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The statistics are sobering. Diabetes is an epidemic among African-Americans, yet it’s also among the most preventable diseases that face our population. According to the National Diabetes Education Program, 4.9 million African-Americans in the U.S. are diabetic and don’t even know it. Yes, it’s true, something has to kill you, but the significantly reduced quality of life that many diabetics face is reason enough to try to prevent diabetes before it happens to you. Diabetes is a an illness that significantly impacts the body’s major health systems – cardiovascular disease, loss of limbs, kidney failure and blindness are extreme examples of what happens when diabetes is poorly managed or goes untreated. But beyond those extremes there is what your life becomes when you must check sugar levels every few hours, when you can no longer enjoy anything sweet, and when even your sex life can be threatened. According to Webmd.com, men over 50 with diabetes are 50%-60% likely to have problems with impotence if they are diabetic. Instead of managing diabetes, African-Americans should strive to prevent it. Here are five ways to prevent diabetes from happening to you.

LOSE WEIGHT

In 2002, the Diabetes Prevention Program released a comprehensive study of a group of over 3,000 men and women who were at risk of diabetes. The study found that both men and women could significantly reduce their risk of developing diabetes by following a modest protocol that emphasizes losing weight by becoming more active and changing their diets. The results of lifestyle intervention were almost double that of a group in the study that was put on metformin, a common drug prescribed in high-risk patients to reduce the chance they will become diabetic. The study shows just how much significant illnesses like diabetes can be impacted by weight loss. As our country becomes more obese, diabetes is expected to skyrocket, with more children being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, the type that is more common in adults. According to the National Center of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health, if diabetes rates continue at the same rates, 1 out of 3 children born in 2000 will develop diabetes.

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article courtesy of BlackAmericaWeb.com

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