Did you know...

More than 14 million Americans and an estimated 120 million worldwide are afflicted with diabetes.

Millions more display undiagnosed symptoms that lead up to this terrible disease. The incidence of diabetes is on the rise.

Medical studies show that diabetes has debilitating effects on the extremities, most often the feet. 20% of all diabetics admitted to the hospital are because of foot problems that could have been prevented.

Diabetes, or high blood sugar, that develops in children or young adults (called Juvenile Diabetes) is much less likely to be inherited than adult-onset diabetes (90% of all diabetics suffer from the latter variety). If you are the child of an adult-onset diabetic, you have a 60% chance of developing the disease before age 60. If you are overweight, your risk increases (doubles, in fact, for every 20 pounds of extra weight).

Just put one foot in front of the other and before you know it you'll be taking your first steps towards your active new lifestyle. Walking can improve your health as a diabetic. It can help you manage your disease and be an integral part of your treatment plan, particularly for Type 2 diabetes, where being overweight makes it harder for your body to utilize glucose. Shedding a few pounds can reduce or delay the onset of diabetes related complications. In fact, the signs of Type 2 diabetes can go away completely when people return to their ideal weight. Even if you have had diabetes for 10 years or longer, losing weight can lessen symptoms and improve glucose levels.

Diabetic Foot Care

For the person with diabetes, whose nerve and circulatory functions are impaired, foot problems are even more common and more serious. Neglect of the diabetic foot problem can frequently lead to severe complications. A simple regime of daily care for a person with diabetes can go a long way toward lessening or eliminating foot problems. The three areas that make up the basic essentials of foot care are: 1) washing 2) inspection and 3) shoe protection.  To learn more about diabetic foot care, visit your local podiatrist, if you do not have one, please click on Find a Podiatrist Now.

Daily footcare - it's up to you!
Wash your feet thoroughly and carefully every day. Use a towel to dry and massage between the toes. This keeps the area dry and removes dead skin. Be careful of water temperature. Test with hands first.

A daily walk - even a short one!
Improving the blood supply to the foot can often help to keep it healthy. One way is by walking, which exercises the legs without causing physical stress to the feet. If the weather is bad, walk around the house or go Mall walking.

Daily foot inspection is important!
If you have insensitive feet, you may be unaware of blisters, sores, cuts and scratches that would be painful to a non-diabetic person. For this reason, your feet must be inspected daily, including the top and bottom of the foot, the heel and between the toes. Use a hand mirror, or a magnifying glass. Ask a family member to help if your eyesight is not good or you cannot bend close enough to your feet for careful inspection.

Get good shoes and inspect them daily!
Shoes can offer protection and even treatment for a condition brought on by diabetes. Therefore, it is important to get a medical professional's advice concerning what shoes are best for your feet. Inspect your shoes every day for foreign objects, nail points, or torn lining. If you are a diabetic on Medicare - check with your doctor - you may be eligible for benefits under the Medicare Therapeutic Shoe Bill. 

Do's

Keep your feet clean. Wash your feet with mild soap in medium temperature water every day. Dry carefully, especially between the toes.

Keep your feet dry. Use a good foot powder sparingly between the toes.

Inspect your feet daily. Check for blisters, cuts, scratches and discoloration. For dry feet, use a very thin coat of lubrication oil or cream. Don't put oil or cream between toes.

Keep your feet well-maintained. Cut toenails straight across. Consult physician for detailed instructions.

Change socks or stockings every day. Select fitted, seamless socks and do not wear mended socks.

Don'ts

Do not go barefooted.
Do not soak feet.
Do not use adhesive tape on feet.
Do not wear shoes without socks or stockings.
Do not wear sandals with thongs between toes.
Do not sit with legs crossed. Do not sleep with ankles crossed.
Do not apply heat to feet, i.e.. Hot water bottles or heating pads.
Do not cut corns or calluses. See a foot care specialist.
Do not use chemical agents for removal of corns and calluses.
Do not use corn plasters.
Do not walk barefoot on hot surfaces, like hot sandy beaches or cement around swimming pools.

Did you know that Diabetes is now the fourth leading cause of death and the second leading cause of visits to physicians in the United States. Diabetes is a 20th Century Epidemic.

A 2001 National Institutes of Health study found that a combination of diet and exercise cuts the risk of developing diabetes by 58%. The researchers found that both moderate forms of exercise, such as walking, as well as more vigorous forms of activity, are preventive for diabetes. This is encouraging news for the estimated 60 percent of Americans who do not exercise. The researchers focused on walking and found that accumulated moderate physical activity can extend the same benefits as vigorous activity.

The study showed that those who increased their physical activity through walking, lessened their risk for developing diabetes, just as much as people who engaged in more vigorous forms of exercise like jogging, running and playing tennis.

Key Study Results

Walking lengthened the life of people with diabetes regardless of age, sex, race, body mass index, length of time since diagnosis, and presence of complications or functional limitations.

Among the study group, 62% reported doing "any" leisure-time physical activity; 46% reported walking for exercise. People with diabetes who walked for at least 2 hours a week, lowered their mortality rate from all causes by 39%.

People with diabetes who engage in at least 2 hours of any leisure-time physical activity a week, had a 29% lowered mortality risk compared with people who are inactive. Walking 3-4 hours a week reduced mortality from all causes by 54%.

Among adults with diabetes, one death a year may be prevented for every 61 people who walk at least 2 hours per week.

Risk of death from heart disease could by reduced by 34% by walking at least 2 hours per week. One cardiovascular death a year might be preventable for every 145 people persuaded to walk at least 2 hours a week.

While the study found that walking at moderate-intensity levels reduced mortality, no reduction in mortality was associated with more intense levels of walking, indicating that vigorous levels of exercise are not as beneficial for people with type 2 diabetes.

Type II diabetes is a potentially dangerous metabolic disease that often arises in the forties or fifties, is brought on by an insensitivity to insulin, a hormone manufactured by the pancreas that allows the cells to remove sugar from the blood for fuel. Thus, a diabetic cannot store or use glucose efficiently, which can lead to fatigue as well as other symptoms. This form of diabetes, also known as non-insulin-dependent diabetes, often can be controlled with exercise, diet and (if need be) oral medication. Diabetics frequently have circulatory disorders because the disease causes small blood vessels to degenerate. Cuts in the legs and feet often don't heel properly or quickly because of poor circulation.

Walking makes the body more sensitive to the effects of insulin and thus allows more glucose to be absorbed by the cells. Walk at night if possible, since blood sugar levels tend to be highest then. Many diabetics taking oral medication are able to reduce their dosages or eliminate it altogether after starting a regular walking program.