10 Things You May Not Know About Diabetes From the Joslin Diabetes Center

I talked to my aunt today (who is really a wonderful lady!) about my diabetes. She is a nurse. I do not know how I didn't know this previously but she used to work at a diabetes center and was in charge of patient education. I was explaining I need help with my diet, not diet as in dieting, as in what to eat based on the diabetes and my likes and dislikes. I also told her what the neurologist had said about me eating too much, without asking how much I eat, or what I eat, and about him saying to "stop eating". She said that wouldn't be good for you either. I told her what I eat in a typical day, she said that I actually probably don't eat enough. She said that may sound crazy, it did to her when a doctor suggested the same to her, but if you eat too little it really messes with your metabolism. She suggested a website by The Joslin Diabetes Center, www.joslin.org. 

1.  About one third of all people with diabetes do not know they have the disease.

2.  Type 2 diabetes often does not have any symptoms.

3.  Only about ten percent of all people with diabetes have type 1 diabetes.

4.  Type 2 diabetes can be prevented with moderate weight loss (10-15 pounds) and 30 minutes of moderate physical activity (such as brisk walking) each day.

5.  The meal plan for a patient with diabetes isn’t very different than what is recommended for healthy people.

6.  Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults.

7.  People with diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease than someone without diabetes

8.  Good control of diabetes significantly reduces the risk of developing complications and prevents complications from getting worse.

9.  Bariatric surgery can reduce the symptoms of diabetes in obese people.

10.  The indirect national cost of diabetes in 2007 was 174 billion dollars.