Good News About Diabetes

By Wayne Andersen, DO, MD

Diabetes is one of the most prevalent diseases affecting Americans today. In the United States alone, it is estimated that 11.1 million people have diabetes, but only 5.2 million people have actually been diagnosed with the disease. Often diabetes goes undiagnosed because many of its symptoms seem so harmless.

This disease can produce life-threatening effects on the body that can markedly decrease the quality of your life as well as how long you live. Diabetes is also the leading cause of adult blindness, kidney disease, lower limb amputation, and cardiovascular disease such as heart attack and stroke. But with proper medical management, including diet, people with diabetes might not develop these problems.

The importance of early detection can be life saving. Until now, the only real treatment for diabetes was medical intervention including oral medication or via insulin shots. Currently more and more research is showing that nutritional intervention, a low calorie and low fat diet, plus exercise is much more effective than medication in preventing the progression to diabetes in those with pre-diabetic states.

More recently, at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University Hospital, interim results are showing that portion controlled, low glycemic, balanced meal replacements are twice as effective as the traditional ADA diet in helping the diabetic to lose weight and get healthy. They found that the meal replacement programs are easy to follow, and the results are relatively fast; therefore, compliance was also greater.

Studies have also found that a diet including at least 25 grams of soy protein can reduce heart disease risk and may be as effective as statin drugs in lowering cholesterol without the side effects. It is imperative that diabetics take every step to protect their heart as stroke and heart attack are top killers of diabetes.

So, what does this all mean? This means that if you are at risk for or have already been diagnosed with diabetes, you can now take an active role in your own health by improving your nutritional intake and adding exercise to your daily routine. Doesn't it feel good to know there is something you can do?