I
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thegoodlife
HEALTH
Onceyoudecidetotakecontrolofyourhealth,thisisonediseasethatisCOMPLETELYMANAGEABLE.
ByDorkysRamos
ABOUT10YEARSAGO.SONALYDIAZ
wouldtypicallysettleinwithaplateofriceandbeansrightbeforecallingitanightarOlilld2a.m.Uponawakening,itwouldbeseveralbowlsofcerealwhilewatchingTV:Onthedinnermenu:morerice,spaghettianda:fatteningselectionofmeats;digestandrepeat."Iwasdepressed,"saysDiaz,now38."Ifelttrappedand,p.adnowheretogo.'lwOl.lldlockmyselfinthehouseand1wouldeatanll,eat.Everjt:hll].g1saw,1ate."WithDiaz'sbloodsugarlevelsspikingandherfamilyhistoryofdia-betes,th~
puertorriqueiia's
doctorintervenedandsuggestedshechangeherunhealthyhabits-tonoavail."Ikeptsaying1wasokaybecausetomeitwasnormal,"Diazrecalls."So1didn'tfollowhisadviceandkeptondoing.thethings1wasdoing."Shecontinuedherdownwardspiraluntilshefoundherselfinthehospitalwithdizzyspells.Itwasthen,weigh-inginat189pounds,thatshefinallyreceivedherwake-upcall:adiagnosisoftype2diabetes.Today,18.2millionpeopleintheUnitedStateshavediabetesmellitus,agroupofdiseasesinwhichhighbloodglucoselev~lsresultfromdefectsininsulinproductionoractivity.Withoutproperinsulinregulation,thebodycan'tprocesssugarintoenergy,whichcanpotentiallyleadtoheartdiseaseorkidneyfailure.Type1diabetesoccurswhenthebody'simmunesystemattacksitsowninsulin-producingcellsinthepancreasandthepersonrequiresinsulinviainjectionsorapump.Ifleftuntreated,type1couldcausethepatienttoslipintoalife-threateningcoma.Type2,however,occurswhep.thebodydoesn'tmakeenoughinsulinorusesit
66LATlNA.COMNOVEMBER2010
ineffectively.Formerlyknownasadult-onsetdiabetesforaffectingtheover-40crowd,ithasbeenappearinginyoungeragegroupsandalarminglyaccountsfor90to95percentofalldiagnosedcasesofdiabetes.Thethirdbranch-gestationaldiabetes-developswhenhormonefluc-tuationsduringpregnancyaffecthowwellinsulinworks.Althoughblood~garlevelsusuallydropbacktonormalaftersixweeks,theriskofdevelopingtype2diabetesdownthelineisheightened.Althoughastrongfamilyhistorycanincreaseyourchanceofdevelopingthedisease,thereareotherriskfac-tors:beingoverweight,beingphysicallyinactive,havinghighbloodpressureorhavingabnormalcholes-terollevels.Thegoodnewsisthatallofthesecanbemanagedwithachangeinlifestyle.JustnotethattwotrialsconductedbytheNationalInstitutesofHealthshowedthattype2diabetescan
Tolearnaboutadvancesindiabetestreatments,gotolatina.com/magazine.
ILLUSTRATIONBYREENA
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Latina_2010_11_YouCanBeatDiabetes
Once you decide to take control of your health, this is one disease that is completely manageable.
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