Managing chronic diseases such as diabetes — one of the leading causes of death for Hispanics in the United States — usually requires switching to a healthy lifestyle.
According to Dr. Jorge Moreno, assistant professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine, 12.5 percent of Hispanics are diagnosed with diabetes which makes them the second highest group prone to the chronic health condition. That statistic is in the 2020 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Diabetes Statistics Report.
Diabetes can cause heart disease which is the number one cause of death in the Hispanic community in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, diabetes can cause vision loss and damage to the kidneys.
“Diabetes can be silent and sometimes people won’t have a clue that they have it,” Moreno said. “Which is why people need to be aware of the symptoms.”
Silent symptoms and statistics
Some of the diabetes symptoms to look out for include increased thirst and urination.
“At the beginning of diabetes, actually, some people lose weight, because they’re urinating out all of the sugar in their urine. And so some people actually, before they get diagnosed with diabetes, they may be actually losing some weight,” he added.
According to the American Diabetes Association website, other signs can be feeling thirsty, feeling hungry, even after eating. Other symptoms include extreme fatigue, blurry vision, cuts/bruises that are slow to heal, tingling, pain, or numbness in the hands/feet. The organization also offers a 60-second Type 2 Diabetes Risk Test, available in English and Spanish through their website, along with resources and updates.
“Overall in the United States, diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death. I don’t have the Hispanic numbers, but just in general, 37 million people have diabetes in the United States,” Moreno said. “That’s like 11 percent of the U.S. population. But 8.5 million of those are not diagnosed and don’t know they have diabetes yet.”
Per the Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in 2018, Hispanics were 1.3 times more likely than non-Hispanic whites to die from diabetes, and Hispanic adults are 70 percent more likely than non-Hispanic white adults to receive a diabetes diagnosis.
The diabetes report also indicated that among the adult Hispanic population, Mexicans (14.4 percent) and Puerto Ricans (12.4 percent) had the highest prevalence. This is followed by Central and South Americans (8.3 percent) and Cubans (6.5 percent).
Small but important lifestyle changes
In a Hispanic household, Moreno notes juice and soda are staples.
“Fruit juices are part of the Hispanic household, like the Goya passion fruit drinks. They actually have more sugar than the average fruit juice,” he said. “So that is something to be aware of. And just, if you don’t moderate the juice intake, it can really affect weight, and it can affect how much your glucose levels go up.’”
Moreno advises Hispanic household to try to maneuver the carbohydrates. “A lot of Hispanic households eat a lot of bread and rice.” Moreno said. “Finding alternatives like complex carbohydrates is useful.”
Complex carbohydrates are slow digested carbohydrates like potatoes, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, beans, and quinoa.
Moderating portions when eating is also important. “Moderate your portions and watch out for your drinks, you know, stick to water on sweetened beverages, or like sweet tea, or there’s nothing wrong with trying a diet soda if you’d like diet soda, you know, that’s okay,” Moreno said.
Additional tips from the American Diabetes Association
“Because everyone’s body responds differently to different types of foods and diets, there is no single ‘magic’ diet for diabetes,” explains the American Diabetes Association on its website.
Despite the challenge, a panel of experts, including scientists, doctors, endocrinologists, diabetes educators and dietitians reviewed over 600 research articles over the course of five years to identify what eating patterns work well for people with diabetes. The results were published in the American Diabetes Association Nutrition Consensus Report. Here are some takeaways:
No “diabetes diet.”: According to the ADA, it’s important to talk with a registered dietitian in order to have a personalized meal plan and goal.
Food swaps and tweaking food choices: According to the ADA, food swaps are an easy way for individuals to reduce the risk. An example would be to change fatty foods for unsaturated fats like olive oil and fish.
Exercising: According to the ADA, losing weight can help improve blood sugars in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
Don’t feel trapped: There are lots of options that can help manage diabetes. The ADA recommends that individuals include lots of non-starchy vegetables such as asparagus, minimize added sugars and refined grains, and choose whole, minimally processed foods.
Managing chronic diseases such as diabetes — one of the leading causes of death for Hispanics in the United States — usually requires switching to a healthy lifestyle.
According to Dr. Jorge Moreno, assistant professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine, 12.5 percent of Hispanics are diagnosed with diabetes which makes them the second highest group prone to the chronic health condition. That statistic is in the 2020 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Diabetes Statistics Report.
Diabetes can cause heart disease which is the number one cause of death in the Hispanic community in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, diabetes can cause vision loss and damage to the kidneys.
“Diabetes can be silent and sometimes people won’t have a clue that they have it,” Moreno said. “Which is why people need to be aware of the symptoms.”
Some of the diabetes symptoms to look out for include increased thirst and urination.
“At the beginning of diabetes, actually, some people lose weight, because they’re urinating out all of the sugar in their urine. And so some people actually, before they get diagnosed with diabetes, they may be actually losing some weight,” he added.
According to the American Diabetes Association website, other signs can be feeling thirsty, feeling hungry, even after eating. Other symptoms include extreme fatigue, blurry vision, cuts/bruises that are slow to heal, tingling, pain, or numbness in the hands/feet. The organization also offers a 60-second Type 2 Diabetes Risk Test, available in English and Spanish through their website, along with resources and updates.
“Overall in the United States, diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death. I don’t have the Hispanic numbers, but just in general, 37 million people have diabetes in the United States,” Moreno said. “That’s like 11 percent of the U.S. population. But 8.5 million of those are not diagnosed and don’t know they have diabetes yet.”
Per the Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in 2018, Hispanics were 1.3 times more likely than non-Hispanic whites to die from diabetes, and Hispanic adults are 70 percent more likely than non-Hispanic white adults to receive a diabetes diagnosis.
The diabetes report also indicated that among the adult Hispanic population, Mexicans (14.4 percent) and Puerto Ricans (12.4 percent) had the highest prevalence. This is followed by Central and South Americans (8.3 percent) and Cubans (6.5 percent).
In a Hispanic household, Moreno notes juice and soda are staples.
“Fruit juices are part of the Hispanic household, like the Goya passion fruit drinks. They actually have more sugar than the average fruit juice,” he said. “So that is something to be aware of. And just, if you don’t moderate the juice intake, it can really affect weight, and it can affect how much your glucose levels go up.’”
Moreno advises Hispanic household to try to maneuver the carbohydrates. “A lot of Hispanic households eat a lot of bread and rice.” Moreno said. “Finding alternatives like complex carbohydrates is useful.”
Complex carbohydrates are slow digested carbohydrates like potatoes, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, beans, and quinoa.
Moderating portions when eating is also important. “Moderate your portions and watch out for your drinks, you know, stick to water on sweetened beverages, or like sweet tea, or there’s nothing wrong with trying a diet soda if you’d like diet soda, you know, that’s okay,” Moreno said.
Additional tips from the American Diabetes Association
“Because everyone’s body responds differently to different types of foods and diets, there is no single ‘magic’ diet for diabetes,” explains the American Diabetes Association on its website.
Despite the challenge, a panel of experts, including scientists, doctors, endocrinologists, diabetes educators and dietitians reviewed over 600 research articles over the course of five years to identify what eating patterns work well for people with diabetes. The results were published in the American Diabetes Association Nutrition Consensus Report. Here are some takeaways:
No “diabetes diet.”: According to the ADA, it’s important to talk with a registered dietitian in order to have a personalized meal plan and goal.
Food swaps and tweaking food choices: According to the ADA, food swaps are an easy way for individuals to reduce the risk. An example would be to change fatty foods for unsaturated fats like olive oil and fish.
Exercising: According to the ADA, losing weight can help improve blood sugars in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
Don’t feel trapped: There are lots of options that can help manage diabetes. The ADA recommends that individuals include lots of non-starchy vegetables such as asparagus, minimize added sugars and refined grains, and choose whole, minimally processed foods.
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