According to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, nearly a million New Yorkers are currently living with diabetes. In usual times, managing diabetes can be a challenge. With the COVID-19 pandemic and associated stressors, this may be an even more difficult time to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and control of blood sugar levels.

 

In honor of National Diabetes Awareness Month, the Montefiore Office of Community and Population Health is sharing ways to prevent and control diabetes.

 

Diabetes is a long-lasting health condition that makes it hard for your body to break down the sugar from food and beverages into energy. Your body produces a substance called insulin that helps with this breakdown process. When this process does not work, this leads to high amounts of sugar in the blood.

 

Excess weight, inactivity, age and genetic make-up contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.

 

Over time, high sugar levels from diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney disease, heart disease, and nerve damage. To avoid these complications, and keep your type 2 diabetes under control, you can stay healthy by doing the following:

 

• eating a balanced diet, high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats like olive oil, nuts and avocados;
• limiting or cutting out sugary beverages, sweets, and unhealthy fats like deep-fried foods, bacon and animal fats;
• exercising regularly for at least 30 minutes, three to five times a week;
• taking diabetes medication, as prescribed by your doctor.

 

Some people do not yet have diabetes, but are at high risk of getting it because their blood sugar levels are slightly higher than normal. This is called pre-diabetes and can be confirmed with a simple blood test. You may have pre-diabetes if you:

 

• have a family history of diabetes;
• are age 45 and older;
• are not physically active;
• are overweight;
• have high blood pressure.

 

If you have pre-diabetes, you can still prevent diabetes from developing by following the same healthy tips mentioned above. If you have some of these risk factors, make sure to go in for your yearly physical, and talk to your doctor about getting tested.

 

Montefiore offers both free diabetes prevention, and diabetes management education to its patients to help them achieve a healthier lifestyle. Ask your Montefiore provider to see if you qualify. Talk to your doctor and take charge of your health.

 

Roxana Yusti is a health educator for Community and Population Health at Montefiore Health System.