Diabetes and Prediabetes
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 30.3 million people of all ages—or 9.4% of the U.S. population—have diabetes.
As many as 80 million U.S. adults 18 years of age or older have prediabetes (elevated blood glucose but not to the extent it is classified as diabetes, yet....)
This total included 30.2 million adults aged 18 years or older (12.2% of all U.S. adults), of which 7.2 million (23.8%) were not aware of or did not report having diabetes.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease characterized by elevated blood glucose and inadequate or ineffective insulin, which impairs a person's ability to regulate blood glucose normally.
What is Prediabetes?
Prediabetes is a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not quite high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. The diagnosis of prediabetes is considered a major risk factor for development of diabetes and future cardiovascular disease.
Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 Diabetes, also known as Diabetes Mellitus, accounts for 90 to 95 percent of all Diabetes diagnoses. Obesity underlies many cases of type 2 diabetes. Other risk factors of developing type 2 diabetes are physical inactivity and middle age. Did you know that the greater accumulation of body fat, particularly around the waist, the more insulin resistant your cells become causing rises in blood sugar.
Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes
Excessive thirst and urination
Potential glucose in your urine
Unexplained weight loss with possible nausea
Fatigue, weakness and irritability
Cravings for different foods, especially sweets
Frequent infections of the urinary tract, skin and gums
Slow healing of bruises and wounds
Blurred Vision and other vision disturbances
Pain in your extremities (legs, feet and hands)
Unusual itching
High glucose in your blood
Integrative Health Management will support you to decrease your risk of type 2 diabetes and help you modify your lifestyle to prevent the onset of diabetes and reach your goals for a healthier life. We deliver a holistic wellness program focused on blood sugar management which involves an initial one-on-one introductory session, bi-weekly nurse coaching visits, and educational sessions lead by the registered nurse wellness coach and lifestyle educators which provides knowledge, skills, support and expert advice needed to make lifestyle choices to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.
The Integrative Health Management team will implement effective prevention focused interventions and health coaching that encourages our clients to adopt individualized holistic and coordinated pre-diabetes care programs. The primary goal of a blood sugar management program isto normalize glucose levels and prevent progression to diabetes and associated complications such as obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, and chronic kidney disease.
Nutrition is an important aspect of therapeutic lifestyle management. Recommendations are personalized to meet individual preferences and current health challenges that are identified during your initial Nurse Wellness Coach visit.
Do You Know Your Numbers
Knowing your blood sugar numbers or levels is important in managing your blood glucose, and your best chance at preventing diabetes! The AHA recommendations for a healthy blood glucose level is less than 100mg/dl. You are at risk for developing Diabetes when your levels are between 100 mg/dl and 125 mg/dl. If your physician has told you that your health is at risk due to your numbers, Integrative Health Management can help.