Food for Life: Diabetes Initiative

Diabetes is a major public health problem of epidemic proportions. More than 12% of the U.S. adult population has diabetes, and more than one-quarter of the population over 65 has the disease.1 One out of four people with diabetes is unaware they have it, which means they are not being treated with a healthy diet or medications. Uncontrolled, diabetes can lead to complications from head to toe, including stroke, loss of vision, heart disease, kidney failure, and various problems due to nerve damage and circulatory problems, such as erectile dysfunction or lower-extremity amputation.

An even greater number of people have prediabetes (impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance, or both), which means they are at high risk for developing diabetes.  Between 15% and 30% of people with prediabetes will develop diabetes within five years. Weight loss can prevent or delay this onset.

An astonishing one in three children born in the year 2000 is at risk of developing type 2 diabetes (and one in two African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanic Americans) in his or her lifetime, unless there are significant changes in diet and activity levels. Fortunately, type 2 diabetes is largely a diseaseof over-nutrition and sedentary lifestyle. The disease can be prevented, and complications can often be avoided or treated with a significant change in lifestyle.

Come and hear research-based nutrition information, watch a cooking demonstration and sample some amazing health promoting foods!