A healthier you learning the facts and figures about diabetes

Ebony, March, 2008 by James R. Gavin, III

How many of us remember dire warnings from older loved ones, "If you keep eating a lot of candy, you are going to catch sugar diabetes?" Hopefully by now you know that isn't true; eating a lot of candy does not cause diabetes.

Because you read this special section each year, you now know that diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, resulting in the body's inability to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. The exact cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery to doctors and researchers, although genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play a major role in developing type 2 diabetes.

We hope you also know that the only way you can be diagnosed with diabetes is by having a blood test administered by a health care professional. In order to determine whether or not a person has pre-diabetes or diabetes, health care providers conduct a fasting plasma glucose test (FPG) or an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Either test can be used to diagnose pre-diabetes or diabetes.

Every year, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) works with EBONY to make sure you have the latest facts about diabetes. Facing the facts is the first step to combating this growing epidemic. Unfortunately, many families are continuing to make the wrong choices in preventing diabetes and, as a result, the disease's complications continue to have a disproportionately adverse effect on the African-American community. Too many of these wrong choices are inspired by the persistence of long-standing myths about diabetes.

First, there's no diabetes "sentence" guaranteed to a person from a family with a strong gene pool for diabetes. Indeed, diabetes does have a genetic component and tends to run in families, which implies a level of risk, not certainty of disease. The ADA is developing materials to show how to halt the progression from pre-diabetes to type 2 diabetes and even "turn back the clock." Yes, even with a genetic risk you can prevent the development of this disease.

Second, a person with diabetes can eat the same healthy foods as someone without diabetes, and there is no need to shop at a specialty store. Healthy eating includes eating a variety of foods, including vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nonfat dairy products, beans and lean meats, poultry and fish. It is important to eat meals low in fat, especially saturated and trans fat, with moderate salt and sugar intake. These are the nutritional recommendations for healthy eating for the entire family. People with diabetes simply have a greater urgency to adhere to them.

Dietitians help people with diabetes design their own meal plans to include their favorite foods. Portion control is key. The optimal proportions of carbohydrates, protein and fat are different for each person with diabetes to reach their blood glucose, cholesterol, blood pressure and weight-management goals. The ADA has produced many helpful tools that can assist you in following healthy eating patterns.

People with diabetes have the same nutritional needs as anyone else. Along with exercise and medications (insulin or oral diabetes pills), nutrition is important for good diabetes control. By eating well-balanced meals in the correct amounts, you can keep your blood-glucose level as close to normal (non-diabetes level) as possible.

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Be sure to visit www.diabetes.org, or connect with a local American Diabetes Association office in your area by calling 1-888-DIABETES (342-2383) to participate in community events throughout the year for families and children affected by diabetes. Let's lift up the facts and avoid the myths about diabetes, for that's the path to more prevention and better care.

James R. Gavin III, M.D., Ph.D. is CEO & chief medical officer for Healing Our Village, Inc. and clinical professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta. He is past chairman of the National Diabetes Education Program and past president of the American Diabetes Association.

BY JAMES R. GAVIN III, M.D., PH.D.