**Before we start - Please
note – this blog is gonna be fact heavy, link heavy, lots of writing and
reading and not many pretty pictures – I will try and keep things light, but I don’t
want to depreciate Diabetes – it is a serious and growing illness in the UK, so
really this week (after last weeks headlines re diabetes and the NHS) we are trying
to create a little more awareness of the symptoms and what you can do to help
yourself. We’ve had over 192,000 views
to our blog and page so far, so if that many people see this, then fingers
crossed the message will be getting through.
Let’s do our bit – read on, like and share **
Diabetes risk
factors (those at higher risk):
Type 2 diabetes (as
explained in last weeks blog (http://nononsensenita.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/diabetes-could-bankrupt-nhs.html) accounts for about 90% of all diabetes in
the UK. Our NHS has clearly stated now
that increasing levels of obesity, lack of exercise, an increase in unhealthy
diets all coupled with an aging population means type 2 diabetes is on a
dramatic rise.
The problem is, type
2 diabetes takes time to develop, it comes on slowly usually after the age of
about 40 but the tricky thing is it can take a good few years to realise that’s
what’s causing your problems as the signs/symptoms may not be very obvious at
first. It is very important however, that diabetes is diagnosed as early as
possible because if left untreated it will get progressively worse.
The good news is,
these days we are becoming slightly more aware of the risk factors as well as
the symptoms, so earlier detection or indeed prevention can come into play.
So to make sure
everyone reading this is aware let’s highlight the risk factors. Some risks are genetic and some
preventable. You are more at risk of
type 2 diabetes if:
- You are overweight – this is one of the leading factors – a high BMI or being overweight/obese is the number 1 risk factor leading to diabetes. You are even more at risk if you carry that extra weight around your middle – for a woman a waist circumference more than 80cms (approx. 31.5 inches) and for man a waist higher than 94cms (or 37 inches) puts you at a higher risk.
- You are from any of the following ethnic backgrounds – African, African-Caribbean, Chinese, South Asian (type 2 diabetes is 6 times more likely in people of South Asian descent, and India and China are currently regarded as the diabetes capitals of the world!)
- If you have a parent or sibling with diabetes
- If you have (or have ever had) high blood pressure and/or suffered a heart attack or stroke
- If you are a woman with a history of PCOS or gestational diabetes (as mentioned in last weeks blog too LINK)
- If you have a mental health disorder such as depression, bipolar or schizophrenia that you are taking medication for
Just make sure you
have your height, weight and waist measurements to hand and DON’T FREAK OUT if
it looks like you are high, moderate or increased risk. Testing myself I’m at the “increased” stage,
but I know there are things I can do now to help. In fact the websites of
course give you help, ideas, eating plans and even charts etc to help you help
yourself should your results appear anything but low. Also, please remember
this is only a home test, please take into account the other risk factors above,
and at the symptoms listed below as well and of course see your doc if you
really are worried.
Type 2 diabetes
symptoms:
The main symptoms of
type 2 diabetes occur because glucose is staying in your blood, rather than
being used as fuel/energy, therefore your body tries to get rid of it by
urinating, leading to:
- Urinating more frequently (especially at night)
- Feeling thirsty all the time / increased thirst
- Feeling tired particularly during the day and/or after meals
- Unexplained weight loss / loss of muscle
- Cuts or wounds that take a long time to heal
- Dry eyes and/or blurred vision
- Frequent episodes of thrush, or itching around the genitals
- Often feeling hungry (shortly after eating)
Now we know who’s as
risk, we know the symptoms to look out for and we can test ourselves (online),
so before we look at what we can do to reduce our risks and avoid these
symptoms – just so you know why we are banging on about it so much - here is
what having type 2 diabetes can lead to and why we want to avoid it:
Type 2 diabetes can
cause serious long term health problems (info points from www.nhs.co.uk / 2014)
- The most common is visual impairment and eye problems – for a fuller understanding please visit this link: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-complications/eye-problems.html
- It can also lead to amputation of the lower limbs. For people with diabetes this is due to nerve damage to the limbs, making them less aware of any minor injury or wound – in particular wounds effecting the feet. This is often referred to as PAD – Peripheral Arterial Disease – you can find out more about it here: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-complications/peripheral-arterial-disease.html and see how to take care of your feet here: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/foothealth/Pages/Diabetesandfeet.aspx
- Diabetes is responsible for most cases of kidney failure or CKD – Chronic Kidney Disease. If you have been diagnosed with diabetes you will be screened for CKD annually. CKD risk increases with age as well so an older person with diabetes will be most at risk. For further info - http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Kidney-disease-chronic/Pages/Introduction.aspx
- And currently people with diabetes are 5 times more likely to suffer cardiovascular disease and/or stroke. There is a video here from the British Heart Foundation that tells us more:
OK – that’s the
scary stuff over with – but we need to know it so we understand WHY we need to
look at preventing type 2 diabetes. As
we said upfront there are genetic risk factors we can’t do anything about. But the good news is that on the other hand there
ARE factors that the NHS have explicitly linked now with type 2 diabetes that
we CAN totally do something about. We
can change/update lifestyle factors to keep us safe and out of trouble for as
long as possible (and of course in the long run that will help avoid end stage
or emergency treatment and therefore reduce the cost to the NHS – remember last
weeks headline??)
The main preventable
risk factor is OBESITY
If you measure over
30 on the BMI scale and especially if you carry the extra weight around the
middle as already pointed out, then you will be at a higher risk of developing
type 2 diabetes. You can check your BMI
on this chart:
or via the nhs BMI
calculator here:
HOWEVER – just a 5%
reduction in body weight can lead to a 50% reduction in developing diabetes, as
lower body weight improves blood glucose levels.
QUESTION:
So if you need to lose this 5% body weight – how do you do it?
ANSWER:
There are no short cuts, it’s the same old mantra I’m afraid – you
need to eat healthier, probably eat a little less and take regular exercise.
There are soooooo
many DIETS out there that promise weight loss.
I’m not sure any of them are 100% effective and won’t go into pros and
cons of any here, what I do know is that you need to find a healthy eating plan
you can stick to – something that works for you, for life. We don't promote rapid weight loss diets, but healthy eating. Rapid weight loss leads to yo-yo dieting as we are probably all aware off, loosing the weight, then piling it all back on again - plus some - this is NOT healthy and especially bad when considering diabetes risks. PLUS everyone is different, weight loss / weight management is not a one
size fits all scenario. At no nonsense
nutrition we do provide an 8 week weight management programme to kick start you
into healthy eating habits as we realise it’s not easy, that everyone will need
to do it differently and most need a little help and support in getting started
on something that they can keep up for a long time to come. We focus on simple, easy lifestyle changes
and I’m happy to share a few common weight management tips here:
- How about reducing portion sizes – most of us are guilty – even if we eat fruit and salad and all the things we think are good for us, we generally (as a nation) eat too much of them.
- How about basing meals around the green stuff – ie filling half the plate with veggies before adding protein, carbohydrates – leaving less room for them means you will have to eat less of the foods with the higher calories!
- How about avoiding, or at least cutting down on refined carbs/sugars – ie avoiding the white stuff – white bread, rice, pasta, flour and reducing your snacking on pastries, biscuits, cakes etc?
- It’s probably a good idea to keep an eye on your alcohol intake too – thinking about alcohol ‘portions’ too. If you’re drinking at home maybe pour a smaller glass of wine, add more tonic and less vodka, and just a small bottle or half a beer/cider/ale yeah? Remember alcohol is very high in calories and sugars and good for not much else (apart from giggles and hangovers obviously!)
For more tips or to
find out more about the 8 week programme, or one to one consultations you can
email us info@nitakothari.com
What about exercise
and activity? Movement is something we all lack too these
days – more and more of us, especially those who are older (and at higher risk
of diabetes) are leading a more sedentary lifestyle. We rely on public transport or the car, we
don’t tend to walk as much. Not as many
of us are in manual labour, but more are at desk jobs meaning we are sitting
down pretty much all day. We need to get
moving. What’s the best way? WALKING FOR HEALTH. At no nonsense we recommend walking as the
easiest, cheapest and therefore most accessible form of exercise to incorporate
into your daily/weekly schedule. Check
out more about walking for health on our website here: http://www.nitakothari.com/walking-for-health/
You can also check the details in
this video from diabetes UK which will give you more ideas on how to lose that
5% too if you need.
For more tips and info diabetes specific - see https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Managing-your-diabetes/Healthy-eating/Top-tips/
for tops tips for eating healthy and https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Managing-your-diabetes/Exercise/
for top tips on getting more exercise – both from diabetes UK.
For more info on a
healthy diet if you have already been diagnosed with diabetes – you can
download a guide here: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diet-basics.html
OK - Lots of facts and
links and a lot to take in there so thanks for sticking with us, I hope we’ve
highlights the risk factors and outcomes of diabetes. As this is such a growing disease and will
apparently bankrupt the NHS if we don’t do something about it now, I really
wanted to focus on it these last couple of weeks. Of course, as usual there is so much more we
could talk about – the treatments for diabetes, the glycaemic index and
glycaemic load of foods, which ones to eat and to avoid if you are diagnosed,
how and when to have checks, what diabetes tests involve at the GP…..etc. As this is NOT a medical blog though these
things are all better discussed with your health professional. This we hope serves as a 2 part guide to the
basics of diabetes to raise a little
more awareness and encourage you to look into your own risk factors and
lifestyle changes that can help prevent the disease.
We would therefore
encourage you to read the links, share this and help others become more aware –
you can do this via our social media outlets:
Or by emailing info@nitakothari.com
for further info and/or a consultation
and look at the 8 week weight management programme.
(If you are local to
Reading and the South east of England see this link for volunteers: http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/diabetes-uk-looking-volunteers-tackle-9887870 )
www.nitakothari.com
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