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A Touch of Sugar
by Hilary Beard
When diabetes hits, it's hardly sweet—so don't wait. Hilary Beard reports on a dangerous disease that you can start fighting now.
When Evelyn Smith went on her annual spring diet back in 1998 and lost
more than the 10 pounds she’d intended, she figured her fierce exercise
routine had simply burned off some extra calories. But then, the
33-year-old Philadelphian started waking up in the middle of the night
with “cotton mouth” and mixing up computer codes at work.
“My
mind was foggy. I couldn’t comprehend anything,” says Smith. “I typed
my symptoms into the Internet,” she says, “and diabetes came up.”
African
Americans are at alarmingly high risk for the Type 2 form of diabetes
for which Smith eventually tested positive: It afflicts one out of 10
black adults and one out of four black women over 55. It is our fifth
leading cause of death. Diabetes also tends to run in families; Smith’s
grandfather lost the lower part of a leg to the disease, and his obese
twin sister was diabetic, too.
Bad food and sedentary habits are
also two of the biggest risk factors—but Smith herself had always been
fairly fit. “I didn’t have the best diet, but it wasn’t the worst,” she
says. But after tests confirmed that Smith had Type 2, the
self-described carbohydrate addict with a syrupy sweet tooth realized
that while her weight hadn’t been climbing, her blood sugar had been
creeping up.
Maudene Nelson, RD, a diabetes educator, explains,
“Most black people with Type 2 diabetes are heavy. But a person doesn’t
have to be heavy to have diabetes.” (African Americans’ extra risk
appears to be related to poverty and access to health care, but there
are also genetic theories.)
WHAT IS TYPE 2 DIABETES?
Smith
learned the hard way that her body has trouble producing or processing
insulin, the hormone that converts food into energy.
Left
untreated, the disease is a slow, silent killer. Excess blood sugar or
insulin can damage nerves and blood vessels, tax the liver and kidneys
and make arteries harden, circulation slow way down and blood pressure
climb. For these very reasons, diabetics are twice as likely as others
to die of heart disease and are five times more vulnerable to strokes.
The stroke that hit soul star Luther Vandross in 2003, when he was 51,
came after 33 years as a diabetic—a severe strain that one day his body
just couldn’t take.
Serious vision problems, even blindness, can
also develop, and it’s not uncommon for diabetics to need dialysis or
even amputation of a limb, finger or toe.
SOUL SURVIVOR
Rev. William D. Tyree III; 44; pastor, First Baptist Church, Norfolk, Virginia
How he found out he was diabetic: “I was getting up to
urinate in the middle of the night, which wasn’t my pattern. And when I
stood up to preach one Sunday, I couldn’t discern faces beyond the
third pew. My blood sugar was over 400."
Risk factors: Family history, excess weight, sedentary
lifestyle, poor diet. “I figured I’d get diabetes when my parents got
it, which was in their early sixties,” he says. “I was scared when I
learned I had it at 38, especially as I learned more about the
complications.”
What he did about it: He started cycling
about 15 miles a day, lost weight and improved his eating habits.
“Fifteen pounds makes a big difference in my blood-sugar levels,” he
says.
And now: His congregation now gets free diabetes counseling
from area doctors, samples healthful cooking and “cycles for Christ” at
Rev. Tyree’s side. —HB
| WHAT YOU CAN DO
When
Smith, now 40, looks back, she wishes she’d had some kind of
warning—perhaps from her doctor—that she was veering toward diabetes
all along. “There were things I could have done had I known.”
You
can find out if you’re in diabetes’ path by taking a risk test on the
American Diabetes Association (ADA) website
(www.diabetes.org/risk-test.jsp) or calling (800) 342-2383. If your
risk is high, get your blood screened right away by your regular doctor
or at a clinic or health fair (where they’re usually free). “If there’s
any hint that your blood sugar is drifting out of the normal range,”
advises Nelson, don’t delay: “Examine your lifestyle and make
adjustments.”
For instance, consider eating fewer
foods made with white flour, such as bread and pasta, white sugar,
white rice and fried foods. Nelson suggests filling half your plate
with colorful vegetables, a quarter with starchy food (beans are best)
and the last quarter with lean protein.
Also, definitely stop
smoking, and get real about losing some weight: The ADA recommends
dropping five to 10 percent of your current size. Half an hour of
activity a day—even a moderately paced walk—can help your body use
insulin much more effectively.
These same basic lifestyle
changes can help “manage” diabetes post-diagnosis—making it a lot more
comfortable and reducing the risk to organs and limbs.
“When I don’t exercise,” observes Smith, “my sugars are so much
higher.”
On the other hand, when she strolls through her suburban neighborhood
on foot and visits the Stair-Master several times a week, her blood
tests come out a lot better—and she has the energy and clarity of mind
to show for it.
And surprise! The food fix is not all that
painful. “Most people think there’s a diabetic diet that excludes foods
they love and includes foods they hate,” says Nelson. “But most of the
things you love can still fit; you just can’t eat pecan pie with every
meal.” The latest thinking about diabetic diets—that instead of always
cutting out goodies, you can “add in” exercise—leaves diabetics with
more options still.
LIVING WITH IT
Now an expert
at managing sugar swings, Smith has the habits that would have served
her well before diabetes struck. She eats more veggies, fish and
poultry and cooks pasta made with soy flour. Cookies are out—“they make
my blood sugar sky-rocket!”—but she occasionally indulges her sweet
tooth with low-carb ice cream.
The rest of Smith’s
health-boosting routine has become pretty smooth by now. Smith checks
her own blood glucose six to eight times a day by pricking herself with
a test monitor; she takes pills that help control her blood sugar; and
four times a year, she sits down for a test called A1C, which maps out
a two- to three-month blood-sugar trend.
SYMPTOMS: TYPE 2 DIABETES
If you suspect you may have diabetes or experience any of the following symptoms, get your blood tested immediately.
>> frequent urination
>> extreme hunger or thirst
>> unexplained weight loss
>> sudden vision changes
>> numbness in hands or feet
>> frequent fatigue
>> very dry skin
>> slow-healing sores
>> recurring infections, especially in gums, skin, bladder or vagina
For more information, try www.diabetes.org or call (800) 342-2383. | Like
about 30 percent of diabetics, Smith also injects herself daily with
insulin (the other 70 percent produce just enough insulin on their
own). Pretty soon, though, with researchers on the way to perfecting a
variety of new insulin-delivery systems—including tablets, inhalers and
implantable pumps—she may be able to avoid needles, too.
Smith
slips off her diet and her walking and stepping regimen from time to
time, but she learns quickly from her mistakes. “I’ve had really rough
times when I feel lousy and my legs hurt,” she says. “But the pain
motivates me to do something about it."
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