35: Understanding Diabetes Risk Factors and Lifestyle Changes That Protect Your Health

Diabetes is one of the most preventable chronic diseases — and most people don't know if they're at risk. In this episode, we break down the key risk factors, what the research says about diet and lifestyle's role in both prevention and management, and the small changes you can make today that have a significant long-term impact.

Call to action: Take the 1-minute pre-diabetes risk test to find out where you stand https://www.cdc.gov/prediabetes/risktest/index.html

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Transcript

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·       Introduction “Welcome to Stacked Intent, where we discuss and drop tips on how you are going to intentionally stack your life. I’m Becca Stackhouse-Morson – owner of Stacked Intent and our co-host Ashleigh Geurin FACS County Extension Agent is joining us today. Today, we’ll be talking about Prediabetes, Diabetes, and Your Risk. Let’s get started!” 

Brief Summary of objectives (3):

•  OBJECTIVE 1: Define diabetes 
• OBJECTIVE 2: Discuss risk factors   
• OBJECTIVE 3: Explore lifestyle modifications 

• Topic 1: Defining Diabetes 
  • There are three main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes. 
  • Point 1: Type 1 is one where your body cannot make its own insulin, which is needed for blood sugar regulation. When your body breaks down most of the food you eat into sugar (glucose), it releases into your bloodstream. When your blood sugar goes up, it signals your pancreas to release insulin, which acts like a key to let the blood sugar into your body’s cells for use as energy. This type of diabetes is often diagnosed during childhood or in teens and young adults. With Type 1 diabetes, the body attacks itself by mistake, also known as an autoimmune reaction. This type of diabetes requires daily intake of insulin to survive. Currently, there is no cure or prevention of Type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes makes up 5-10% of those diagnosed with diabetes.
  • Point 2: Type 2 diabetes is different in that your body doesn’t use insulin well and blood sugar cannot be maintained at normal levels. This type is considered a chronic disease, meaning it develops over many years and is usually diagnosed in adults. About 90-95% of people with diabetes have type 2. 
  • Point 3: Gestational diabetes is the third type and develops in pregnant women who have never had diabetes and can create greater risk for health problems for babies born from moms who have developed gestational diabetes. While gestational diabetes typically goes away after your baby is born, it does increase your risk for developing type 2 later in life, as well as increasing the risk for your child to develop obesity as a child or teen or develop type 2 diabetes later in life. 

• Topic 2: Pre-Diabetes, Symptoms of Diabetes and Risk Factors 
  • Point 1: While pre-diabetes is not one of the 3 main diagnoses, it effects more than 1 in 3 million adults. This stage of diabetes is when blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough for a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Prediabetes increases risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. 
  • Point 2: There are certain risk factors associated with each type of diabetes, some being modifiable, meaning you can change them, others being non-modifiable, meaning that you have no control over them, such as your age, race, and family history. For type 1 diabetes, having a parent, brother, or sister with type 1 diabetes is a known risk factor for developing type 1. For type 2, your non-modifiable risk factors (the ones you can’t control) are being 45 years or older, having a parent, brother or sister with type 2 diabetes, or being African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian, or Alaska Native. The good news is, there are some risk factors that you can control. 
  • Point 3: Symptoms of diabetes include frequent urination, increased thirst, blurry vision, numbness or tingling of hands and feet, hunger, weight loss without trying, tiredness, very dry skin, sores that heal slowly and increased infections. It is important to know that symptoms of Type 2 diabetes often take several years to develop and some people don’t notice any symptoms at all. If you have concerns about your blood sugar or your symptoms, visit your doctor to have your blood sugar tested. 

• Topic 3: Lifestyle Modifications to Reduce Risk 
  • Point 1: Diet Modifications. We know that what we put into our body matters, and especially so when trying to make a lifestyle change to promote good health. When you are on the verge of developing diabetes, changing the way that you eat involves paying attention to carbohydrate intake and focusing on foods that are higher in fiber and lower in processed foods that contain high amounts of sugar, such as white bread and pastries, white flour pastas, fruit juices, and anything with high fructose corn syrup. Fiber-rich foods promote weight loss and help lower your risk of type 2 diabetes. Examples of foods to eat that are high in fiber include fruits, no starchy vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. It is also important to pay attention to your fat sources and include more unsaturated fats that promote healthy blood cholesterol levels and good heart health such as olive oil, nuts and seeds, and fatty fish like salmon and tuna. Portion control is key to managing dietary intake and using measuring cups and scales can help you keep track of how much food you are consuming. 
  • Point 2: Physical Activity. Being physically active has more benefits than just weight loss (although that is a great bonus!). Exercise can help you lower your blood sugar, increase your sensitivity to insulin, and promote improved mental health. If you have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and are taking insulin, it is important to work with your doctor to know your numbers and know when it is an appropriate time for you to begin exercise, given that your medication and previous experience with physical activity can affect your ability to participate in aerobic or strenuous activity. It is important to incorporate a variety of types of physical activity to include moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise on most days for a total of 150 minutes per week as well as resistance exercises at least 2-3 times a week (yoga, body weight training, or weightlifting).
  • Point 3: Weight loss is work, but the benefits are numerous. Studies have shown that people with prediabetes need to lose at least 7%-10% of their body weight to prevent disease progression and even greater weight loss can translate into greater benefits.
     
    • Make sure you are setting smaller goals for creating the lifestyle changes. 

• Recap:
   
  • OBJECTIVE 1: Define diabetes 
  • OBJECTIVE 2: Discuss risk factors   
  • OBJECTIVE 3: Explore lifestyle modifications. 

• Call to action: Take the 1-minute prediabetes risk test to find out where you stand https://www.cdc.gov/prediabetes/risktest/index.html

• Resources and where to connect. 
  • CDC has great resources 
  • Lifestyle Modification Coaches-Prevent T2 Program