The entire month of November is dedicated to awareness of diabetes, a disease affecting 422 million globally and resulting in the death of 1.6 million people worldwide in 2016. According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 3 adults aged over 18 are overweight, and 1 in 10 are obese. Type 1 diabetes, or insulin-dependent diabetes, accounts for about 9% of the population with diabetes and is due to a chronic condition in which the pancreas does not produce insulin. Type 2 diabetes is much more prevalent and is caused by an adapted resistance to insulin over time due to increased weight gain and carbohydrate intake. At Integrative Cardiology Center of Long Island, we want to bring awareness to the disease and offer an integrative approach to help people living with diabetes.
The Importance of Diet Modification
Early symptoms of diabetes may be insatiable thirst, even after drinking water, frequent urination, and fatigue. This is because glucose is a solute in the blood and urine, creating increased osmolality. Water is retained in the urine to dilute the glucose. Diet modification is key to management, and at ICCLI we offer certified dieticians to help create a unique health plan specifically designed for you. Diabetes is essentially due to an increased glycemic response to carbohydrates. Therefore, even though the pancreas may release a high insulin load, the cells may build a resistance to this and in later stages, insulin levels become lower because the pancreas burns out. It is essential to consult with a primary care physician to check Hgb A1C levels which detect the average levels of glycated red blood cells over thirty days. Consulting with a dietician is critical in managing and even reversing the disease. They will recommend limiting the carbohydrate intake to 130g/day, eating a meal rich in nutrient and fiber, and staying hydrated with foods with a rich water source. In addition, diabetes may cause an inflammatory response in the body, in which case inflammatory, normocytic anemia may be seen in the blood. In this case, increased levels of B12 and folic acid may be recommended; the best case is to meet with a dietician at Integrative Cardiology Center of Long Island to create the best plan for you.
The Importance of Stress Mangement and Exercise
Living with diabetes can be incredibly stressful. Between work, going out, and sleep, there will be times where your blood sugars are abnormally high or low. This may affect your mood, mobility, and strength. For this reason, it is essential to integrate a stress management and exercise program into your regimen. At ICCLI, we offer a weight loss program and a sleep solution and stress program that helps to reach your goals outside of the doctor’s office. Diabetes also increases your risk for coronary artery disease including stroke and heart attack. For this reason, at ICCLI, our board-certified cardiologist, Dr. Regina Druz with subspecialty training in nuclear cardiology, especially focuses on preventing heart disease and catching CAD early.
The Importance of Shorterm and Longterm Goals
Diabetes may be either reversible or not-reversible depending on the etiology. It may also be linked to strong family history. With taking all of these factors into consideration, it is important to set short-term and long-term goals for yourself. At ICCLI, we feel that is important to treat you as a whole person, capable of achieving both long and short-term goals with the proper resources, guidance, and encouragement.
We hope that these tips help raise awareness of diabetes this month. If you or a loved one is dealing with diabetes, there are many options to help keep the body healthy. People can live fulfilling lives with diabetes if appropriately managed. If you are looking for a cardiologist, dietician, or nutritionist, contact us today and find out more about how we can help you feel your best.