Interesting Facts About Diabetes: 7 million of Americans have undiagnosed diabetes!

I learned these interesting facts about diabetes which actually alarmed me.

I was listening to Daniel Trevor doing an interview on YouTube about a book he wrote: Unholy Trinity: How Carbs, Sugar & OIls make us fat, sick and addicted and he mentioned a study from John's Hopkins study about undiagnosed diabetes. I looked for the article and read that 7 million of Americans have undiagnosed diabetes.

I believe I was one of them when I started gaining uncontrollable weight. I was a size 4 and went up to size 12. By all external markers, I was not overweight. 5 doctors could not help me. I fired them all to take control of my health. As I research further, I am convinced I was pre diabetic. I wanted to bring this alarming statistic to people's awareness. With this books guidance, I am going to get the proper tests to verify. Tests my doctors didn't brother to tell me about.

Daniel Trevor had hidden type 2 diabetes as well. He was able to reverse it to with life style and eating changes.

Interesting Facts About Diabetes: Excerpt from the study published by John's Hopkins

A new study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health estimates that the overall number of undiagnosed diabetes cases in the U.S. is significantly lower than current government estimates suggest.

The findings, published online July 11 in Diabetes Care, suggest that public health efforts to improve diabetes awareness and screening over the past three decades have translated into better detection of type 2 diabetes in the U.S. At the same time, the study showed major disparities in the burden of undiagnosed diabetes in certain population subgroups.

Diabetes is considered one of the world’s top public health burdens. A condition featuring chronic elevated glucose in the bloodstream, diabetes affects approximately 14 percent of the U.S. adult population, and more than one-quarter of adults over 65. The prevalence of diabetes has been increasing in recent decades, in part due to the epidemic of obesity. Chronically elevated glucose levels in diabetes can weaken immunity, promote inflammation, harm blood vessels, raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes and can also cause retinopathy (eye disease), kidney disease, and damage to the nerves.

Researchers have been endeavoring to understand the true burden of undiagnosed diabetes, with the aim of identifying those patients who need treatment.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in its 2020 National Diabetes Statistics Report, estimated that about 2.8 percent of the 18-and-over population, or roughly seven million Americans, have undiagnosed diabetes.

That figure would represent about 22 percent of the total diabetes burden. The report’s estimates were based on national survey data and using any single blood test result indicating elevated glucose. Doctors typically diagnose diabetes only after confirming an elevated test result—this approach reduces the possibility of giving patients a false positive diagnosis of diabetes. For example, clinical guidelines recommend that an initial elevated result on the standard fasting glucose test be confirmed with a glycated hemoglobin test, also known as the HbA1c test, or a second fasting glucose test a few weeks later.

It is never too late. If you take action now, you can impact the health outcome of your life. Your future self will thank you for the actions you take today.

Start with these 6 simple lifestyles changes:

1. Grass Fed, Grass Finished Beef

   1. It is so important to our health to consider what our food eats. If the cow, chicken, or fish is not eating healthy food than they can't pass on healthy food to us. It could be a poison to our bodies which is elevating our insulin and making us gain weight and lead to worse diseases later in life.

2. Intermittent Fasting

   1. Intermittent fasting is the best tool for weight loss and managing blood sugar.

3. Eating Healthy fats

   1. It is a myth that eating fat makes us fat. Eating healthy fats like olive oil, avocado, egg yokes, and even animal fat are all good for us. The skin of chicken offers many nutrients and collagen for healthy skin. Although, these will raise your calorie count, it is fine because of how your body uses fat as an energy source.

4. Ditch the Standard Breakfast

   1. Only eat savory and healthy breakfast like eggs, bacon, or sausage. Do not eat bagels, waffles, or cereal. These items raise your blood sugar which leads to more weight gain.

5. Stop Cooking with Seed Oils Immediately

   1. Although the book title says oils in it, Daniel goes on in the book to clarify seed oils. Seed oils are highly inflammatory in our body. Cooking with seed oils will lead to diabetes, heart disease and other chronic diseases.

6. Resistance train 3 days a week on a minimum

   1. Resistance training with weights or bands help build muscle. Muscle is the biggest metabolic driver in our bodies. It responsible for how many calories we burn while at rest or doing cardio. Muscle is the principal site for insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. Muscle is a cornerstone for glucose management in people with type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes and insulin resistance.

Testing is Important

He talks about the standard tests to diagnose pre-diabetes are not good enough to detect pre-diabetes. He shares in the book the correct tests to take.

Now here is the scary part.. He says your doctor may say you don't need the test. Not because you don't need the test. but because the doctor doesn't know how to interrupt it.

Let that sink in. Your doctor may not be doing the right thing for your health because the doctor doesn't know what to do with the results!

Invest in Yourself to Empower Yourself

You must invest in your health. Invest in your health for your loved ones and yourself. You may say that it is too expensive or you don't have time.

Ask yourself what is the cost of not taking action?

If you don't make these changes, statistically you are more likely to develop a chronic disease. This is a fact.

Here are some other facts to consider:

1. Type 2 diabetes is the leading cause of PCOS, sleep apnea, blindness, cataracts, heart attacks, stroke, and some cancers.

2. In 2021, the average per capita prescription drug spending in the U.S. reached $1,432, which is the highest per capita prescription drug spending for more than a decade compared with peer nations.

3. About 14 million adults, or 6% of the population, owe mane than $1,000, and 3 million adults, or 1% of the population, owe more than $10,000.

4. Every 3 minutes and 30 seconds in the United States, a limb is amputated due to diabetes. Amputations are on the rise in the United States—154,000 people with diabetes undergo amputation each year. And as high as 80% of non-traumatic lower limb amputations happen due to diabetes complications.

5. Experts estimate about 25% of all adults have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

That one scared me. I knew type 2 diabetes more than likely leads to a limb being amputated. What is the cost of your limb? A little bit extra time spent for blood tests? A little bit of extra money spent on your grocery bill? The investment you put in today in time and money will quite literally save your life or limb.

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Our programs are designed to guide you through resistance training exercise routines you can do as little as 3 days a week and 30 minutes with the equipment you can access or no equipment. You can track your nutrition in the same app so you can see the impact of what you eat. The total calories and macro break downs. We set up easy ways to start a new healthy habits. The program is set up then the app will alert you so you don't have to think about it. Automate healthier habits today!

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Links:

Purchase the book on the Amazon here:

Link to the study:

https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2022/study-finds-undiagnosed-diabetes-in-us-less-than-half-of-current-estimates

This is an opinion article based on research from published medical articles. This is for information purposes only and not to be used to diagnose type 2 diabetes. Following these steps do not guarantee any one medical outcome as each situation is different. These steps were outlined as general guidelines to live a healthier life to increase the probability of producing a healthier outcome.