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U.S. Sen. Harkin: Column
11/6/2009

Contact: Kate Cyrul / Bergen Kenny (202) 224-3254

In Iowa’s Interest: Preventing Diabetes By Raising Awareness by Senator Tom Harkin

Diabetes takes a devastating toll on the lives of millions of individuals and families across our nation. This disease leads to life-threatening complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness and amputation. November is American Diabetes Month and serves a reminder that we should all make healthy changes to improve our chances of staying well.

According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes is growing at an alarming rate. Nearly 24 million children and adults currently are living with the disease and another 57 million Americans are pre-diabetic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in three children will face a future with diabetes if current trends continue. For minority children, the number approaches one in two.

And the side effects of diabetes can be even worse. Every day, nearly 200 people with diabetes undergo an amputation, 120 people enter end-stage kidney disease programs and 55 people go blind from diabetes. Diabetes is also one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. Each year, America spends $174 billion on diabetes and its complications.

To reduce chronic disease and rein in these high health care costs, I made sure the health reform bill under consideration in Congress removes some of the barriers to a healthy lifestyle in order to keep people well and to slow rising rates of diabetes and other chronic diseases.

There are also simple steps Iowans can take each day to keep healthy. For example:

* Eat healthy. Sometimes it can seem hard to make healthy food choices, especially if you are on a budget or short on time. But just by making an effort to incorporate more fruits, vegetables and whole grains into your diet and less soda, sweets and chips, you are making huge improvements for you and your family’s eating habits. Try to shop only from a healthy grocery list and grill meats rather than fry them.

* Manage your blood glucose levels. It is important to understand what can make your blood glucose rise or fall, so that you can take steps to stay on target. A few things that can make your glucose rise are meals or snacks with more food or more carbohydrates than usual, inactivity, side effects of medications, stress and changes in hormone levels.

* Stay at a healthy weight. Being overweight raises your risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. It can cause other problems, too, like high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol and high blood glucose.

* Stay active. A complete physical activity routine includes four kinds of activity: activity and movement throughout the day (like walking and using the stairs instead of the elevator); aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, swimming or dancing; strength training, like lifting light weights; and flexibility exercises, such as stretching.

* Quit smoking. Smoking hurts your lungs and your heart. It lowers the amount of oxygen that gets to your organs, raises your cholesterol, raises your blood pressure and increases your likelihood of heart attack or stroke.

For more information, please visit the America Diabetes Association website at http://www.diabetes.org.

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