Today is American Diabetes Alert Day and it’s a time to look at how dangerous this disease can be.

Greene County Medical Center Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist Laura Walker says 34.1 million Americans have diabetes and 88 million are pre-diabetic. Walker notes diabetes interferes with your body’s ability to use sugar for energy. 

She points out there are two main forms of the disease: Type I and Type II. Type I is when your immune system kills off cells that produce insulin and Type II is when your body doesn’t use insulin properly and causes insulin resistance. A third type is pre-diabetes when someone’s blood sugars are elevated but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.  

Walker says both Type I and Type II diabetes are considered incurable. However, she explains more details associated with Type II.

“Some diabetes experts do sometimes use the term ‘remission’ for people with diabetes who are able to control their blood sugar for at least three months, without any diabetes medications or after a medical intervention, such as like a weightloss surgery. So remission does not mean the person is cured.” 

Walker adds this disease can also be financially draining.

“It’s costly. Medical costs of lost work and wages for people with diabetes is about $327 billion annually in the United States. But medical costs for people with diabetes themselves, they’re actually twice as high as for people who don’t have diabetes. The most costly part of diabetes is actually the complications that can happen. So investing money in good control upfront can actually save money on the backend.” 

Walker says ways to prevent diabetes include exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, eating nutritious foods, no smoking, getting adequate sleep and managing stress.