Safe and healthy ways to shed pounds
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��early 26 million Americans
have diabetes, and
two million new cases
are diagnosed each year.
Diabetes is a leading cause
of blindness, heart disease,
stroke and kidney disease in
the United States. With some
careful planning and attention,
complications of diabetes
can be prevented and the
disease can be managed or
prevented altogether.
Diabetes is a condition
in which a patient has high
amounts of blood sugar, either
because the body cannot
produce sufficient amounts
of insulin (a hormone that
transfers glucose from the
bloodstream to the cells), or
as a result of improper response
to insulin in the body.
There are two types of diabetes—
Type 1 and Type 2. Both
types affect the way in which
the body converts food into
energy.
“The disease stems from
a problem in the pancreas,
which is an organ that produces
various enzymes to
aid the body in the digestive
process,” explains Edmund
Giegerich, MD, chief of endocrinology
COURIER L 40 IFE, NOV. 1-7, 2019
at NewYork-Presbyterian
Brooklyn Methodist
Hospital. “The pancreas
is also responsible for converting
sugar from food into
energy through the secretion
of insulin. The failure of the
pancreas to produce or secrete
sufficient quantities of
insulin results in diabetes.”
People with Type 1 diabetes
are born with a genetic
predisposition to the disease
and cannot produce the insulin
needed to convert sugars
from food (glucose) into energy.
Type 1 diabetes is most
commonly diagnosed in children
(it is often referred to as
juvenile diabetes), and only
five percent of cases fall into
this category. Type 1 diabetes
is a chronic disease that cannot
be prevented or reversed
through lifestyle choices, although
changes in lifestyle
can help with its management.
Symptoms of Type 1 diabetes
may include frequent urination,
unusual thirst and
extreme fatigue.
Type 2 diabetes is the most
common type of diabetes.
It is a chronic disease that
most often develops through
a combination of lifestyle and
genetic factors. People with
Type 2 diabetes have two issues
with insulin: the body
does not recognize the insulin
that is produced (insulin
resistance) and does not produce
sufficient insulin (secretion
deficit). People with
Type 2 diabetes may experience
any of the Type 1 diabetes
symptoms, as well as
blurred vision, numbness in
the hands and feet and recurring
bladder infections.
Physicians treating diabetes
may ask patients to monitor
their blood glucose levels
every day, using a meter that
evaluates the glucose level
from a drop of the blood. If
the glucose level is found to
be too high or too low, the
patient can make dietary
changes to get the glucose
back into a healthy range. In
addition to advising patients
on proper nutrition and exercise,
a doctor may prescribe a
medication to help keep glucose
levels in check.
“Patients already diagnosed
with Type 1 or Type 2
diabetes can reduce the risk
of developing other health
complications, like kidney
disease or high cholesterol
by maintaining a healthy
lifestyle. It is not possible to
cure the disease, but many
patients with diabetes live
long and healthy lives when
their disease is kept under
control,” says Dr. Giegerich.
To schedule an appointment
with an endocrinologist
affiliated with NYP Brooklyn
Methodist Hospital, please
call 718-499-2273 or visit www.
nyp.org/brooklyn.
Health
Maintaining a healthy weight is a great way
to avoid sickness and disease. According to
the Obesity Education Initiative, sponsored
by the National Institutes of Health, as people
become overweight and obese, their risk for developing
a host of ailments, including coronary
heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers,
and hypertension, increases.
But the consequences of being overweight or
obese are not only physical. Psychological side effects
like anxiety and low self-esteem have been
linked to overweight and obesity as well. With
such serious consequences linked to being overweight,
it’s no wonder so many men and women
are looking to shed pounds.
As adults embark on their weight-loss journeys,
they can expect to encounter a host of “miracle”
solutions to weight loss that will promise
skinnier waistlines seemingly overnight. But the
best way to lose weight is to do so safely and nutritiously.
Avoid short-term diets. Many adults know
someone who has experience with a “get-thinquick”
diet that promises to produce slimmer
waistlines in a matter of days or weeks. While
such diets might actually be able to deliver on
their promises, short-term diets rarely lead to
long-term weight loss. When attempting to lose
weight, men and women should want to shed
pounds and keep those pounds off. Short-term
diets may require dieters to make unreasonable
sacrifices to produce rapid weight loss. But such
sacrifices can rarely be made over the long-haul,
and doing so might even be unhealthy. Approach
your diet as a long-term commitment that requires
a lifestyle change, not temporary and difficult
to-maintain restrictions.
Eat only when you’re hungry. Eating only
when you’re hungry may sound obvious, but many
people eat as an emotional response to diffi cult situations,
while others may eat as a way of dealing
with boredom. If you routinely respond to stress by
eating, fi nd a healthier way of coping, whether it’s
going to the gym for a workout or taking the dog for
a walk. In addition, don’t respond to boredom with
food. If boredom is setting in, pick up a book or call
a friend and plan an activity together. You may be
surprised to learn how much weight you can lose
when you limit eating to only those times when you
are truly hungry.
Eat at home. Even though many restaurants
now provide calorie information on their menus,
dining out does not afford adults the opportunity to
control their diets as much as eating at home does,
as dieters can control each and every ingredient
that goes into their meals when eating at home.
Don’t forget to exercise. A healthy, low-calorie
diet is only half the formula to healthy and sustainable
weight loss. Adults looking to shed weight
also must commit to routine exercise if they want
their weight loss to be both healthy and lasting.
Men and women, especially those people who
are considerably overweight, should take things
slowly at fi rst, gradually committing to more vigorous
exercise as they lose weight and their body
grows more acclimated to daily exercise.
Losing weight can be difficult, but adults who
commit to healthy and nutritious weight loss are
more likely to lose weight and keep the weight off
than those who look for quick fixes.
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