Learn diabetes symptoms, prevention tips from the American Diabetes Association - West Michigan

In this week’s segment of GRTV’s NPO Showcase, Kevin Yeomans of the American Diabetes Association – West Michigan discusses symptoms of diabetes, what you can do to prevent, delay, and manage the disease, and the resources available through the American Diabetes Association.

Diabetes is a metabolic disease in which the body does not produce any or enough insulin, causing elevated glucose (or sugar) in the blood. When unmanaged or untreated, diabetes can lead to other medical complications. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States as of 2010. Some common symptoms include urinating often, feeling very thirsty even when consuming fluids, feeling very hungry even after eating, and extreme fatigue.

Although genetics play a role in diabetes, living a healthy, active lifestyle and eating nutritious foods can help prevent, delay, and manage diabetes. In a study by the National Institute of Health, individuals with pre-diabetes who lost 5-7 percent of their body weight lowered their risk of developing diabetes by 58 percent.

Watch this week’s NPO Showcase segment to learn more about diabetes and the work of the American Diabetes Association. The American Diabetes Association also provides resources such as a diabetes risk calculator and healthy recipes, along with funding research to prevent, cure and manage diabetes. You can learn more and support this work on their website or by calling 1-800-DIABETES.

Check back next Wednesday for a new segment of GRTV’s NPO Showcase.

NPO Showcase is just one of the many ways that the Community Media Center serves the nonprofit community. For information about this and other CMC services for nonprofits, or to schedule a future interview, contact Nonprofit Outreach Coordinator, Julie Way, at 616-459-4788 x115 or email [email protected].