While most people think Thanksgiving starts the
holiday weight gain, New York City Fitness Professional,
Katrina McKenna, claims it starts with Halloween and
that this hits people with Diabetes exceptionally hard.

Excess sugar and weight gain are the last things a
person with diabetes needs. Excess weight often
makes the disease worse. A major aspect of Type
2 diabetes is insulin resistance or the inability of
the cells to work with insulin and weight gain
usually makes this worse.

Excess sugar will wreak havoc on a person’s blood
sugar level. Repeatedly high blood sugar levels are
the cause of most diabetic complications such as eye
disease, kidney disease and cardiovascular problems.

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death (fifth
leading cause of death by disease); it affects over 20
million Americans! Another 40 million Americans have
pre-diabetes. Many of these people do not even know it.

The excess sugar and weight gain can be the cause of
someone with pre-diabetes becoming a full-fledged
diabetic. Katrina encourages all people with diabetes,
or pre-diabetes to avoid excess treats, so they do not
turn out to be a horrible trick.

Some tips to reduce the treat intake:
1. If you give out candy to trick-or-treat-ers, do not buy
it until the last minute. The less time it is in your house
the better.
2. Buy candy you do not like. You will be less tempted
buy it.
3. Give out healthy alternatives, apples, oranges,
raisins, yogurt, money. With the epidemic of childhood
obesity, everyone should be considering ways of reversing it.
4. Get rid of all leftovers, give them to a local homeless
shelter, skinny friends, or just throw them out
5. Allow yourself to have a couple pieces (depending on
size, 1 – 2 “fun” size candy bars) of candy, but only after
having a healthy meal of lean protein, and lots of green
vegetables, the fiber and protein will slow down the
absorption of the sugar into the bloodstream, psychologically
it is easier to be healthy most of the time if we do allow
treats occasionally (1 time per week).

November is National Diabetes Awareness month. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death (fifth leading cause of death by disease) in America. According to the American Diabetes Association Diabetes affects over 20 million Americans, that’s 7% of the population! Another 41 million Americans have pre-diabetes. That means out of every 5 people at least one of them has either diabetes or pre-diabetes. Chances are this includes you are someone you know. Every day approximately 2,200 people are diagnosed with diabetes, and the statistics getting worse each year.

I believe we can reverse this trend through education and awareness. Here are 7 things that we all can do to reverse the trend and eliminate the need for Diabetes Awareness Month.

1. Talk to your doctor, if you have diabetes or are at risk for diabetes you must find out as much as possible from your doctor as soon as possible.

2. If you have diabetes, learn how to manage your blood sugar. This is vitally important to reduce the risk of serious complications, such as heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations.

3. If you do not have diabetes, find out if you are at-risk. Find out how you can reduce your risk factors, to prevent or postpone a diagnosis.

4. Donate to the American Diabetes Association, directly or sponsor someone in the Diabetes Walk or the Tour de Cure. You can participate or volunteer for one of these events. Find out more from the American Diabetes Association at http://www.diabetes.org

5. Maintain or obtain a healthy weight. If you have diabetes, losing weight will improve your blood sugar control, and if you are risk, it reduces your likelihood of becoming diabetic.

6. Eat a healthy diet. A healthy diet will also help keep your blood sugar stable and helps you maintain a healthy weight. Moderating calories helps maintain or lose weight, and controlling the amount of carbohydrates and when you eat them helps control your blood sugar.

7. Exercise regularly. Exercise is very important in controlling blood sugar and even preventing diabetes. Moderate exercise most days of the week improves insulin resistance and assists in weight-loss or maintenance. Exercise is vital tool for a long, healthy life whether you have diabetes or not.

Exercise is an important tool in managing your diabetes in order to live a longer, healthier life.

1. Exercise increase insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism. The key problem of Type 2 diabetics is insulin insensitivity, or insulin resistance. By exercising you can improve how well your insulin works; this helps you to control your blood glucose level.

2. Exercise improves your cholesterol levels. Exercise helps by raising the good kind of cholesterol (HDL) and lowering the bad kind of cholesterol (LDL). Exercise can also lower triglyceride levels. This is good news for diabetics as diabetics are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. I myself have had cholesterol problems, but between proper diet and exercise and no drugs, I now have a much healthier cholesterol levels.

3. Exercise can decrease blood pressure. Many diabetics also have hypertension or high blood pressure. Exercising can reduce both your resting blood pressure and your blood pressure during effort (including exercise). This is very important for reducing your chances of heart disease and stroke. I also used be on blood pressure medication, and have been able to get off the drugs. Because of the strong genetic component, this took more than just diet and exercise; I take several supplements specifically to help keep my blood pressure in the healthy ranges. I also work on stress management and meditate, but exercise is a key ingredient to lowering it in most people.

4. Exercise can also improve heart efficiency, and help it work less. This also helps with the cardiovascular risk factors. You will be able to exercise harder and it does not feel harder. This will make performing your daily tasks easier. Many people do not exercise because they think they do not have the energy. They need to exercise to get the energy. Your resting heart rate can also lower.

5. Exercise can improve your mood. Diabetes can be a stressful disease, exercising can help you feel better mentally. Exercise can even improve depression which can be an issue with a disease like diabetes.

6. Exercise aids dramatically in weight-loss and maintaining weight-loss. Specifically, the right kind and right amount of exercise aids in fat-loss and preservation of muscle tissue. Losing weight can improve blood pressure, insulin resistance, glucose levels, and cholesterol levels above and beyond what exercise alone does.

7. Exercise helps you to reduce your chances of diabetic complications. Better control of your blood glucose helps prevent serious complications of diabetes, including blindness, neuropathy, and kidney failure.

Please talk to your doctor and start exercising!
You will feel so much better!