Unfortunately, diabetes — a condition where your body either can’t produce or use the hormone insulin correctly, leading to high blood sugar — is an epidemic in the United States, with cases in both adults and children on the rise.
Across the country, it’s estimated that as of 2023, 40.1 million individuals were living with diabetes (which includes 11 million undiagnosed), while over two million Floridians were affected.
Diabetes causes many different complications, which is why it’s critical to partner with your physician to manage it well.
At Nu Wave Medical Center, Dr. Gurprit Sekhon diagnoses and treats diabetes with an advanced, patient-centered approach. She partners with patients to ensure that their diabetes is monitored regularly and managed effectively.
Insulin is critical for delivering glucose from the food you eat to your cells through the bloodstream. Diabetes causes the glucose to stay in your bloodstream, which can lead to a host of problems:
In addition to this concerning list, diabetes is also associated with heart disease.
If you live with diabetes, there’s another sobering statistic to keep in mind: You’re twice as likely to develop heart disease. Additionally, the longer you live with the condition, the higher your risk is.
This is especially worrisome for people living with type 1 diabetes, which is usually diagnosed in childhood or adolescence. Type 2 diabetes is typically diagnosed in midlife.
Those with type 1 diabetes can only produce very little or no insulin at all and must be treated with insulin for their entire lives, while people with type 2 diabetes are able to produce insulin, but their bodies can’t utilize it well.
Living with high blood sugar gradually harms your blood vessels and the nerves that impact how your heart functions. This, in turn, raises the likelihood that you’ll be affected by high blood pressure, which increases your risk for heart disease even more, as well as heart failure (when your heart can’t pump blood efficiently) and stroke.
The good news is that many of the lifestyle choices that Dr. Sekhon advises you to adopt to manage your diabetes well are also ones that support your heart health.
Aim for eating plenty of fruits and veggies, lean protein, and whole grains, steer clear of sugary drinks like soda, go easy on alcohol consumption, and lean into a diet of unprocessed foods as opposed to one with lots of fast food and heavily processed products like chips and cookies.
Aim for daily exercise — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends at least 150 minutes of movement per week, or 30 minutes, five days a week.
This acronym stands for getting a routine A1C test that measures your average blood sugar level over a period of one to two months, working to keep your blood pressure below 140/90 mm Hg (though Dr. Sekhon may set a different target for you), and managing your cholesterol levels well, which we can also help you do.
And yes, even the small “s” in “ABCs” stands for something important: smoking! Don’t ever start if you’re not a smoker, and if you are, talk to Dr. Sekhon about a recommendation for a cessation program.
When you’re under Dr. Sekhon’s care for diabetes, she may advise treatments like:
Managing your diabetes well today means that you can be more successful at lowering your heart disease risk tomorrow.
To get help with managing your diabetes so you can live more fully and plan for a healthier future, call our Panama City Beach office at 850-493-6948, or use our convenient online booking tool.
