 126 mg/dL or high.
- If the random blood sugar is 200 mg/dL or more.
- If the A1 test is 6.5 and more. [It is a test that shows the amount of glucose attached to red blood cells over the past 3 months]
In case your fasting sugar is between 100 – 125 mg/dl, random is around 140 to 199 mg/dl, and A1C range is between 5.7 to 6.4 then your condition is termed as pre-diabetic.
Week 3 [November 15th to 21st] – Management
People can control their blood sugar with simple lifestyle changes and exercise. Avoid food and beverages that cause sugar in the blood to spike. There are interesting and tasty recipes that can help diabetic people to enjoy their food. Even choose diabetes-friendly fruits and follow a workout routine.
If you are obese take steps to decrease your weight. ADA recommends that every adult with type II diabetes has to perform 150 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity every week. Exercise burns the excess glucose, which is why doctors approve walking after meals.
Many people are not aware that the condition of your diabetes has an impact on your premiums for health and life insurance products. Life insurance with diabetes is obtainable, but if your control is below average you can expect to pay higher premiums.
Week 4 [November 22nd to 28th] Learn ways to survive
There are online support groups that can help you. You can even participate in spreading diabetes awareness and keep yourself motivated and manage/prevent diabetes. There are local activities like fundraising walks and conferences for creating awareness about diabetes. If you want to gain more information then there are diabetes prevention programs designed for people at risk of suffering from type II diabetes.
Knowledge is better for prevention and management of diabetes!
