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Valencia Community College is moving forward to a healthier
work place. Valencia's Wellness program is dedicated to creating communities of people with healthy bodies and minds. We invite you to browse the web site, send us questions
or feedback and check back regularly for continued updates. Remember
we are here for you......
November is American Diabetes Month!
Join us to learn more about eating better to control your blood sugar.
November 11, 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm - East Campus 4-149 West Campus 2-239
There are 23.6 million people in the United States, or 8% of the population, who have diabetes. The total prevalence of diabetes increased 13.5% from 2005-2007. Based on death certificate data, diabetes contributed to 224,092 deaths in 2002. The total annual economic cost of diabetes in 2007 was estimated to be $174 billion.
What is Diabetes:
Diabetes is essentially a metabolism problem. With diabetes, there is not enough insulin in the body. Insulin is made in the pancreas and is needed to turn the food we eat into energy.
Normally, the pancreas releases insulin after food is eaten making blood glucose levels rise. Glucose is made when the food we consume turns into sugar, a.ka. glucose. That glucose is then absorbed into the blood to use as energy in cells throughout the body. Our cells need this glucose to work properly.
For most cells, insulin acts like a key to let the glucose in to the cells. Once insulin ("the key") open the cell, glucose goes out of the blood into the cells, returning blood glucose levels back to normal. In a person with diabetes, glucose is absorbed into the blood after eating, but there is not enough insulin to allow the glucose to be absorbed for the body to function properly.
If we think of insulin as a key, in diabetes, the key to the cells (insulin) is missing. Without the key, cells do not get the energy they need and the glucose stays in the blood causing higher blood glucose levels than normal.
Normal glucose levels are between 70 and 100mg/dl if fasting or less than 140mg/dl two hours after a meal.
You can't "catch" diabetes. And, you don't get diabetes from eating sweets.
Heredity plays a significant part in both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. If one of your parents has Type 2 diabetes, the risk is 10-15 percent that you will have it. If both parents have Type 2 diabetes, the risk increases to 50 percent. With Type 1 diabetes if one parent has it, the risk is 2-5 percent. And, if both parents have Type 1, the risk is 10-25 percent.
The most common cause of Type 2 diabetes is being overweight. In fact, nearly 80-90 percent of people are overweight when diagnosed. If you are overweight, cells in your body become more resistant to insulin because receptors (which are the "keyholes" for the insuline "keys") get lost as cells get bigger. Also the larger cells become, the more energy they require. Since more insulin is needed, there is a greater risk of diabetes.
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