You've probably heard about diabetes from your relatives when they come back from the family doctor. Usually, they refer to it as "sugar de problem". Have you ever taken a minute to think about what does it really mean? Or, can u also get it? And are there precautions you can take to prevent it?

Well, let's break it down. Diabetes has a few different types. The most common and the one I will be referring to in this article is Diabetes Mellitus Type 2, it may also be referred to as Adult onset diabetes or non insulin dependent diabetes by non medical personnel. Basically, it is a disease in which your blood glucose (sugar) levels are too high. It is caused by a deficiency or lack of sensitivity by the hormone insulin normally produced by your pancreas after you eat a meal. When you digest your meal, let's say u just had some of mom's delicious Auloo Paranthas; they are broken down into carbohydrates, fats and protein. The carbohydrates are the ones that cause the problems since they are then broken down into glucose. Insulin is required to allow the glucose to be stored into your body tissues (muscles, brain, liver, fat cells) where it can be used as fuel. You may be thinking… glucose… cool… what do I need that for? Well, let's say tonight is your cousin reception party. After getting all ready and dressed to impress, you may find yourself busting a new bhangra move or two on the dance floor. All that glucose from the Auloo Paranthas has to be stored by insulin in your muscles do that, otherwise you will very quickly run out of energy.

On a more serious note, what if you have diabetes or it runs in your family? How does that affect your long term health? You have never probably heard of anyone dying from diabetes…however, people die or suffer from the havoc caused by high blood glucose levels on the blood vessel of your body, in medical terms atherosclerosis (hardening and clogging of blood vessels). Diabetes causes vascular diseases to occur at a much younger age than normal. For example, you are at least twice as likely for have a stroke or heart attack. Not to mention, for males impotence (erectile dysfunction) will also start at a much younger age. According to the Mayo Clinic 80% of diabetic males are affected.

Here's the bad news… according to the AAPI (American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin) South Asians have a 4-5 times increase risk of developing diabetes compared to Caucasians. The good news is if you take the advice of you family physician and live a healthy lifestyle you should be able to minimize the effects of diabetes on your long term health. Not to mention improving your amateur bhangra dance career.

What You Can Do: Preventive Measures

-Catch it early by seeing your family doctor to make sure the three big B's are tested regularly and within the normal range for your age.

      • BLOOD Sugar (glucose)
      • BLOOD Fat (cholesterol)
      • BLOOD Pressure

-Maintain a Normal Weight or body mass index (BMI) according to your height. U can calculate it at http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ or get help from your family doctor

-Instead of 2-3 large meals a day break it up into 5-6 smaller meals every 3-4 hours to keep a steady glucose level. An example would be having only one Aloo Parantha (not one and a half) for breakfast and eating the next one 3 hours later. U will also feel less sleeping during the day as a result.

-Eat a heart healthy diet by eating less total fat and less saturated fat. An easy way to do this is instead of using 100% butter for cooking use a mix of 90% olive oil and 10% butter to keep that South Asian flavor.

-Quit smoking, it doubles your atherosclerosis especially if u have diabetes. Your doctor can help with nicotine patches, plus your breath will smell a lot better as a result.

- Do aerobic exercise for at least 20-30mins, 3-4 times a week. One fun way is to be a "regular" on the dance floor when the Bhangra music comes on.

-Choose South Asian foods that have a lower glycemic index (GI) and low fat to keep your glucose levels normal. Most South Asian diabetic patients swear by channa dhal as their staple food. Some other foods u can use are: rice use basmati rice, low fat non-sweetened yogurt (Dahi) and spinach (saag). Basically anything that has more vegetables and beans with less sugar is the way to go. This website has some GI listings of common South Asian foods:

http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/glycemicIndexList.php?section=Asian%20Indian

Good luck and take care of your health - because no one else can do it for you.

Dr G.

Links for more in-depth reading:
http://www.diabetes.ca/Section_About/glycemic.asp
http://www.iknowdiabetes.org
http://www.americanheart.org
http://www.mendosa.com/chanadal.html


Legal Disclaimer: The material contained on this article is intended to be general healthcare information for educational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered complete or used in place of a visit, call, consultation or advice from your physician and/or healthcare provider.