By CRAIG HOWARD
Contributing Writer/Spokane Valey News Herald
November may be National Diabetes Month, but for Grant Wasson, the disease is a year-round concern.
Before he was diagnosed in 1995, Wasson didn't think much about diabetes, despite a family history of the condition. He was 51 when doctors told him that his blood sugar level was high enough to place him as a Type 2 diabetic.
“I was heavy then,” said Wasson, now 63. “I was eating doughnuts and candy and it seemed like I was tired all the time.”
About 90 percent of people who have diabetes are classified as Type 2, a condition in which the body does not produce efficient levels of insulin – the hormone that converts glucose, or sugar, from food into energy. Those who suffer from Type 1 diabetes no longer produce insulin at all.
He was advised to change his eating habits right away and reduce his weight.
The junk food was replaced by fruits and vegetables and he began checking labels for ingredients like sugar and fat. He bought an exercise machine and started working out 30 minutes each day.
“I had never eaten apples in my life,” said Wasson, a resident of Spokane Valley. “Now I eat two or three apples a day.”
As with heart disease, the medical community warns people that the risk of diabetes increases with waist size. For women, a circumference of 35 or over can signal trouble. For men, a waist size of 40 or over is a red flag.
Wasson has dropped 60 pounds since he was first diagnosed. He tests his blood sugar several times a day and makes sure to schedule regular checkups.
“There are all kinds of challenges that go with diabetes,” Wasson said. “A major part of it is just learning to eat wisely.”
Jen Ropp, a registered dietician at the Rockwood Clinic, helps local residents prevent and manage diabetes through a smart approach to food and weight. Ropp describes how excess body fat interferes with the ability of insulin to reduces blood sugars.
“If you lose excess fat tissue, it helps your insulin work better,” Ropp said.
High blood sugars can do damage to the vascular system, cause harm to kidneys and wreak havoc on the nervous system. Diabetes can also contribute to blindness, lead to the amputation of limbs and cause death.
Earlier this year, Ropp gave a presentation on diabetes awareness to members of the Valley Striders, a local exercise group comprised mostly of seniors. In her talk, Ropp emphasized the importance of avoiding fatty, high-sugared foods and applauded Striders for taking a proactive approach to staying healthy.
Carol Stobie, co-coordinator of Valley Striders, said one member of the group recently commented on “how exercise has helped with her diabetes numbers.” The Striders continue their active agenda in the fall and winter, walking at the local mall and holding light aerobic workouts at the Valley YMCA.
“It's an all-around benefit,” Stobie said. “Exercise helps in so many facets of life.”
Not only can exercise help prevent diabetes – a study in The New England Journal of Medicine showed that people at risk can reduce their chances of developing the disease by 58 percent by exercising 150 minutes a week and making adjustments to their diet – specialists emphasize how those who have the condition can keep complications at bay by walking, running and staying active.
National fitness expert Gabrielle deGroot Redford describes how “doctors today recommend that all diabetics get regular exercise.”
Those with Type 2 diabetes can more efficiently utilize the insulin they do produce when on a regular exercise schedule while for Type 1 diabetics, staying active reduces the amount of insulin needed to properly regulate blood sugar.
Lisa Randall is a registered dietician who works as the coordinator of the O.C. Olson Diabetes Education Center, a community facility accredited by the American Diabetes Association featuring five locations throughout greater Spokane, including Spokane Valley.
Randall places healthy food, exercise and screenings at the top of her education list when it comes to preventing and managing diabetes. To start, she said people need to evaluate just how much food they're eating.
“We teach them how to look at portion sizes,” Randall said.
Steering away from fast food – with its excess calories and fat – makes good sense on many levels, Randall added.
“Fast food has taken away all the good parts of the food and concentrated the bad,” she said. “Try to eat fresh foods. The less refined, the better.”
Each month, Community Health Education and Resources sponsors a presentation on pre-diabetes, a condition where blood sugars are dangerously close to causing diabetes.
Since the condition often presents no symptoms, many people go undiagnosed.
In addition to the presentations on pre-diabetes CHER sponsors programs on managing diabetes. Other workshops focus on reducing a variety of risk factors for diabetes, from tips to quit smoking to smart shopping.
As rates of juvenile diabetes continue to increase, Ropp said parents should be aware of setting a standard for a healthy lifestyle at home, replacing video games with exercise and the bag of chips for fruits or vegetables.
“It's definitely about teaching good habits early on,” she said. “Setting a good example is really important.”
Want to find out more?
To learn more about the O.C. Olson Diabetes Education Center, call 232-8145 or visit http://www.cherspokane.org.
Community Health Education and Resources will sponsor a presentation on pre-diabetes on Tuesday, Nov. 27, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Deaconess Health and Education Center.
Another class will be offered on Dec. 12. For more information, call the number or visit the Web site listed above.
Other resources include the American Diabetes Association – at 1-800-342-2383 or http://www.diabetes.org.
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