What Are Your Diabetes Risk Factors?

There are plenty of things that can be considered as diabetes risk factors, but do you know what they are? Some of them are just the way life is, part of our make up. Some of them we have control over. This is where we need to focus on deciding how we will handle our health throughout our lives.

Diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas in which the hormone insulin is either not created at all or is made in insufficient amounts to absorb the glucose in our blood streams and use it up. When our bodies cannot absorb the blood sugar the way it is supposed to, our bodies become overwhelmed and they start to break down in predictable ways. Pre-diabetics are those people that have glucose intolerance but they are not full diabetics yet and can still prevent themselves from reaching that point. If you are older and/or a little bit overweight then your doctor should keep a check by getting blood tests done every three years or so, to detect timely if your blood sugars are higher than normal.

There are factors that considerably increase the risk of diabetes. Diabetes risk factors are not equal opportunity disorders. Some races are more at risk, as are people over a certain age, the overweight population, physical activity, and family history of diabetes. Those people that have a family background that is dark skinned like American Indian, African American, Asian American, Pacific Islanders and Hispanics are at much greater risk that Caucasians.

Here is a simple test to take. The more you answer yes to, the higher your risk.
• I have an immediate family member that has diabetes.
• I have a condition called acanthosis nigricans, or a dark velvety rash around my neck and armpits. This is associated with insulin resistance.
• My family is from one of the at-risk backgrounds: American Indian, African American, Asian American, Pacific Islanders, Alaska Natives, and Hispanics/Latinos.
• I have had gestational diabetes, or I gave birth to at least one baby weighing more than 9 pounds.
• I have been told that I have high blood pressure.
• I do not exercise or not more than twice a week.
• My cholesterol levels are not normal. My good cholesterol is too low and my bad cholesterol is too high.
• I have polycystic ovary syndrome.
• I was tested and found to have impaired fasting glucose(IFG) or impaired glucose intolerance (IGT)
• I have had or still have cardiovascular disease.

If you have checked or answered yes to several of these, you should plan to see your doctor soon.

If you have concerns about these diabetic risk factors and want to prevent or slow down this syndrome you can start immediately by beginning to eat whole foods, decrease the sugar in your diet (look at a diabetic food list) and start an exercise routine. Take it one step at a time and you will find that you have mitigated your diabetic risk factors and are living a healthy life free of insulin worries.