What Puts Us At Risk For Diabetes

0:00
Welcome to the Diabetes Digital Podcast.

I’m Wendy.

And I’m Jess, and we’re best friends, registered dietitians and diabetes educators.

Through our telehealth platform, Diabetes digital.co, we offer accessible and personalized virtual nutrition counseling for people with diabetes and pre diabetes.

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Visit diabetesdigital.co That’s Co to book your first appointment.

We accept insurance and offer affordable self pay options.

Now let’s get into today’s episode about diabetes risk factors.

Welcome back to another episode of the Diabetes Digital Podcast presented by Food Heaven.

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Before we even start this episode, we want to remind y’all the importance of going on iTunes and leaving us five stars.

Especially now that we have this new podcast, it would be nice if you could leave some words related to the diabetes content and how useful it is for you.

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It’s super easy to do.

So with that being said, we’re going to jump into today’s episode where we’re going to be talking about risk factors and prevention for type 2 diabetes.

And I’m specifically talking about type 2 diabetes because the risk factors for type 2 are going to be completely different for the risk factors for type 1.

1:13
So it’s important to make that distinction and also specifically with prevention, talking about nutrition, lifestyle, things that we can all do to reduce our risk, especially if you’re in the pre diabetes range.

And just a disclaimer, as always, this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for medical advice.

1:34
Now, interesting fact that I want to share and we’re going to talk more about it in this episode, but did y’all know that if you get less than 7 hours of sleep regularly, diabetes can be harder to manage?

I was blown away by that statistic because I think so often we only want to focus on diet and we’re not thinking about these other things like sleep and stress.

1:56
And there are a lot of reasons why that having less than 7 hours of sleep can impact your ability to manage your diabetes effectively, including increased insulin resistance.

But we’ll go more into them all within this episode.

Yeah.

And there’s so many factors outside of food that can increase your risk for diabetes.

2:14
And it’s really important to view things from a bigger lens.

You have to zoom out and there are things called modifiable risk factors and non modifiable.

So it is important to make the distinction.

Yeah.

So modifiable are those risk factors that you can potentially change and you have in theory some control over.

2:36
So modifiable risk factors might be things like physical activity level, right.

Because we in theory again not everybody is able to engage in physical activity, but many people are and that can decrease their risk versus non modifiable risk factors which are risk factors that we cannot change.

2:55
So a non modifiable risk factor would be something like genetics.

We can’t change our genetics, at least not yet.

So that is something that we’re not going to be able to have an impact on when it comes to preventing or managing our diabetes.

Next, we want to talk about what is happening in the body when you have type through diabetes because there are so many people who get diagnosed and they blame themselves and they think, Oh my gosh, it’s because I ate too much sugar for Halloween and it is such a complex disease.

3:26
And as we’re going to talk about, a lot of the risk is genetic and so we want to 1st go into what is happening in our body.

So diabetes is a condition where the body struggles with regulating and using blood sugar or glucose as fuel.

That’s number one.

3:42
The second thing is this condition can often lead to excessive sugar slash glucose in the bloodstream over a long period of time, and that can lead to health complications.

So the high blood sugar levels from type 2 diabetes can eventually, if left, you know, not managed well or uncontrolled, can eventually lead to problems in the circulatory, nervous and immune systems.

4:07
So why is this all happening?

Like what’s the underlying issue with type 2 diabetes?

Well, there are two main issues occur.

So issue #1 is the pancreas, which is an organ in our body that has a very important job of making insulin.

And for those who are not really sure what insulin is, insulin essentially is a hormone that helps move sugar into your cells and it is critical for your cells to get fed essentially.

4:34
So number one is a pancreas is not producing enough insulin and the second thing is that the cells don’t respond well to the insulin that is being produced.

So you also become what we call insulin resistant.

4:50
And those two things mean that your body is not absorbing sugar effectively.

So insulin is crucial for regulating blood sugar and in type 2 diabetes, its effectiveness is reduced due to insufficient production or poor cellular response.

5:07
One way to think about it, and this helps me kind of visualize, is all that glucose in our blood that’s not being absorbed into the cells is kind of over time causing damage.

It’s causing little Nixon tears on our blood vessels and that’s why we can often have issues with our nerves and with our circulation.

5:26
Another thing that’s important to note is that type 2 diabetes is changing.

The demographics are changing rapidly and type 2 diabetes was formerly known as adult onset diabetes, but now we’re seeing it more and more in children.

It can develop in both children and adults, though it is more common in older adults.

5:47
So just keep in mind that while the risk is higher in people who are older, we’re seeing it across the board in any age.

Yes, and in terms of risk factors, your race or cultural background is going to play a huge part.

6:05
In the United States, there is a disproportionate impact of type 2 diabetes, specifically.

Black and brown people and social determinants of health are a huge part of why this might be happening.

So we know that for black and brown communities, especially black and brown communities living in low income neighborhoods, there isn’t the best access to education, resources, healthcare.

6:33
We’ve seen this working in clinics.

It’s hard to see a doctor.

It’s hard to make an appointment.

There’s just so many barriers to care to the point where people don’t even want to go in because it’s just like a huge headache to see someone and also see someone consistently.

6:49
Something that I see happen all the time too is that maybe they go in when they start feeling comfortable with a doctor and then literally like the following visit, they have a completely new Doctor or they have someone who’s in training or in like.

All of those things really impact someone’s ability to trust their provider and to look forward to, like, developing a relationship with them because it kind of makes you on edge, like, oh, am I going to see this person again?

7:15
Then I have to, like, develop that relationship with someone new.

That was actually something that was happening to my mom in, like, one of the community clinics in the Bronx that she used to go to.

And I was like, no, I was like, we need to find a clinic that is smaller, where you know, that you’re going to be going to the same person.

7:32
And it made all of the difference in her care.

She doesn’t have diabetes, but she has, like, other chronic conditions.

And she was like, oh, my God.

Like, you know, I’m looking forward to seeing Braulio.

That’s her doctor, who happens to be Dominican too.

But yeah, like they would communicate and send each other messages and it’s just like, it completely changes the game.

7:52
Also, I mentioned education, So we know that in communities that don’t have as much access to more affluent communities, usually education level is going to be lower.

And this impacts health literacy.

And what that means is that someone’s ability to understand diabetes, to understand risk factors, prevention, what’s happening in their body that is going to become compromised because they don’t have as much education.

8:17
And maybe even like their priorities are elsewhere, like surviving, paying rent, making sure there’s food on the table, These are all very important, significant issues that impact people who are struggling with poverty, with food insecurity.

8:33
And it plays a significant role in risk factors for diabetes.

So just wanted to also highlight that.

OK, great.

Now we’re going to talk a little bit about some of the lifestyle factors and these are the modifiable habits that do play a role in diabetes risk factors.

8:52
An overview, physical activity levels, nutrition, hydration, stress and sleep.

Again, as Wendy mentioned, some of these things, while yes, in theory they’re modifiable because of the social determinants of health, like if you don’t live next to a grocery store, it might be harder to get fruits and vegetables on your plate.

9:12
So we want to make that disclaimer as well.

But for people who do have access and who do have the luxury of being able to change some of these behaviors to decrease their diabetes risk factors, we want to just mention them.

So physical activity level exercise has been shown through research to improve insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake into the muscle.

9:32
So what that means is when I was talking about what’s happening when people have diabetes #1, glucose is not getting into the cells.

So it exercise helps that happen.

And then the second thing was that the body is less sensitive to insulin, meaning that it becomes more resistant.

9:50
So exercise can help with that as well.

Also, when it comes to nutrition, what we have found is that when folks are skipping a lot of meals or eating low fiber foods or not getting fruits and vegetables or not getting whole grains and lean protein like that is going to play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes, especially for somebody who has all of these other risk factors, including genetic risk factors, etcetera.

10:19
So on the flip side, we have found that when people are having the three meals a day and making sure that they’re not skipping meals, when they’re including more fiber, when they’re including more fruits and vegetables, lean protein and whole grain, that’s going to have a positive impact on blood glucose levels.

Yup.

And stress is definitely something worth mentioning because when you’re experiencing high levels of stress, you might notice that your blood sugar spike and that’s because hormones are released that can lead to a rise in blood sugar.

10:49
It could go the other way.

Usually.

I do see that like if someone is really under like high stress conditions, especially if it’s chronic, if it’s like months and months and you’re just like constantly on edge.

Usually that correlates with your A1C going up.

However, it could go the other way too, where like maybe for you your stress response is you don’t eat, which is very common, right?

11:13
So you’re not eating and then maybe as a result you start experiencing hypoglycemia.

And that’s definitely not the kind of decrease in our blood sugar that we want.

We want to keep things stable.

So if you’re not eating, especially if you’re taking certain medications, it might lead to your blood sugar then going lower than what the recommended range is, which isn’t good either.

11:34
Sleep is another risk factor.

So if you are getting less than 7 hours of sleep per night, and also if your sleep quality is just not good like you’re waking up you’re having interrupted sleep, then that is going to make your diabetes harder to manage.

11:51
And over time, even if you don’t have diabetes, over time, if this is happening consistently, it could increase your risk.

Too little sleep can increase insulin resistance.

It could make you hungrier the next day.

It could impact your hunger and satiety cues.

12:07
And also it could affect your immune system.

It might make your immune system less able to fight infections.

So yeah, I mean, I feel like poor sleep is correlated with pretty much everything that you probably want to avoid, not just when it comes to diabetes risk factors.

So try to prioritize getting some rest at night, getting some deep rests, uninterrupted rest.

12:28
That is going to make a big difference, not just in not just in prevention but also in management genetics also something that I feel like is not talked about enough.

Genetics, I think, is going to be one of the strongest risk factors because if you have a family history of diabetes, especially first degree relatives like your parents, your siblings, your risk is going to go up significantly.

12:50
Genetics is very complex.

It’s very intricate.

There’s so much involved with genes that can impact your insulin production, your glucose metabolism, your pancreatic function.

But you know, oftentimes with people who have type 2 diabetes, they take it as like a personal failing.

13:08
Like there’s something that I did wrong.

I wasn’t eating the right foods, but it’s all my fault.

And like, that shouldn’t be the case, period.

No matter what is happening, you shouldn’t blame yourself for having a condition like type 2 diabetes or any condition really.

13:23
But if you have a strong family history, it’s just like, unfortunately, it’s just one of those things where it puts you at a higher risk and it really doesn’t have anything to do with what you may or may not have done.

There’s things that you can, of course, do to mitigate that risk and just mention some of those things, like with food and lifestyle changes.

13:44
Yeah.

I mean, sometimes it’s like, there’s just so much that you can do.

Now, in terms of what you can do if you are at risk for type 2 diabetes or you have type 2 diabetes and you want to know, just some quick tips and tricks that can be helpful per research.

14:03
So #1 is maintaining a stable blood sugar level.

And as Wendy mentioned, there’s a lot of things that can impact that.

So stress is 1.

Trying to keep your stress down of you’re somebody who is experiencing chronic stress.

14:18
It may be helpful to meet with a therapist who can help implement some stress and mindfulness techniques.

We also talked about getting 7 hours or more of sleep per night and the other thing that can make a difference is nutrition, which I’m sure is one of the reasons why you’re listening to a podcast by two registered dietitians because this is one of the things that we like to focus on with our clients.

14:41
So for example, there are a ton of benefits of eating foods high in fiber and complex carbohydrates.

I remember when I was in grad school for nutrition and I had to do a presentation on what’s one thing that has been well researched that can help with diabetes management and prevention.

15:01
And the nutrient that I focused on was fiber.

I did a whole like, I think it was 30 minutes an hour presentation on it and there was a ton of research and how fiber can help to promote blood sugar management.

So why does it do that?

Well, because it helps to slow the release of sugar into the bloodstream.

15:18
Now, which foods are good sources of fiber and complex carbs?

Whole grains, #1.

So that might be things like brown rice, whole wheat bread, oatmeal, even Popcorn is a whole grain.

And it’s not to say you only eat whole grains, right?

15:34
Because the USDA recommends that we aim to make half of our grains whole grains.

So that means if you’re someone who loves your white rice, I get it.

I love my white rice too.

Then you can make that be your non whole grain and then have something else for your whole grain throughout the day.

15:50
Fruits and vegetables are also sources of fiber and complex carbohydrates along with nuts, seeds, beans, things like that.

Now the other nutrition strategy that we like to recommend to our clients is to try and have carbohydrates that are paired with protein and or fat within your meals and your snacks.

16:13
So in addition to paying attention to fiber, we also want to make sure that we’re having that protein and the healthy fat.

So examples of protein might be chicken, tofu.

Greek yogurt has carbs and protein in it, Tempeh, lamb.

16:30
There’s so many different things.

And when it comes to healthy fats, you might think of things like olive oil, avocado oil, avocado nuts, seeds.

Again, trying to have those with every meal is going to help balance out your blood sugar levels.

16:46
Now, in addition to paying attention to nutrition, we also want to look at our physical activity level when appropriate.

And we definitely want to always get our doctor’s clearance before we’re starting any new exercise plan, because it’s not safe for everybody to be engaging in physical activity for various reasons.

17:03
But if your doctor has cleared physical activity for you, the recommendation is to get at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week at a moderate intensity.

And one way to try to do this is exercising about 20 to 25 minutes every day.

17:22
And when I say exercise, that doesn’t mean that you have to go join a CrossFit class.

No, This could be walking, right?

Or it can even be walking five days per week for about 30 minutes.

Now in addition to getting that 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity, which as I said can be walking any type of cardio that you enjoy, we also want to recommend that you get two or more days per week of strength training.

17:50
And strength training is so critical for blood sugar management and a lot of people only focus on the cardio and they don’t do anything strength.

But this is going to help your body absorb more glucose even after you finish doing the strength training, which is incredible.

18:06
Sometimes it can even continue to absorb more glucose up to 72 hours after the strength training and you want to focus on all the major muscle groups.

So that’s the legs, the hips, the back, the abdomen, the chest, the shoulders and the arms.

Like I said, two days per week.

18:22
Ideally, we don’t want to be perfect, right?

But we definitely want to try and get that strength training in.

And in terms of what you can do, there are some people who like to go to the gym and they like to lift weights, but there’s others who don’t.

And maybe they’re better with just doing a YouTube video like I did this morning at 20 minutes of yoga, where we kind of worked all these muscles in a different way that was still strength or things like Pilates.

18:46
So it’s all about finding what works best for you.

Absolutely.

Those are the most common risk factors and some things that you can do to lower your risk help prevent type 2 diabetes but also manage it.

It goes hand in hand.

So if you’re in the pre diabetes range, this will help to lower your risk of moving on to type 2.

19:05
But also if you have type 2, these are things that are going to help you keep your type 2 well managed.

So we hope you found these helpful.

If you have any questions related to diabetes, you can always feel free to send us Adm on Instagram, we’re at Diabetes Digital Co and that way we can answer some of your questions on this podcast.

19:24
Thank you so much for tuning in.

And if you’re looking for holistic and personalized approach to diabetes management, look no further.

Diabetes Digital has you covered.

We are committed to transforming diabetes care and we have an amazing team of registered dietitians and diabetes educators who have so much experience, so much compassion.

19:46
We provide evidence based care that is accurate and that is personalized.

So if you go to diabetesdigital.co, you can do our get started quiz to see if you’re eligible either with through your insurance or through our membership.

That’s it for today.

Thank you so much for tuning in and we’ll catch you next week.

20:04
Bye.

Thanks for joining us for today’s episode on diabetes risk factors.

If you’re interested in nutrition counseling with one of our expert dietitians to help improve your pre diabetes or diabetes, visit us at diabetesdigital.co.

Also, if you found our conversation helpful, do us a favor and rate and review at this podcast on iTunes.

20:24
Plus share with someone who might find this helpful.

You can also connect with us on Instagram at DiabetesDigital.Co and TuneIn every Wednesday for practical, inclusive and culturally humble diabetes insights.

We’ll catch you later.

Bye.