By Francis Quamina Farrier

THE month of November has been designated “Diabetes Awareness Month”, and in this article, we look at a disease plaguing nations all around the world. There are literally millions and millions of people who have Diabetes. Nonetheless, the war against this killer disease continues.

Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose, also referred to as blood sugar, becomes too high. In more recent years, health administrators in most countries globally have been working to help raise awareness for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, through education and advocacy. For them, that is the necessary way for success in bringing down the cases of Diabetes.

In Guyana, one out of every three women has Diabetes. For the Guyanese men, it is one out of every four. Internationally, China leads the world with 141 million diabetic persons. That is followed by India, Pakistan, the USA, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Bangladesh, Japan, Egypt, and Kwait. It must be noted, however, that all those countries have multi-million populations.

The theme for the ongoing anti-diabetes programmes in 2023 is, “Access to Diabetes Care”. The focus is on delaying or preventing Type 2 diabetes. It is also intended to stop the development or stop other diabetes-related complications. Being healthy depends a lot on us living a healthy lifestyle, and “To Know your Risk. Know your response”. For example, the majority of adults would have a clear idea of which foods may not be good for them. In Guyana, we refer to such foods as our “Kinna”. These foods are not harmful to the general population, just the selected few.
Know Your Friendly Foods

Like some other things in life, foods can be good for some people but not entirely for others. Those who have Diabetes are well aware that they need to stay away from sweets, and all things sweet that are a temptation to their palates.

It is not at all easy, but discipline is vital, especially for those with Diabetes. You just can’t put any and everything into your stomach. Those suffering from Diabetes should not indulge in ice cream, for example. However, a very small amount once in a while, though not encouraged, can be had. That, of course, depends on how disciplined the diabetic patient is. To repeat, “Know your risk; know your response”. It would be foolhardy of family members to have lots of sweet stuff here, there and everywhere around the house when there is a diabetic person living there.

Avoid any temptation as best as possible. The diabetic person will find ways to get their hands on the sweet stuff and gobble it up when no one’s looking. They will also syphon off some of the goodies, even in the presence of others without them observing. The diabetic person will fool themselves by saying, “This is just a little. No harm will be done.” The diabetic person should also have well-balanced meals. A meal planning strategy is recommended.

Good meal planning not only saves time and energy, but maybe even money. When you know exactly what you want when you go to the supermarket, half the job is done, and done to your advantage. Regularly plan for healthy meals.

The Fast Food Culture
In more recent years, Guyana, like most other countries around the world, has developed a culture of having fast food. While having fast food is not entirely bad, deserting home-cooked meals and absorbing fast foods daily is not recommended by doctors and nutritionists. These Health Professionals warn about stroke and cardiovascular diseases risks from daily consumption of fast foods.

Yes, do enjoy your fast foods, but with intelligent moderation. Even Fast Food outlets want you to live a long, healthy life and support their business for many years.

As such, let there be a healthy balance between Home-cooked meals and the Fast Food you like to “lash-up” as I say so often. Another bit of advice from this article is the recommendation for annual diabetes checks. More regular if you are advancing in age. You also need to ensure that your food intake is more quality than quantity. Regular exercise is also an important recommendation.

Remember also that the benefits of nutrition and fitness are paramount to managing Diabetes.