About 38 million adults in the U.S. have diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and that number has more than doubled in the last 20 years. It’s the eighth-leading cause of death in the U.S., but one in five people suffering from it don’t know they have it.
It’s a chronic health condition that affects how the body turns food into energy. As the CDC explains, your body breaks down most of the food you eat into sugar, or glucose, and releases it into your bloodstream. When your blood sugar goes up, it signals your pancreas to release insulin. Insulin acts like a key to let the blood sugar into your body’s cells for use as energy.
But with diabetes, your body doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use it as well as it should. When there isn’t enough insulin or cells stop responding to insulin, too much blood sugar stays in your bloodstream. Over time, that can cause serious health problems like heart disease, vision loss and kidney disease.
There isn’t yet a cure, but there are things you can do to help yourself tremendously, and as National Diabetes Month, November is great time to take note:
- Lose weight
- Eat healthy food
- Be physically active
- Take medicine as prescribed
- Make and keep health care appointments
- Get diabetes self-management education and support.
AnMed diabetes specialists help patients every day
Everyone with diabetes can benefit from diabetes education, whether they’re newly diagnosed or have had it for several years. Diabetes education should be an ongoing process with periodic visits with a certified diabetes care and education specialist to help develop and reinforce vital self-management skills and keep you on track.
It helps you:
- Learn practical skills
- Gain confidence
- Get support
AnMed has specialists at the ready. They can help you or any loved one with diabetes reach health goals. Healthy eating, physical activity, diabetes medications, blood sugar monitoring, blood sugar troubleshooting and dealing with sick days are just a few of the topics covered in the comprehensive program at AnMed.
A registered dietitian is available for medical nutrition therapy, or MNT.
Affordable Diabetes Education & Support in Anderson & Pickens, SC
Diabetes education and support are covered by most insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid. Classes, programs and meetings are held regularly in Anderson and Pickens to provide information, guidance and personalized advice.
You can become better equipped to prevent serious illness and even decrease your medical costs.
Visit anmed.org/services/diabetes-care-education for more information. Or, for more information about diabetes education in Anderson, call 864-512-4145. For more information about diabetes education in Pickens, call 864-512-2255.