November is Diabetes Awareness month. Currently 11 million Canadians are living with diabetes or pre-diabetes.
Have you ever wondered if you are at risk of diabetes?
Do you have high blood pressure?
Do you have high cholesterol?
Are you overweight?
If you answered yes to any of these questions and you are over the age of 40. You may be at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
What can you do? Here are some suggestions:
#1 Lifestyle changes!
#2 Come visit us at Academy Medical Pharmacy and fill out a questionnaire to estimate your risk!
#3 Sign up for the Canadian Diabetes Association 21 day challenge in support of diabetes awareness month and make a new healthy habit
#4 Check out all the great resources including education, recipes, and health living resources on the Canadian Diabestes Association website @ http://www.diabetes.ca/
The first suggestion is really the most important one. Lifestyle changes such as physical activity, eating right and quitting smoking can benefit your health and quality of life as well as decrease your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Doing lifestyle changes that result in losing weight even 5-10% of total body weight can also make a huge impact on your health.
Regular physical activity along with healthy eating and weight control can reduce type 2 diabetes by 60 per cent! It is recommended to get 150 minutes of physical activity each week, which can be split up such as 30 minutes five times a week.
Aerobic exercises are recommended and this includes walking, bicycling or jogging. Resistance exercises are also recommended if you are able and ready and include resistance exercises such as lifting weights.
Eating right can also contribute to a healthier you! Some tips for eating healthy include:
● Don’t skip on breakfast! - eating three regular meals a day helps control blood glucose throughout the day
● But do skip the sugary drinks! Such as pop and juices - instead drink water when thirsty
● Limit the sweets! This is a tough one with the holidays approaching but being mindful and eat in smaller portions of the following;desserts, candies, jams etc.
● Don’t forget to limit the fast-food too - these foods are high in fat and can contribute to weight gain
● Increase your fibre intake - fibres is in foods such as whole grain breads, cereals, vegetables, and fruits - fibre will give you a longer fuller feeling and can help with your cholesterol as well as a bonus!
Now back to those suggestions I made earlier...for the second one you can come by Academy Medical Pharmacy anytime this month and fill out a questionnaire to estimate your risk of developing diabetes! It takes 2 minutes and then you can discuss the result with the pharmacist.
For the third and fourth suggestion I recommend checking out the Canadian Diabetes Association website. This is where you can sign up for their 21 day challenge to end Diabetes! This is a challenge for yourself to make a good habit in your life. This will result in one step towards a healthier lifestyle and also help raise funds for people affected by diabetes.
Rachelle Laurin, RPh
