We have a silent health disaster creeping at our door costing our lives, lifestyle and money. Conservative estimates have the number of Australians currently living diagnosed and yet to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) at 2 million. This is approximately 1 in every 10 of us![i] And it’s increasing!
The financial burden of T2DM in Australia is estimated to be $10.3 billion every year.2 This cost is expected to grow rapidly as our waistlines continue to expand.2 T2DM is now the sixth leading cause of death taking countless lives.2 It is literally a financial and health tsunami. The good news is that T2DM is easily preventable and we have some extremely effective herbal and nutritional treatments available for T2DM patients.
Why is this happening?
The key factor in the rapid increase in people with T2DM is quite simply a matter of our weight! Two out of three men and one in two women in Australia are now overweight or obese.[ii] It is easy to identify those people most at risk for T2DM and you can download The Australian Type 2 Diabetes Risk Assessment Tool (AUSDRISK) from Diabetes Australia (see the link at the bottom of the article to download a copy).
There are essentially three keys to improving the health of these people. Firstly, they are overweight or obese. This makes it both difficult for them to shift the excess weight now, and it is contributing to their insulin resistance. Secondly, their insulin resistance demands urgent attention. Fat loss in conjunction with improved insulin sensitivity is their only road out. Thirdly, they are at high risk to the number one killer, cardiovascular disease, so this must be mitigated by improving their blood lipid profile.
Obesity is commonly accompanied by high triglycerides, LDL and total cholesterol, as well as decreased HDL. These factors combined with the insulin resistance and hyperglycaemia are responsible for the increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and heart attack to name a few. Add the inflammatory effect of obesity and hyperglycaemia and you have a recipe for disaster for the entire cardiovascular system!
- Reduce overweight or obesity
- Improve blood glucose balance
- Reduce elevated blood lipids.
Fortunately, both obesity and T2DM are highly preventable and reversible with an approach that addresses the three keys. Dietary and lifestyle changes can be significantly more effective when used with herbs and nutrients that can break the fat-insulin resistance cycle they are trapped in.
[i] Diabetes Australia. Diabetes in Australia. 2011, Turner. Available from: http://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/en/Understanding-Diabetes/Diabetes-in-Australia/ [Accessed Jan 27 2011]
[ii] Diabetes Australia. Are You at Risk? 2011, Turner. Available from: http://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/en/Understanding-Diabetes/Are-You-at-Risk/ [Accessed Jan 28 2011]
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