GLYNIS Alonzo-Beaton has been the President of the Guyana Diabetic Association (GDA) or a number of years and is also on the Board of the Caribbean Diabetic Association. Additionally, she is now the Chair of the North American Caribbean Region for the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), which is the voice of diabetes internationally.

Alonzo-Beaton told the Pepperpot Magazine that she has been diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic for the past 27 years and so she lives on insulin. She said that she was first diagnosed at age 22 even though she showed signs of being a diabetic at the age of 12 years old, but was too young to pay much attention to it.

She explained that diabetes continues to have a solid base in her family – affecting her mother and father, as well as other close relatives. “So for me, I live and eat, sleep and dream diabetes,” she said.

The second of six children, Glynis Alonzo-Beaton was born in Georgetown in February 1968 but spent most of her young life in the mining town of Linden, where she attended the Mackenzie All-Age Primary School before moving on to the Wismar/Christianburg Multilateral, the Linden Foundation High and then the Mackenzie High School, before going on to pursue her tertiary education.

Glynis Alonzo-Beaton can be considered a ‘ selfless, mighty woman – a fighter,’ who literally stands at six-feet, three inches tall; displays beauty, both outwardly as well as on the inside – a caring woman, whose heartbeat is the health and wellness of women. She is married and has given birth to three children.

THE DIABETIC ASSOCIATION
Alonzo-Beaton said that she has been with the Guyana Diabetic Association since 1995. The association was established in 1969, became a registered body in 1973 and a member of the IDF in 1992.

In terms of funding to keep the association going, she informed that most of the association’s funding comes from fund-raising or from the membership. “We contribute to whatever we have; we have been seeking subvention and hope to receive same soon. However, we do a lot of collaborative work with the Ministry of Health, through the Chronic Disease department.

“We have also done a lot of capacity-building with PAHO/WHO. By this I mean that they would have paid for certain training for us, both young people and myself, for which we had to come back and do a project,” she said. “The fact is that PAHO/WHO does not give you money unless they know that you will come back and do something for your country and organisation. You go, you learn, you share and you come back to do for your organisation.”

Alonzo-Beaton said that she was very grateful for such expectations from PAHO/WHO since it allows for improvements within individual organisations represented and the country as a whole.

DIABETES AND ITS TYPES
Diabetes is considered a chronic disease or illness in which the blood glucose, also called blood sugar level in a person’s body is above normal. It can strike anyone – young or old, rich or poor and it does exactly that.

Simply put, diabetes can be explained in this manner: When food is consumed the body turns it into sugars or glucose. At that point, the pancreas is supposed to release insulin, which allows glucose to enter and give energy to the body. However, in the case of a diabetic this system does not work, resulting in complications – diabetes, which comes in the form of mostly Types 1 and 2, but also Type 3.

Type 1 also called “juvenile diabetes”, normally occurs before someone turns 20 and is rarely reversed, but it can be managed through diet and lifestyle changes.
Type 2, on the other hand, is more common among adults and can be found especially in people who are overweight, have a poor diet, experience high levels of stress, have high blood pressure or a history of heart disease; being exposed to viruses, harmful chemicals or toxins, among other causes.

This (Type 2) diabetes, research has disclosed, can eventually affect every system in the body – weight, sleep, energy level, vision and many more. Fortunately, however, this type of the disease can be reversed – with proper management by the doctor, correct diet and exercise.

Type 3 diabetes is associated with Alzheimer’s disease, where there is insulin resistance in the brain. Studies have also shown that people with Type 2 diabetes are more susceptible to the Alzheimer’s disease.

DIABETES – SILENT KILLER
According to Alonzo-Beaton, the GDA has grown since, because of the awareness – featuring more and more on what diabetes is. She noted that diabetes is one of the silent killers and that while it is not number one in Guyana, it is one of the contributing figures to the top five chronic diseases.

“Diabetes is your heart, it’s your lungs, is the kidneys, is the nerves, is the foot, is the pancreas- you name it, it is diabetes. So at the end of the day it is a dangerous illness if you don’t manage it,” she said. “Managing diabetes is never easy and it is never going to be easy because it is a daily routine thing – it is not like I have flu and it will go away.

There are days when persons become sick, depressed, tired of looking at diabetes, but you have to come out of that Kodak moment very fast.”

She said that there are days when she hates being a diabetic because she has to look at what she eats; she has to look at how much she is eating and other factors. “I would love to eat six, eight, nine, 10 fudge because I make fudge, so in order not to be overboard with that I try not to make them too often,” she admitted.

COMPLETELY PREVENTABLE
The GDA head explained that people sometimes need to intentionally consume sugar, which is usually when the blood sugar runs low and this speaks of calories, which helps the fat. This results in people having to strike a balance, working seriously with the body to bring order and control – eating well and exercising, without over-doing either of the two, and these she says will result in a more desired healthy life.

In fact, according to the 2017 National Diabetes Statistics Report, over 30 million people living in the United States have diabetes, which represents almost 10 percent of the U.S. population.

The report reiterated what Alonzo-Beaton said that Type 2 diabetes is one of the most dangerous diseases, which can lead to many other health conditions when it is not managed properly, including kidney disease, blindness, leg and foot amputations, nerve damage, and even death.

However, the Type 2 diabetes, according to the report, is a completely preventable and reversible condition, and with diet and lifestyle changes people can greatly reduce their chances of getting the disease or reverse the condition if they have already been diagnosed.

This disease continues to affect far too many persons at varying ages in Guyana and much is being done at this time to help bring relief to many. See Part 2 next week. (mercilinburke2017@gmail.com)