November is recognized as Diabetes Awareness Month across the globe, and this year marks the 100th anniversary of the life-saving discovery of insulin. Diabetes is a disease in which your body either can’t produce insulin or can’t properly use the insulin it produces.
Insulin is a hormone produced by your pancreas and it functions to regulate the amount of sugar in the blood. Blood sugar levels must be regulated to ensure the body functions properly. Too much blood sugar can cause damage to organs, blood vessels and nerves. Your body also needs insulin in order to use sugar for energy. 11 million Canadians are living with diabetes or prediabetes. Chances are, diabetes affects someone you know.
Learn the facts about diabetes – Understand the various types of diabetes, their symptoms and the role of medications.
Assess your risk for developing diabetes – Anyone over the age of 40 should be tested for diabetes every 3 years. If you have 1 or more factors, you should speak to your doctor and consider being tested earlier and more frequently.
Learn how to live well with diabetes – There are 7 key areas of self-care behaviours that can help manage diabetes.