Yet Another Reason

Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great week!

Almost every time I read the news these days, either on-line or in print, I read another reason why it's imperative that we make the choice to get healthy and stay healthy.  I won't even go into all of the vanity reasons - and there are a lot of them :-).  Right now I'm talking health and all that means: longevity, quality of life, and economics.

According to a study released late last week, the number of Americans with diabetes will nearly double in the next 25 years, and the costs of treating them will triple.  Accounting for inflation, the direct medical cost of treating them will rise from $113 billion annually to $336 billion.  If that isn't scary enough, one researcher considers the predictions "very conservative" because they don't account for the growing proportion of overweight children and teenagers, who are at higher risk for developing diabetes.

According to the article, the most common risk factor is simply being overweight, but "even modest weight loss will reduce the chance of developing type 2 diabetes.  More ambitious lifestyle changes, such as diet, regular exercise and assistance through counseling lowered the risk of diabetes by 58 percent, even without medication, in a major federally funded study."

The article goes on to say that "Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, according to the American Diabetes Association, and nerve damage and damaged blood vessels are also common. About 15 percent of diabetics require amputation of a lower extremity at some point in their life . . . "

I don't know about you, but that scares me to death.  My uncle had a leg amputated due to diabetic complications six years before he passed way, and one of my mom's first cousins, age 68, lost a leg to diabetes about three years ago and is currently fighting to save his other leg. 

I can't think of anything I could eat that would be worth risking a return of my diabetes and that would put me at higher risk for amputation or kidney failure.  I have had relatives on dialysis and this is no way to live.  For better or worse, I've had the opportunity to see up close and personal some of the consequences of a lifetime of unhealthy habit and obesity, and I don't want any part of it!

Most of the time maintenance is fine - even fun, but there are those "other times." There are days when I don't feel like doing what I know I need to do, and it's not always easy or fun.   With the holiday season in full force, this time of year gets tough for me because so many of those old favorite foods (all high sugar and high fat) are around.  When things get tough, I look ahead at what I want to create in my life - optimal health.  While I'm aware of what I don't want to become - overweight, diabetic and dealing with multiple complications, that's not my focus. 

Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels, and that's a choice that each of us has to make every day.  I'm making that choice today - how about you?  Choose wisely :-)