Diabetes speaker: Prevention, education are wave of future
"Insurance companies don't want to pay for us to be sick but for the things that will keep us well,"
"As it's written now with our national health care, certain things are considered elected coverage," she said. "And I know it sounds tough, but if you're 80 years old, currently, the way it's planned, insurance isn't doing much for that person."
"The bottom line is -- we're on our own as far as being healthy," Gabe said. That's just one of the reasons people need to be educated about diseases, some preventable and/or manageable, such as diabetes.
Diabetes education involves knowing whether the disease runs in the family, what the disease actually is and how it can be prevented.
"You might hear people talking about how our society is too obese. But there's more to it than that." she said. "Insulin's No. 1 job is to lower blood sugar and it's No. 2 job is to store fat. So obesity is part of the disease. I'm not saying that can't be overcome or at least improve that risk factor."
Simple sugars, unhealthy fats and a sedentary lifestyle "help lead to diabetes," Gabe said.
"In 1994, in
"We rank sixth in the nation with the most cases of diabetes," Gabe said. While this isn't a good ranking, she said, there is another perspective.
"Perhaps here in
While unhealthy eating habits and a lack of physical fitness can lead to diabetes, so can smoking, Gabe said.
"Nicotine causes insulin resistance," she said. "The cells throughout the body just ignore the insulin so the sugar stays in your blood ... If you have insulin resistance going on, the pancreas overproduces insulin. When a pancreas overproduces insulin, a person gains weight and retains fluid." All of this can lead to diabetes.
"It's important to know that diabetes is the No. 1 cause of nothing," Gabe said. "Uncontrolled diabetes is the No. 1 cause of adult cases of blindness," she added, and it can also lead to other serious health issues.
But with all of that, Gabe said, "there's hope."
"
"Prevention and wellness are the wave of the future," Gabe said. "
"Education and (preventative measures)" such as exercise, go a long way in preventing diabetes, she said.
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