Diabesity
Content Courtesy of the Forever Young Podcast with Christiana Egi and Cherrie-Marie Chiu.
Diabetes + Obesity = Diabesity. Diabesity is the condition of metabolic imbalance and disease that ranges all the way from mild blood sugar imbalances to full-blown diabetes. We call it by many names: insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity, syndrome X, adult-onset diabetes, type 2 diabetes. But, in truth, these are all essentially one problem with varying degrees of severity. Okay – let’s break this down. Obesity is an accumulation of excess fat with a negative impact on our health, and according to the World Health Organization, obesity is an epidemic. It is the leading cause of preventable illness and death in North America. Can you believe about 61% of Canadian adults are considered overweight or obese?!
There are 2 major types of diabetes: Diabetes Mellitus (sweet) and Diabetes Insipidus (unsweet). The major types of Diabetes Mellitus are type 1 diabetes which can be diagnosed during childhood, or type 2 diabetes which usually develops in adulthood. Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 90% of all cases of diabetes.
Insulin acts as the helper that lets glucose into the cells for use as energy. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas to control the amount of sugar in the blood. Insulin is produced in the pancreas and helps to transport sugar from food into the cells to be used as up as energy. This lowers the level of sugar in the blood and sends a message back to the pancreas to stop releasing insulin. However, when too much carbohydrate is being consumed, the cells become resistant to insulin, as too much sugar is toxic to the body, and no return message is sent back to the pancreas. Therefore, the pancreas continues to produce more and more insulin, but unfortunately, insulin is not able to do its job of clearing the blood of excess sugar, as the cells have become resistant. This leads to excessive insulin and excessive sugar in the blood, but the individual continues to have normal blood sugar levels for several years Eventually, the pancreas burns out and starts producing minimal amounts of insulin. Since the glucose cannot enter the cells properly, it remains in the blood and causes elevated blood sugar levels, creating a vicious cycle of high blood sugar levels and high insulin levels. This buildup of excess glucose in the blood eventually leads to type 2 diabetes.
But perhaps the good thing is that there is such thing as Pre-Diabetes. Prediabetes is a condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. While people who have prediabetes are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, they can reduce their chances of becoming diabetic by losing as little as 5 to 7 percent of their body weight and exercising thirty minutes a day, five days a week.
The best way to prevent any disease is to focus on whole-body health care rather than focusing on disease care. Be physically active, eat a healthy diet, avoid refined sugar and saturated fat, avoid tobacco use as smoking increases the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits every day include a dark green vegetable and an orange one – like broccoli and carrots or asparagus and sweet potato! Try to make half of the whole grains that you eat be full-grain like brown or wild rice, quinoa, and oatmeal. And include beans, lentils, and soy more often into your diet!
Listen to the full podcast episode on ‘Diabesity’ below. Until the next time, keep smiling because you’re never too old to become younger!
The Forever Young podcast is created and produced by Christiana and Cherrie Marie Chiu. Produced and engineered by Elisse Hill. The podcast represents our opinions and those of our guests. The content should not be taken as medical advice. It is for informational purposes only. Please consult your health care professional for any medical questions. If you like our show, please tell your friends and leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. New episodes are available every other Wednesday. Have questions? Email us at ourforeveryoungpodcast@gmail.com.
