The last words anyone wants to hear are a diagnosis of any nature. If you are a woman juggling life’s challenges – working, cooking, cleaning, daycare, carpools, husbands, partners — you name it, adding another element is devastating.
Then diabetes was added to the mix. As a newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetic you probably were told, along with, “Watch what you eat and get more exercise,” is, “Take this pill and come see me in six months.”
Eat what? More exercise? Are there side effects to this pill? What? When? Why?
We live in a high-speed world of diabetes Olympics. Doctors’ appointments often last less than 15 minutes. In their behalf, they drop the education torch because they’re on an accounting department clock and there is no time left over to educate.
That’s why over 60% of the newly diagnosed get none of that greatly needed diabetes education whatsoever. They live in fear. They’ve heard about Aunt Hilda’s amputation. neighbor Fred’s kidney failure. The co-worker going blind.
Diabetes is an epidemic. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that by the year 2025 50% of US citizens will be either diabetic or pre-diabetic. One out of three babies born in the year 2000 will become diabetic in their lifetime if conditions don’t change. One out of two babies of color face that same future.
With no knowledge of how to handle this frightening disease, patients turn to the Internet. Just Google the word “diabetes” and then look up to the left of your monitor to see how many hundred thousand, or maybe millions, of websites there are for review. Which ones can be trusted? Too many have a miracle cure that costs money.
Let’s back up to before you hear the words, “You have Type 2 diabetes.” You may have been told you’re pre-diabetic. The good news is that Type 2 is preventable. It is delayable. In many cases it is curable. React. Immediately.
The ironic part is that those “…able” words of hope also rely on watching what you eat and getting more exercise. Just like the doc said.
The good news is that you can eat what you have always eaten. It’s all about adjusting the portion sizes and counting carbohydrates. You can do it. It takes just a little education. There is no such thing as a diabetic diet – regardless of what you read on the Internet or heard from some expert.
Why is a healthy diet so important?
One major reason is that our diets have a huge impact on brain function. Who doesn’t want to be smarter? Less forgetful?
Our brains consume over 20% of all nutrients & oxygen that we devour – so it’s important to feed our brains with the good stuff (i.e. nuts, fresh fruit and veggies & plenty of OMEGA 3 oils found in oily fish). Our brains require 130 grams of carbohydrates per day to operate.
Foods high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, junk food and soda — dull brain processes and make the brain foggy and sluggish. Not to mention elevating blood sugars that can cause major complications like those amputations and kidney failures just mentioned.
Green stuff on your plate won’t kill you. If kale makes you shudder, step out of your comfort zone and try just a little. Be brave. Experiment! You might be surprised.
Neither will exercise kill you. Exercise can be simple! Don’t set up a routine that is impossible to maintain. Start slow. Park at the back of the grocery store parking lot. Take the stairs and skip the elevator. Add just a little to your daily routine and build on it. Hey, we’re working on keeping you healthy here!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Meet Sandra Underberg, the Founder/CEO Diabetes Support Services.
Heeding the 2007 call to help those floundering with a diagnosis of diabetes, I had no clue where to start. However, I dived in, created a 501c3 non-profit corporation, and since then am proud to say we have educated and enlightened over 50,000 patients and their families through in-person support group meetings, health fairs, one-on-one consultations, weekly free classes and just being there with compassion and empathy. We cannot count those on social media and the Internet who find us.
Our board provides over 150 years’ experience of living with diabetes either as a patient or a caregiver. Drawing on that history, we have experienced most challenges and offer our expertise to take away the fear and replace it with hope. The results speak for themselves.
As founder, my 62 years’ of personally living as a caregiver for a Type 1 diabetic, extensive research and study, certifications to teach diabetes and chronic condition classes through Stanford University, provides me, as I so often joke, a GED in endocrinology.
My position at Diabetes Support Services is totally volunteer. I take no salary. My goal, and that of my entire volunteer team, is to turn around the CDC statistics of 50% of the American population who will either be diagnosed with diabetes or be pre-diabetic by the year 2025, and see that percentage decrease through education.
