After a new global study finds cases of diabetes are on the rise, the head of a national advocacy organization is reminding Canadians this country is “not immune” to that increase.
Researchers behind a study published Thursday in The Lancet expect cases around the world to almost triple by 2050, reaching a peak 1.3 billion.
“And here in Canada, we have been noticing that uptick very much,” says Laura Syron, president and CEO of Diabetes Canada. “We are not immune to it at all.”
The study found Type 2 diabetes makes up 96 per cent of all cases. In Canada, nearly 12 million people have either diabetes or pre-diabetes.
Syron herself was diagnosed with Type 2 seven years ago, when she was 50 years old.
“When I got my diagnosis, you could have knocked me over with a feather,” she says. “It was just at a regular annual check-up.”
“And I didn’t know what to do with that, and that’s one thing I will say, is that folks need help to understand what (the disease) is,” she adds.
“Diabetes is progressive,” says N.S. Health endocrinologist Dr. Tom Ransom. “Someone can be doing all of the right things and it just slowly gets worse, and they have to understand that it’s not their fault.”
Type 2 diabetes happens when the pancreas fails produce the insulin a body needs to function. As a result, a body’s cells can then respond poorly to what insulin is produced, making the body insulin resistant.
In certain cases, Dr. Ransom says Type 2 diabetes can be managed with healthy eating and exercise, but others also require medication or insulin.
Experts say healthy habits are especially important to combat the increase in reported cases of Type 2 diabetes among youth.
“Everyone should be eating a healthy diet and being as active as you can be,” says Dr. Ransom. “And then of course, have your regular screening with your family doctor to maybe detect it in its early stages and intervene if possible.”
“Unfortunately, it’s quite common that people can go years without knowing they have diabetes,” he adds. “It’s one of things you might not feel…when it’s more advanced, people get more symptomatic, a lot of drinking, going to the bathroom a lot, those are some early signs.”
“Obesity (is a) key risk factor,” says registered dietitian Angela Dufour. “We know that 60 per cent of adult Canadians and one-third of children under the age of 17 are overweight and obese.”
Her top tips for maintaining healthy blood glucose levels include limiting sugar intake while increasing fiber.
“We need have less than 10 per cent of our total energy coming from free sugars, that’s approximately 50 grams, or about 12 teaspoons,” she says.
“Health Canada recommends 30 to 50 grams of dietary fiber coming from mixed sources,” she explains. “That’s soluble and insoluble fiber.”
“Soluble can be found in oat bran, barley, nuts,” she continues. “Whereas insoluble fiber includes more of those whole grains, lots of our vegetable sources, brussels sprouts, broccoli, artichokes, wheat bran, so a mix of both of those types of fiber have been shown to improve that glycemic index.”
According to Diabetes Canada, it currently costs $50 million in health care a day to treat diabetes, a disease which can also lead to complications such kidney disease, eye damage, heart disease and stroke.
