The the World Health Organization (WHO) said today that the number of adults estimated to be living with diabetes has nearly quadrupled to 422 million since 1980. The worst areas affected are (worst first):
-
Diabetes is on the rise Western Pacific region, which includes China and Japan
- South-east Asia region, including India and Indonesia
- Europe
- The Americas
WHO warned the condition had spread because of worldwide changes ‘in the way people eat, move and live’.
What’s the problem? Well:
~ Diabetes directly caused 1.5 million deaths in 2012
~ Elevated blood glucose levels linked to diabetes caused an additional 2.2 million deaths that year
~ The problem is getting worse
~ Countries’ medical services face financial hardship or bankruptcy because of the rising costs to do with treating diabetes and its complications
The WHO says huge efforts are needed to change global eating and physical activity habits, especially early in life, when key behavioural patterns are formed.
My comment:
- Exercising (even just walking briskly each day helps) to keep lean tissue levels up and to aid insulin sensitivity
- Eating saturated fats from meats and eggs (and dairy if you are tolerant to it)
- Eating good portions of leafy vegetables
- Eating smaller portions of starchy vegetables and fruit
- Not using vegetable oils for cooking (use saturated fats instead)
- Not consuming foods and drinks that have sugar added to them
- Not eating grains, most especially wheat
- Not eating processed foods