Wednesday, August 27, 2014

That won't happen to me! The Diabetic Time Bomb! (warning graphic pictures)



“Yeah but it won’t happen to me!”  With this statement we shrug off the implication of being overweight and inactive.  Sure there is some information about chronic disease but that’s what happens to others!

Right now in America we have a time bomb ticking.  The scary part is that it’s not a matter of if the bomb will blow but when?  (Don’t laugh rest of the world you are right there with us.)  Imagine a bomb that could kill over 100 Million Americans?  In the face of such a threat everyone would mobilize to prevent it.  The threat is real and yet goes largely unnoticed by the world.  The threat is called Diabetes, specifically type 2.  It is estimated that approximately 24 Million Americans have already been diagnosed and another 80 Million have prediabetes (Metabolic Syndrome by another name).  A little quick math tells us that over 100 Million Americans will have Type 2 Diabetes in the next 10 years.  This is where the “Yeah, but it won’t happen to me!” starts to show up.  Daily people are diagnosed and warned by their doctors about the impending disease but other than a little fatigue they don’t really feel different. So why make any changes?  By the time you are diagnosed with pre-Diabetes you are already in the second phase of the disease.  Without realizing it your body was slowly building up a resistance to insulin. Insulin is necessary to control the amount of sugar in your blood (known as glucose).  By Phase 2 (pre-diabetes) the cells that produce insulin in your pancreas are being impaired and yet we still have very few symptoms (we just don’t feel different).  Then one day we pass the threshold and now officially have type 2 Diabetes.  Our doctors warn us about the dangers of the disease and yet we still don’t feel bad.  They give us some medication and tell us to lose weight and get active but we answer “come on Doc, Really?  I feel fine, nothing bad is going to happen to me!”  

On we go for several years and other than the annoying warnings of the doctor and the increases in medication nothing really changes. It can take 4 to 7 years for the disease to really set in.  But then one day, the bomb goes off.  The leading treat from having Diabetes is Heart Disease which accounts for more than 50% of Diabetes related deaths.  But, that’s still only 50%, “that won’t happen to me!” 


 

I’m sure it will get better soon!!

 

Any Day now it’s going to heal up…

 

Maybe it’s time to see the Doctor…



 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The disease has now become very, very real but there is no rewind button.  If only there had been something you could have done earlier to prevent this!!!  Oh, that’s right there was.  Of the three main risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes only one, heredity, is not modifiable the others Obesity and Physical inactivity are completely modifiable.  By losing weight and becoming physically active over 80% of Chronic Diseases like Heart Disease and Diabetes are preventable.   So we have the choice we can either continue path to heart disease and diabetes or we can change to a healthy lifestyle.  Still not enough motivation to make a change then consider this…

Our children are following in our footsteps of poor nutrition and inactivity.  What was once known as “Adult Onset” Diabetes was changed to “Type 2” because it’s now showing up in children.  So what can be done to prevent our children from going down this path?  For adolescents and children with type 2 diabetes, the goals of therapy are the same as for any person with diabetes: achieve physical and psychological wellbeing while controlling the glucose levels. In other words, maintain a healthy weight and increase physical activity. 

This is the reason we need a Healthy Family Evolution!  This is the reason for the Healthy Family Challenge!  It’s not a matter of IF Diabetes will get you, it’s a matter of WHEN!  Ask your children “what do you want to be when you grow up?”  There won’t be any that say “I want to be an amputee, with out of control Diabetes!  Maybe have a few heart attacks and die at an early age.” 

The time for the change is now!  The sooner you get started the easier it is to turn things around.    The Healthy Family Challenge is registering now.  more information at www.myTERRIO.com
 

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