Dr Geni Abraham | Diabetes Types | Diabetes Causes | Diabetes Prevention

Nearly 1 in 4 adults are living with diabetes

Key findings from the National Diabetes Statistics Report say that in 2015, 30.3 million Americans, or 9.4% of the population had diabetes.

7.2 million Americans don't even know they have diabetes.

Are you at risk for Diabetes?

Diabetes - What is it?

Diabetes is known as a group of diseases that result in too much sugar in the blood (high blood glucose). High blood glucose over time damages the inside of blood vessels leading to many complications such as strokes, vision loss, heart attack, kidney damage, nerve damage. It is caused by resistance or inadequate production of insulin. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that works like a key to open the cells so sugar can enter and be used for metabolism.

Type 1 or Type 2 - What’s the difference?

Type 1 Diabetes

The pancreas is damaged and insulin production is almost nothing. This can be dangerous and should be treated with Insulin therapy. Since production is compromised Insulin must be replaced. Commonly occurs in young children

Type 2 Diabetes

The production of insulin is not enough, or the lock does not fit the insulin key. This is known as Insulin Resistance

Causes

Family History of diabetes
African-American, Hispanic, Native American, or Asian- American race, Pacific Islander or ethnic background
Being overweight is the leading cause of Insulin Resistance and Type 2 Diabetes
Physical stress (such as surgery or illness)
Use of certain medications, including steroids
Presence of some toxins

Prevention - How to prevent Diabetes?

Type 2 Diabetes is a preventable chronic disease. Managing your weight through a healthy diet, exercise and other measures is the best way to prevent the onset of Diabetes.

This is because the lock on the cell membrane that the insulin connects to can be optimized in shape and then able to be unlocked by the insulin key.

The sooner we adopt a healthy approach to lifestyle, the more diabetes can be prevented

Manage Your Diabetes through Lifestyle, Medications and Monitoring

Effectively managing your health and nutrition is the best way to prevent the onset of Diabetes. Don’t know where to start? Let us guide you through our Lifestyle Program to eliminate guesswork.

Our Lifestyle Program includes a comprehensive plan for better managing your Diabetes through:

Lifestyle
Medications
Monitoring

Check out the details of our Lifestyle Program

Lifestyle

Nutrition: Choose a whole-foods plant-focused Mediterranean diet. It is important that we eat a healthy balanced diet and we can help you learn how

Exercise: A minimum of 30 minutes of daily exercise promotes insulin sensitivity. A daily walk in the sunshine is a great start. Add some strength training and that is enough. Exercise is the best way to improve insulin resistance. With exercise we encourage the muscles to use blood sugars for metabolism. It helps to make the lock and key fit better.

Sleep hygiene: Healthy sleep habits promote insulin sensitivity. Going to bed on time so that you have time to get 7-8 hours of sleep is important. Avoid blue lights that reduce your melatonin production. Have a routine that promotes relaxation and sleep.

Stress support: It is very important that we learn to manage our life stress. Constantly feeling overwhelmed with life produces high cortisol (the stress hormone). High cortisol due to stress will result in increased insulin resistance, weight gain, which lead to diabetes and high blood pressure among other things. We can help you with strategies and supplements to help you learn to better manage the stresses in life.

Supplements: There are supplements that can possibly be helpful. This can be discussed.

Click here to learn how to achieve these lifestyle goals

Medications

There are different classes of medications. They have different functions and can be paired up to control the blood glucose in our blood

Increase insulin production:: Ex. Glipizide

Increase insulin sensitivity:: There are several subgroups that can be combined to promote insulin sensitivity.

Eliminate excess glucose in our urine.: This is the newest group of drugs

Replacement therapy –: Insulin therapy.

Monitoring

There are many blood glucose monitors available. The newer ones can be connected to your smartphone. Your doctor will tell you how often your sugars should be checked.

Always important to check your sugars before a meal or 2 hours after a meal. The target blood sugars vary with age but in general 2 hours after a meal your sugar should be less than 180 and closer to less than 140 in younger patients.