The food industry has a lot to answer for. They are like drug pushers with the exception that they have a license to do so.
The food products they mass produce and put on our store shelves contains so many unhealthy ingredients – too much sugars and artificial sweeteners, added salt, meats raised in unhealthy environments, genetically modified fruits and corn products. Even the food containers, like plastics and certain boxes types, have unhealthy additives . . . and the list goes on and on.
They have been pushing their amped up products on our population for years and will continue to do so until people realize the damage being done to their health.
A direct result of these food products is major diseases including – heart disease, diabetes and obesity. The cost of these illness is counted in the billions of dollars and in the case of diabetes – it’s having a big impact on our young people, especially those prone to developing the condition.
A very close family member thought he was in great shape. He played sports and was very active with a job and a family. But little did he know that he was diabetic as a young adult and is now on several medications to alleviate the complications.
Ongoing research is proving that when diabetes develops in young adult the long-term effects will be far greater than when it develops in adults over age 40.
The main reason this is reaching a crisis level is the growing obesity epidemic. Young adults tend to eat poorly when compared to older folks.
A secondary reason for the increase is a familial connection. In this case obesity is not the direct cause for developing pre-diabetes . . . it’s having a family history of diabetes. Many young people who are slim, and even active can and do develop pre-diabetes because of this connection.
How to prevent pre-diabetes and avoid diabetes
The problem with these youngsters is that they don’t know that their blood sugar level is elevated and hence do nothing about until it’s too late. If they were made aware of the consequences of prolonged high blood glucose at an early age especially if they are prone to the condition, most would take preventative action.
Who want to be hooked up to a dialysis machine to clean their blood because their kidneys are not working? Or literally go blind because the blood vessels supplying their eyes are blocked with particles of sugar. This is the result of not taking corrective action.
It all starts with doing early medical check-ups especially if you have more than one risk factor for the disease. Being young does not give anyone a license to avoid health check-ups. 15 % of all diabetics are young and slim and active.
If your medical diagnosis puts you in the pre-diabetic range then there is good news. You can reverse the condition . . . and even prevent it from happening in the first place.
You can prevent pre-diabetes
- Starting a healthy eating habit is the first step to take after a visit with your healthcare provider. Your diet must consist of locally grown whole foods. For example – eggs that were laid by free range chickens or veggies from a local farmer.
- People who are naturally slim think they don’t need to exercise but this couldn’t be further from the truth. There are many ‘skinny fat’ – people who look skinny on the outside but fat on the inside – who have pre-diabetes and don’t know it.
- You must start a fitness program. Your first steps in starting an exercise program is to learn the basics – how to stretch, the types of cardio exercises to do and how to do resistance exercises for muscle and joint strength.
- Set realistic progress goals.
- Don’t be static with your fitness regimen. It should be constantly evolving. If you ran a mile last month . . . aim for one and a half this month in the same length of time you did the one mile.
- Keep a journal.
My reason for being so passionate about preventing pre-diabetes is because of the effect it’s having on my family. Losing loved ones to a disease that can be either reversed or managed with proper care,is devastating. If you are pre-diabetic or knows someone who maybe, ‘school’ them on the effects of high blood sugar levels.
Yes the food industry has a lot to answer for but you have choices.
For more information go to How to Prevent Pre-diabetes