34 | NOVEMBER 24 • 2022 

HEALTH

T

he American Diabetes Association 
(ADA) recognizes November as 
American Diabetes Month with 
a focus on ringing the alarm on the dia-
betes epidemic. In Michigan, the ADA 
states, over 1 million residents have dia-
betes. 
There are four main types of diabetes: 
type 1, which is insulin dependent; type 
2, the most common form — which 
means your body doesn’t 
produce enough insulin or 
it resists insulin; gestational 
diabetes — diabetes diag-
nosed during pregnancy; and 
prediabetes — meaning you 
have higher-than-normal 
blood glucose, according to 
Lisa Wittenberg, a Registered Dietitian 
Nutritionist and Certified Diabetes 
Educator (R.D.N, C.D.C.E.S) with over 20 
years of experience.
Wittenberg, of the Metro Detroit Jewish 
community, expresses the importance 
of learning about diabetes and what you 
need to know to safeguard your health.
“Ninety-six million American adults, 
more than one in three, have prediabe-
tes, and 80% don’t know they have it,” 
Wittenberg says.
The CDC states that prediabetes is a 
serious health condition where blood 
sugar levels are higher than normal, but 
not high enough yet to be diagnosed as 
type 2 diabetes. ADA estimates one out 
of every three children born after 2000 in 

the United States will be directly affected 
by diabetes. 
“You can get type 1 diabetes at any age, 
but it usually develops in children, teens 
or young adults,” Wittenberg adds. 

AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION
Diabetes doesn’t affect the Jewish popu-
lation more than any other, it does affect 
a lot of people throughout the country, 
says Wittenberg, and there are ways to get 
ahead of your health, starting with a visit 
to your doctor. 
“Most people are getting a physical 
once a year in hopes to prevent or find 
problems before there are problems,” she 
said. 
Before a visit with your physician, 
Wittenberg suggests, ask for a fasting 
blood sugar (FBS) test where you fast for 
eight hours prior to your appointment to 
properly check your blood sugar levels. 
Wittenberg says if your doctor notices 
that your blood sugar is elevated, you 
might need to take another test called 
HbA1C, which tests your blood sugar lev-
els over the past three months. 
“When you’re in a range of 5.7 to 6.4, 
that’s called prediabetes. If you’re under 
5.7 that’s normal. Anything above 6.4 or 
if you hit 6.5, we call that diabetes,” she 
says. “If you have elevated fasting blood 
sugar, your doctor may do further testing 
to diagnose diabetes such as retest for 
FBS and send you for a glucose tolerance 
test.” 

Common symptoms of diabetes are 
urinating often, feeling very thirsty, feel-
ing very hungry — even though you are 
eating — and extreme fatigue. While 
there are no clear symptoms for prediabe-
tes, Wittenberg says you can take charge 
of your health by learning about proper 
nutrition and diet for a healthier lifestyle. 
“There are factors that put people at 
higher risk for prediabetes,” Wittenberg 
says. Those risks are being overweight, 
over the age of 45, not being physically 
active or having a family member with 
type 2 diabetes. 
If you find out you have prediabetes 
or have been diagnosed with any type of 
diabetes, Wittenberg expresses the impor-
tance of getting your information from 
a trusted source like a doctor or a regis-
tered dietician.
“I think the No. 1 thing is to not be 
afraid,” she says. “You are your best advo-
cate. It’s our responsibility as patients to 
make sure we see our test results and ask 
to know and understand our numbers. 
We need to ask questions and not just 
wait for the doctor to tell you if every-
thing is OK. 
“Either way, if you get diagnosed with 
any type of diabetes, with the right doc-
tors and care, you can have a good quality 
of life, but it all starts with awareness and 
asking the right questions.” 

For more information, visit lisawittenberg.com or 

diabetes.org.

Learn from a registered dietitian 
how to stay on top of your health.

Lisa 
Wittenberg

RACHEL SWEET ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Epidemic

The

