Guest Speaker: Peggy Andrews
Peggy Andrews, RDN, from Kish Health is an educator in their Diabetes Education Center. She addressed the Sycamore Rotary Club on January 11th, telling members about Type 2 Diabetes -- which is the most common form that affects 90 to 95 percent of the 29 million Americans who have diabetes.
Andrews says there are three major steps people can take to lower their risk of Type 2 diabetes: (1) Eat a balanced diet (at least half your plate should be veggies), maintain a healthy weight (men-watch your waistlines); (2) stay active physically (even 10 minutes a day helps) and (3) manage and reduce your stress level.
Andrews shared literature explaining the symptoms you may notice before you realize you have diabetes. They include frequent urination, always being thirsty, blurred vision, and tingling pain or numbness in hands or feet. She also talked about some high risk factors--when your mother, father or sibling has a history of diabetes; if you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure; if female, have you ever been diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
She brought handouts for members to take a simple seven-question test to learn what risk level they are at. And Andrews also shared information on their free Healthy Living classes for next month. For more information, you can go to www.kishprograms.org or call her at 815-748-8962 for more information.