Today is World Diabetes Day – happy diabetes day to my fellow (and female) diabetics the world over. May your blood sugars be stable for today at least. No hypos or hypers are allowed…
Who knows what the next year will bring? There have been lots of exciting developments in the diabetes world over the last 12 months – from the first hybrid insulin delivery system to the NHS’s decision to offer flash glucose monitoring, to the identification of a new biochemical ‘signature’ as a potential early indicator of type 1 diabetes onset, we edge closer than ever before to understanding and properly managing this condition.
One piece of news I spotted recently that has implications for all of us (and is relatively easy to do) was research that has shown that people with type 1 diabetes who are more active have a lower risk of premature death than those who don’t exercise.
Diabetes.co.uk reported that the Helsinki study. It followed 2,639 people with type 1 diabetes, 310 of them had diabetic kidney disease. They were followed up eleven years later. During the course of the research, some 270 people diets. In the least active group, the death rate was 14.4 percent. Only 4.8 percent died in the group who performed more exercise. Activity seemed to benefit patients who had kidney disease and those who didn’t.
The lead study author, Der Heidi Tikkanen-Dolenc from the University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, said: “Doctors have always prescribed physical activity for their patients with type 1 diabetes without strong evidence. Now we can say that in patients with type 1 diabetes, physical activity not only reduces the risk of diabetic nephropathy and cardiovascular disease events but also premature mortality.”
Keeping active is a challenge in this day and age. Our governments and big business have unwittingly conspired to create a world where the default way to live is a sedentary one where cheap, nasty junk food is all-too-readily available. Being active and exercising often takes a lot of effort, unlike populations who lived years ago who were active because they had to be.
But the message that exercise can help prevent premature death IS a powerful one. Let’s celebrate World Diabetes Day with a walk!
Pic thanks to maxipixelfreepictures.com
Diabetes Diet 
Happy diabetes day! your page is amazing I am a fellow diabetic myself so I found your posts to be so helpful keep up the good work xoxo
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Thank you Marissa. Happy Diabetes Day to you too. I’ve had the condition for thirty-five years, and I’ve seen lots of changes to treatments and policies in that time. Here’s hoping for incredible changes to come!
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Oh wow good for you! It will be 20 years for me in April but yes so much has changed even for me but yes here’s to hoping things get even better!
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Bit battered and bruised, but still standing… We’ll raise a glass to the mythical cure they keep promising us.
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Glass raised. My little one is only two. I’m positive we will see a cure before we hit the dreaded teenage hormone stage.
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Teen + diabetes = tricky!! But it’s doable. Best of luck, and hopefully it’s far enough away for that cure to come in.
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Thank you and good luck.
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