Gaining Control of Diabetes Can Be Critical for African Americans at Risk

It is Black History Month, and Restore is advocating for BHM Minority Health Awareness. Know Your Diabetes Risk to Manage Your Health. Knowledge is power because knowing your risk can help encourage healthy change. If you are African American you are at a much higher risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes than non-Hispanic White adults. According to the US Department of Minority Health, the risk is actually 60 percent more. And you are twice as likely to die from diabetes if you are African American. Those are pretty staggering numbers.

We don’t share this information to scare you, but rather inform you to make decisions to reduce the risks associated with this disease. We offer the tips below to help focus on the health and wellness of our patients who are at an increased risk of problems that are consistently associated with diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes means that your insulin, a hormone made by your pancreas that allows blood sugar into the cells in your body for use as energy, doesn’t respond normally. Your pancreas will then make more insulin to try to get cells to respond. Eventually your pancreas can’t keep up, and your blood sugar rises, leading to prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.¹

High blood sugar can be harmful to the body and can cause serious health problems, such as heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease.1 For patients who have chronic wounds, diabetes can cause complications towards healing as well. Other known risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes includes age of 45 years and older, a family history of diabetes and being overweight or obese.²

Build Your Team and Own Your Part

We know diabetes is best managed as a team approach, and we are here to guide you with programs like our Chronic Wound Care and Restore PIR Therapies, but diabetes is also a disease that needs to be cared for by YOU. You can control your diet, see the right doctors, and get as much physical activity as possible. Weight management is one of the important and often most difficult parts of our wellness to get under control, but can have one of the most significant impacts on all aspects of our health.3 It’s not easy, but managing these important things can have major positive influences on how your diabetes affects your life.

Consultation with a professional diabetic nutrition expert can be extremely beneficial to create a custom nutrition plan that meets your preferences and targeted measures of each type of food. Consider nutrition therapy as part of the education component leading to better health outcomes.³ Getting the right mix of nutrients can help stabilize the sudden drops or elevation of blood sugar levels. The American Diabetes Association has some great information here about what to fill your plate with and how to decide the best foods for your diabetes management.

Water intake is another important factor to maintaining better blood glucose levels. When we select drinks that contain sugar, like juices or soda, it can have an immediate effect on the blood sugar level in the body. Water is the most healthy option for not only insulin levels, but weight loss as well. If you are looking for a little flavor in your day, enjoy some all-natural flavor by adding lemon, cucumber slices or mint leaves to your water.

The Restore PIR Therapies program may also be right for you if you have health challenges like neuropathy, hypertension, or Type 1, Type 2, or Pre-diabetes. PIR is Physiologic Insulin Resensitization. Check out the link to learn more about this ground-breaking option.

The most important thing to do is talk to your doctor about the best options for making positive and sustainable changes in your life. The more knowledge you have about your potential for Diabetes, or caring for yourself if you are a Diabetic patient, the better decisions you can make in your everyday life.

Recap:

BHM Minority Health Awareness

• Knowledge is Power, follow the reference links below to learn more
• African Americans are twice as likely to die from Diabetes than Non-Hispanic Whites
• Manage your weight, exercise, and nutrition
• Explore Restore PIR Therapies
• Own Your Health Outcomes

References:

1. Type 2 Diabetes | CDC
2. Factors contributing to higher incidence of diabetes for black Americans | National Institutes of Health (NIH)
3. The importance of weight management in type 2 diabetes mellitus