If you have diabetes, you have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. To reduce this risk, it is essential that you optimise your nutrition as part of a healthy lifestyle. Trying to understand the effects of dietary fats on your heart and health is not easy, and it still remains a topic of confusion and, in some instances, fierce debate. Read more…
Category: Past issues
Water Workouts Work Wonders
It is well known that diabetes responds very well to exercise. In fact, exercise is considered to be a cornerstone to diabetes management, along with a healthy eating regime and guidelines from your general physician. But have you ever considered water aerobics as your choice of exercise?
Healthy recipes with Pick n Pay
You can reduce the fat and calories without sacrificing taste, by swapping out a few ingredients in your favourite family recipes.
Teenagers who don’t take their insulin
Sometimes teens seem to lose sight of the seriousness of Type 1 diabetes. This is a common response at some point in the teenage years for those who have this condition. Rosemary Flynn tackles how to deal with this real predicament.
Read more in the Summer issue of Diabetes Focus eMag …
Are you at risk?
Risk factors for developing diabetes include the following:
- Being aged 35 or over
- Being overweight (especially if you carry most of your weight around your middle.
- Being a member of a high-risk group (in South Africa if you are of Indian descent you are at particular risk).
- Having a family history of diabetes
- Having given birth to a baby that weighed over 4kg at birth, or have had gestational diabetes during pregnancy
- Having high cholesterol or other fats in the blood
- Having high blood pressure or heart disease
Early diagnosis of diabetes is extremely important if complications are to be prevented or delayed. If you are over 35 and have any of the risk factors highlighted in the “Who is at Risk” section, you should be tested every year.
A simple finger-prick test at your local pharmacy or clinic can diagnose the strong likelihood that you may have diabetes within a minute.