Diabetes - Breaking the Cycle

In this five week series on the state of health for men of color, I have shared my private family experiences. It is my hope that by making myself vulnerable, it will help someone make better health choices for themselves and their family. I am a firm believer in that if you don't learn from your history, then you are going to repeat it. As men of color, there are a number of health issues and diseases that we have a greater genetic disposition to develop. For example, Hypertension, Diabetes, Sickle Cell Anemia and Prostate Cancer are among these diseases. However, many chronic illnesses that we suffer from are preventable if men receive regular physicals or wellness examinations. This year my brother passed away from complications caused by diabetes. My brother was 52 years young and his death triggered a lot of suppressed emotion. My brother (who was a Jr.) was a few years younger than my father when he passed away. Like my father, my brother had a poor diet and drank alcohol. As with my father's death, it appeared that his disease was under control. A lot of people have a fatalistic attitude that if your mother and your father and your grandmother had diabetes, that you're destined to have it and there's nothing you can do about it, and that's just not true.

So, now I search for the lessons. How or what can I do to improve my health and the health of others. What can I possible say that will impact change in ones behavior to conquer what appear to be a formidable enemy?

Lesson 1:

It more likely for African American men to develop one or more of the serious complications associated with the disease. These complications include amputation, kidney failure, blindness, and cardiovascular disease. For example, African Americans are 1.5 to 2.5 times more likely to have a limb amputated than any other groups with diabetes.

Lesson 2:

You can control type 2 diabetes. Here are the A B C’s to do that: A is your hemoglobin A1c level, which tells you how well you're managing your blood sugar. Keeping A1c levels at 7 or below reduces the risk of eye, kidney, and nerve damage. B is your blood pressure. The goal is to maintain a reading of 130/80 or below to protect your kidneys and eyes and prevent stroke. C is your cholesterol. Have your doctor check your cholesterol level and keep it within a safe range. LDL or "bad" cholesterol should be less than 100 mg/dL.

Lesson 3: Know and manage your risks factors

• Obesity
• Poor diet
• Lack of exercise
• Substance abuse

There are tons of web sites that have information on the Internet that you can obtain to help you teach others about the consequence of diabetes. African American suffers the highest rates of diabetes. Please pass this information along and help me to break the cycle. Thanks.

Peace and Blessings