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Control your diabetes for life
Submitted by news17 on November 13, 2009 - 5:29pm.
From the Minnesota Diabetes Collaborative
Did you know that nearly 24 million children and adults in the United States live with diabetes? Another 57 million have prediabetes, putting them at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
In Minnesota, one in three people (over 1.1 million) have prediabetes, including 92,000 children!
If you don’t have diabetes or prediabetes, know your risk. Take the diabetes risk test — available in English and Spanish — from the American Diabetes Association at (800) 342-2383 or at www.diabetes.org/risk-test.jsp. It asks simple questions about your weight, age, family history and other risk factors and will show you whether you are at low, moderate, or high risk for diabetes. Knowing your risk can empower you to make changes to prevent or delay diabetes.
If you already have prediabetes, the Minnesota Diabetes Collaborative reminds you that you may be able to cut your diabetes risk in half by taking a few simple steps:
• Get tested for diabetes every year.
• Get at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day, 5 days a week.
• Eat a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products and lean meats.
• If you are overweight, try losing 5 percent to 7 percent of your body weight (usually about 10 pounds) by cutting back on how much you eat.
• Talk to your doctor about what steps and goals are best for you.
If you are one of the 375,000 Minnesotans who knows they have diabetes, you are urged to practice good self-care to prevent complications. To stay healthy:
• Test your blood sugar regularly.
• Eat healthy foods – more fruits, vegetables and whole grains and less fat.
• Be active up to 30 minutes of physical activity a day, 5 days a week.
• Do not smoke.
• Take your medicines as prescribed.
• See your doctor regularly.
• Check your blood pressure and keep it under 130/80.
