Diabetes: Not Curable, But Manageable

You may already know that one of the risks of carrying extra weight around is developing diabetes. However, are you aware of how serious it really is? Diabetes affects 23 million Americans. One in four people don't even know they have it. Here's why that can be a big problem.

People with diabetes face the following complications, among others:

• Greater risk of heart attack and stroke
• Vision impairment or blindness
• Kidney damage
• Nerve damage that causes tingling, pain and numbness (called neuropathy)

Diabetes cannot be cured, but like weight problems, it can be prevented and/or controlled. The key word here being control - of which you are in when it comes to making healthy lifestyle changes. There are many medications that can help you manage diabetes. However, study after study shows that no cocktail of meds is as effective as making true, lasting changes to your diet and exercise habits.