Local residents strive to beat diabetes, one step at a time

         At 8 a.m. on November 7, Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes, also called Walk on the Wild Side, will take place at the Jacksonville Zoo. The walk, sponsored by the American Diabetes Association, will attract about 2,000 walkers on 200 teams.

According to Step-Out coordinator Amanda Intravaia, the fundraising goal for this year is $350,000. That money helps fund research, programs and awareness for diabetes. This year’s walk will also recognize and honor walkers who have diabetes. The Red Striders will have a special edition red hat and will celebrate the day at a party tent sponsored by Pfizer.

            Intravaia, who is 24-years-old, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age four. “It is inspirational to me to see so many people coming together to fight something that I’ve lived with for twenty years,” she says.

Channel 4 weather man Richard Nunn is this year’s walk chair. Nunn’s passion for supporting the American Diabetes Association stems from his own family’s health challenges. “Some of them have succumbed to diabetes and some of them live with it on a daily basis,” he says. “The statistics are alarming that every few seconds someone is diagnosed with diabetes and every few minutes someone dies from the disease. I want to help find a way to pass diabetes.”

With all the choices in sugar substitutes, it’s easy to get your sweet fix

 Slide into a booth at any diner and you’re likely to find a colorful bouquet of artificial sweetener packets adorning the back edge of the table. Most of us have grown so accustomed to the familiar pink, blue and yellow squares that we hardly give them a second glance. According to the Calorie Control Council, an international association representing the low-calorie and reduced-fat food and beverage industry, 194 million adult Americans consume low-calorie/sugar free foods and beverages.

From the sage advice of Mary Poppins, “just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down,” to the popular teen phrase, “sweet,” most of us associate sweetness with goodness. In fact, the United States Department of Agriculture reports that the average American consumes 20 teaspoons of sugar per day, more than double the recommended amount. For diabetics, dieters and others looking to decrease their sugar intake, artificial sweeteners are a welcome alternative.

Sally Clifton, MSH, RD, LD/N, Clinical Dietitian at Shands Jacksonville and President of the Jacksonville Dietetic Association, agrees sweeteners are a wonderful way to satisfy cravings without raising blood sugar. She believes they are beneficial to a diabetic diet if used correctly.  “Moderation is really the key. By eating small amounts throughout the day and sticking with recommended serving sizes, these products can be incorporated into a balanced diet.”

A little forethought can make all the difference

            If you have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a visit with a diabetes educator or a dietitian can help you learn how to modify your diet and help manage your diabetes.

Awareness, education and putting what you learn into practice are the keys to better diabetes management. Some simple reminders and guidelines can help you get started:

           

• Exercise! According to Jodi Brindisi, RD, at Baptist Health, “Exercise is so important. The recommendation for daily exercise time has been increased to 60 minutes a day,” she says. Breaking the time up into ten minute increments throughout the day makes it possible. “It is important because physical activity helps you control your blood sugar level,” says Brindisi.
• Consistent meal planning! “Everyone should have a small meal or a snack every four hours,” says Brindisi. “Plan for those meals and also plan for healthy snacks.”
• Check your blood sugars regularly so you can best plan your meals and snacks.

The cure for diabetes is a good way off, partly because the explosive growth of the disease has turned attention to its early detection, halting its progression and preventing complications. “If you identify the problem early enough, exercise and weight loss can be thought of as a partial cure,” says J. Gary Evans, M.D., who is involved in research for Northeast Florida Endocrine and Diabetes Associates.

While prevention holds the greatest promise, Dr. Evans and others are looking into the different pieces of the diabetes puzzle. “There are various classes of diabetes medications, each of which work slightly differently than the others,” says Dr. Evans. “In combination they often compliment each other.”

Diabetes is a dynamic progressive disease and often requires the addition of one or more medications to achieve insulin control. Data shows that some medications, such as Metformin, reduce the risk of progression. “Where Metformin reduces sugar output from the liver, another class of medications, such as Sulfonylureas, stimulate insulin production from the pancreas,” explains Dr. Evans. “Another class of medications called TZDs, such as Actos, is an insulin synthesizer. It helps the tissue, muscles and blood cells respond more effectively to the patient’s own insulin.”

As diabetes sweeps through the population, physicians and patients are learning more about the disease and how best to fight its debilitating complications

With one in three Americans at risk for diabetes and the country facing pandemic growth of the disease, you’d think everyone knows all about it. But they don’t. In fact, millions of Americans are well on their way to developing diabetes and don’t even know it. Doctors say that it’s imperative for Americans to learn about the disease so they can prevent becoming diabetic and minimize its damage if they do become diabetic.

            Diabetes upsets our regular metabolism, the chemical reactions and processes our body normally executes to keep us healthy. In the case of diabetes, that involves the processing of sugar. Glucose is the type of sugar our body uses as its main source of energy and it comes from carbohydrate foods. The pancreas normally controls sugar levels by producing insulin, an energy-storing hormone that pulls blood sugar out of the bloodstream and saves it in the cells as fat. When the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or the body becomes resistant to insulin, our sugar levels rise.