Type 2 Diabetes has a stigma attached to it. A common myth about diabetes, is that its mainly brought on by eating too much sugar and unhealthy foods, and by being overweight. Type 2 Diabetes, of course, is the type that develops over time because of many health factors, but being overweight doesn't actually have much to do with it. You can be thin and look otherwise "physically fit" and still get diabetes.
Myths like this are one of the reasons why November is National Diabetes Month, to raise awareness, educate people about the disease, and help diabetes patients properly manage it. It's important to stay educated about diseases like this, because they can happen to almost anyone who isn't closely caring for their health in certain ways.
Diabetes can also cause other health problems down the road, if not properly controlled. It can make kidney disease, strokes, heart disease, just to name a few, much more likely. You can also get sores on your body, especially in your feet because of poor circulation caused by diabetes.
There are celebrities who have diabetes that have spoken out about it, and used their star power to raise awareness and educate people about the dangers of it. Talk show host Larry King hast type 2 diabetes, and contributes most of his health problems, along with diabetes, to smoking cigarettes. Quitting smoking is one of the healthy measures that the American Diabetes Association highly recommends that patients do.
Although it isn't just being overweight that contributes to diabetes, eating healthier has been known to help bring it under control, and even almost make it disappear completely. With eating healthier and exercising, naturally comes weight loss, so many people associate weight loss with bringing diabetes under control. However, bringing down cholesterol levels is what actually helps to bring it under control.
Rocker and well-known diabetic with Type 1 diabetes, Bret Michaels from the band Poison and the show Celebrity Apprentice, needs "four insulin injections and eight blood tests each day," which was published on his website. He was diagnosed at the age of 6. Type 1 diabetes can't be gotten rid of or lessened by diet and exercise, but taking healthy measures will help to prevent future health complications.
The American Diabetes Association works to make it easy to educate people on how to manage their diabetes. The “manage your diabetes ABCs” stands for A1C Test, Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, and Stop Smoking.
The A1C test is a blood test that measures your average blood sugar lever over the past 3 months. You have to keep your blood pressure within the healthy range, as well as your cholesterol, and of course, stop smoking if you still do. This simple abbreviation is easy to remember for those who need to work at keeping their diabetes under control and staying healthy.