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

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