14th November is World Diabetes Day.
The reason why I'm blogging about this is because my mother's sister suffers from Type 2 Diabetes. We don't have any substantial medical history if my mother's parents or other relatives suffers from the disease previously. So, when we heard that she had it, we were shocked.
A lot of folks do not realize the dangers of consuming too much refined sugars in our diet.
There are also alot of myths surrounding getting the disease such as "I'm thin, I won't get the disease" or "None of my family members had the disease and so, I won't get it."
Based on what I've read, it seems that researchers cannot pinpoint exactly why some adults will develop the disease despite being perfectly healthy and active. Of course, being overweight and not having a healthy lifestyle makes us more susceptible to developing the disease.
Some years back, my family discovered a book on the dangers of sugar and we started to cut back on our intake of processed foods. However, I've learned now that cutting back sugars is only 1 small part of the puzzle. The major part of the staying healthy is to be active, i.e. exercising.
My recent health scare has prompted me to take a more serious action on this as diabetes can cause many problems such as heart disease and kidney problems. Diabetes can also destroy nerves which leads to limb amputation and blindness. I learned that my blood sugar was a bit high and so, decided to learn more about this disease.
However, if you get diabetes, it does not mean that you'll need to have insulin injections. There is oral medication if you are found to be insulin resistant. That's why it is important to have a full medical check-up as the doctor would be able to prescribe the right therapy for you.
Besides that, getting diabetes also does not mean that your diet must be entirely sugar free. Diet changes should be to cut back on all foods with refined sugars such as white bread, sugar (obviously), soda drinks, anything which contains "corn syrup or high fructose syrup". Diabetics can still take sugars but in very very small amounts and less frequent as possible. Our bodies still need sugars as fuel.
Get your blood sugar checked. Prevention is better than cure...
The reason why I'm blogging about this is because my mother's sister suffers from Type 2 Diabetes. We don't have any substantial medical history if my mother's parents or other relatives suffers from the disease previously. So, when we heard that she had it, we were shocked.
A lot of folks do not realize the dangers of consuming too much refined sugars in our diet.
There are also alot of myths surrounding getting the disease such as "I'm thin, I won't get the disease" or "None of my family members had the disease and so, I won't get it."
Based on what I've read, it seems that researchers cannot pinpoint exactly why some adults will develop the disease despite being perfectly healthy and active. Of course, being overweight and not having a healthy lifestyle makes us more susceptible to developing the disease.
Some years back, my family discovered a book on the dangers of sugar and we started to cut back on our intake of processed foods. However, I've learned now that cutting back sugars is only 1 small part of the puzzle. The major part of the staying healthy is to be active, i.e. exercising.
My recent health scare has prompted me to take a more serious action on this as diabetes can cause many problems such as heart disease and kidney problems. Diabetes can also destroy nerves which leads to limb amputation and blindness. I learned that my blood sugar was a bit high and so, decided to learn more about this disease.
However, if you get diabetes, it does not mean that you'll need to have insulin injections. There is oral medication if you are found to be insulin resistant. That's why it is important to have a full medical check-up as the doctor would be able to prescribe the right therapy for you.
Besides that, getting diabetes also does not mean that your diet must be entirely sugar free. Diet changes should be to cut back on all foods with refined sugars such as white bread, sugar (obviously), soda drinks, anything which contains "corn syrup or high fructose syrup". Diabetics can still take sugars but in very very small amounts and less frequent as possible. Our bodies still need sugars as fuel.
Get your blood sugar checked. Prevention is better than cure...
Yes, you are right. Prevention is always better than cure. Because there is no cure for diabetes. Once you get it, you will have it for life and the most you can do is to manage it well.
ReplyDeleteDiabetes is known as the "supermarket" of all diseases. Because once you have it, your risk for several other diseases increase eg. heart disease, kidney disease, eye problems etc.
And if you have both high blood pressure and diabetes, that's a double whammer cos your risk of heart and kidney problems will increase many folds!
So yes, stay active, don't eat processed food and have enough sleep and rest. Which is harder to do than I expected! : (
I also agreed with what foongpc said.
ReplyDeleteActually, I myself also feel that my health not as good as young time already.. Cannot work late.. Work late will feel tired.. :(
www.keeyit.com
Same here. Sometimes I eat too much. I'm really worried that my health is not good anymore. :(
ReplyDeletei am back from krabi...thanks for ur support and visit to my site.
ReplyDeletei read the front cover of the star newspaper...damn, i will reduce my sugar intake!
That's what I've been telling people all this while: you may eat that cake once in a while but when that once in a while turns to 4 times a week, then you know you gotta stop somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI love me my cakes and fried food but one must know when to stuff ourselves silly and when not to stuff ourselves at all.
Hi all!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. ;-)
foongpc - You've said it! Bingo!! Yes, it's harder to stay away from processed foods as it is so convenient. I believe there are so many of us who would reach for that packet of Maggi Mee for lunch/dinner as it is so convenient... Anyway, I hope to share some of my healthy recipes as it is fast and easy to prepare.
As for exercise, that is something we have to make time for. I hope most companies will eventually understand that work/life balance for work, exercise and rest will be good in the long term; happy & healthy employees = higher productivity = more $$
keeyit - We're no longer 18 or 22 liao-lo. Don't work too hard, ok? Or else, we take all the $$ we earn to spend to treat our illnesses!
Tekkaus - Stop worrying and start doing something about it-lo. First thing is, check your health & then slowly take action. Am sure you can stay healthy.
vialentino - It's good to take a trip to destress. I took a trip to the hospital to destress. LOL!!
Cut out sugar, it's a very good step.
Chris - I love my cakes too but after what the doc told me, I've got to say bye bye to them.
Anyway, I won't lose out as I'm exploring other stuff to eat, i.e. healthy options...