Diabetes & Heart Health Go Hand in Hand

Over 26 million Americans have diabetes. If you are one of these people, you have a higher risk of heart disease and heart attack than people without diabetes. Those with diabetes should, therefore, put a heart-healthy lifestyle at the top of their to-do list.

To get started on your journey, think about your cholesterol numbers, what you eat, how much you weigh, how active you are, and if there is a medicine that could help your heart. Once you know where you are starting, you can begin moving forward on the path to a healthy heart.

  1. Know your numbers. When you have diabetes, you should always know your numbers. One number you should know is your A1C level, which tells you what your average blood glucose levels have been over the past three months. A healthy A1C level if you have diabetes is below 7 percent. To keep your A1C in a safe range, you should keep track of your blood glucose levels every day. Someone from your healthcare team will let you know how often you should check your blood glucose. How often you need to check depends on your treatment plan, so not every person with diabetes will need to check their blood glucose the same number of times each day..

 Other numbers you should keep track of are:

    • LDL cholesterol
      Known as the “bad” cholesterol, LDL can build up in your blood vessels and put you at risk for having a heart attack or stroke. Since the cholesterol guidelines have recently changed, your healthcare provider will let you know if you should be concerned about your LDL number or not.
    • HDL cholesterol
      Known as the “good” cholesterol, HDL can help unclog blood vessels and lower your risk of heart disease.
      Goal: Above 40 mg/dL for men;  above 50 mg/dL for women.
    • Triglycerides
      Also called blood fats, triglycerides can raise your risk for heart disease.
      Goal: less than 150 mg/dL.

 If you don’t know your numbers, you should ask your healthcare provider at your next visit. Write down your results so that you have a record and can track your progress. Your cholesterol numbers should be checked at least once a year, or more often if they are not at your target level.

  1. Choose the right foods. A heart-healthy eating plan is also good for your diabetes. This does not mean you have to give up all the foods you like to eat! It just means that you might have to eat smaller portions or eat them less often. If you are not sure how to get started, a dietician can work with you to create a meal plan that’s based on your lifestyle and the foods you like. Your meal plan can help you better manage both your blood glucose and your cholesterol levels.
  1. Stay at a healthy weight. By staying at a healthy weight, you’ll be helping to keep both your blood glucose and cholesterol numbers in check. Losing just 10 to 20 pounds is enough to help you lower your risk for heart disease.
  1. Get moving. Being active can boost your HDL level, lower your LDL level, and help you maintain your blood glucose levels. Best of all, it can also help you stay at a healthy weight. Every bit of movement counts as exercise. It is best to choose something that you enjoy so that you will not see being active as work. Try to be active for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week, and check with your healthcare provider before starting any exercise program to be sure that it’s safe for you.
  1. Think about taking medicines. You might need to change your lifestyle to take care of your heart and blood vessels. Your body may need medicine to lower cholesterol levels, just as your diabetes may need some help from medicines to keep your blood glucose under control. If you cannot lower your LDL by eating well, exercising and maintaining a healthy weight, then you may need a medicine to help you. The most common types of medicine to help lower LDL cholesterol are a group of medicines called “statins.”. There are other safe cholesterol-lowering medicines, too. Be sure to talk with your healthcare provider if you have questions about these or any of the other medicines you take.

 

 

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Constance Brown-Riggs, MSEd, RD, CDE, CDN—an award-winning RD, certified diabetes educator, and past national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, is the author of The African American Guide to Living Well With Diabetes, which received the Favorably Reviewed designation from the American Association of Diabetes Educators, and Eating Soulfully and Healthfully with Diabetes.

Dr. Lori Shemek, PhD, CNC, CLC, the best-selling author of “Fire-Up Your Fat Burn! and leading health and weight loss expert, is also known as “The Inflammation Terminator.” She has made it her mission to educate the public on the toxic effects of certain foods and lifestyle choices and how they create inflammation in the body. She is a leading authority on inflammation and its role in weight loss, preventing disease and optimizing health.

Rebecca Bitzer – MS, RD/LD, CEDRD is an award-winning Registered Dietitian, writer, speaker, blogger, and REBEL Dietitian business owner. Rebecca and her team of six Registered Dietitians have counseled thousands of clients struggling with diabetes for over twenty-five years. They work closely with each other along with internists, endocrinologists, therapists, and families.

Maureen Sullivan – RN, CDE has worked for many years as a Registered Nurse, most of them in emergency and trauma services. She is a Certified Emergency Nurse, Certified Diabetes Educator, and the former manager of a hospital stroke program. Maureen’s wealth of knowledge, passion for nursing and education, and ability to engage people makes her an excellent teacher and a captivating lecturer. Recently, Maureen has been concentrating on writing, speaking and teaching, as well as working on her award-winning weekly podcast, “The Health and Humor Show.”

Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN is a nutrition communications specialist, registered dietitian in private practice, social media consultant, speaker, spokesperson and corporate consultant. She is currently the owner of Nutrition Starring YOU, LLC and www.NutritionStarringYOU.com. Lauren strongly believes that we should “Think Healthy, not Skinny”, and “EveryBODY is unique, your diet should be too”. Lauren was co-host of the Family Food Experts Kitchen radio show, available for listening on iHeart Radio and iTunes. Also known as one of the “NutritionBabes”, Lauren co-founded NutritionBabes.com, a popular Health and Wellness website in 2009. NutritionBabes.com was voted one of Healthline’s Top 100 Health Blogs in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Mark Heyman, PhD, CDE is a clinical health psychologist and the director of the Center for Diabetes and Mental Health (CDMH). In addition to treating patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, Dr. Heyman provides training for health care providers on how to identify and address the emotional and behavioral aspects of diabetes in their patients. He also works with pharmaceutical and medical device companies to help them understand these issues and incorporate this information into their sales, marketing, and patient education materials. He is particularly interested in empirically supported behavioral interventions that promote behavior change and improve physical and mental health in people with diabetes.

Katie Ferraro, MPH, RD, CDE is a nationally-recognized registered dietitian, certified diabetes educator and author with an expertise in nutrition communications and curriculum development. She is the co-author of “Diet Therapy in Advanced Practice Nursing” (McGraw Hill, 2014) and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Nutrition at the University of California San Francisco and University of San Diego’s graduate schools of nursing.

Dr. Beverly S. Adler, PhD, CDE (aka “Dr. Bev”) is a clinical psychologist and certified diabetes educator, author and speaker. She specializes treating the emotional issues of people with diabetes. In her private practice, she provides individual, family and/or group therapy utilizing a cognitive behavior therapy orientation, combined with a spiritual approach. Her goal is to empower her patients to manage their diabetes.

Dr. Bev is the author of two self-help diabetes books. She has written numerous articles which are published in print and online – always focused on diabetes from the emotional perspective. She also speaks to audiences of people living with diabetes, as well as, to audiences of healthcare professionals and diabetes educators. Dr. Bev, herself, has been living successfully with type 1 diabetes for 40+ years.

In August 2016, Dr. Bev was honored to receive the “CDE Entrepreneur of the Year” Award from her Metropolitan NY Association of Diabetes Educators.

Jill Weisenberger, MS, RDN, CDE, FAND is an internationally recognized nutrition and diabetes expert with more than two decades experience. Through writing, speaking and one-on-one coaching, Jill empowers people to grab control of their health. She has worked as both a nutrition counselor and a diabetes educator in the hospital and research settings, and now in private practice in Newport News, VA. Jill is known for her practical approach and caring attitude. Her no-nonsense strategies to eating well include foods that both taste good and are good for you.

Marlene Koch (pronounced ‘cook’) is a nationally recognized nutritionist, popular TV personality and New York Times bestselling author. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from UCLA with a Bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Science. She is a registered dietitian and one of a select group of dietitians to hold an advanced certificate in Child and Adolescent Weight Management from the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics.

Marlene has taught professional chefs from the American Culinary Federation the principles of healthy cooking and eating. She has been adjunct Nutrition professor and cooking instructor for Columbus State College and the Columbus State Culinary Academy, and she is a nationally recognized expert in weight loss, diabetes, child and adolescent nutrition, and sugar substitutes.

Marlene has sold over one million cookbooks, and is a regular guest on QVC.

Barbara Ruhs – MS, RDN is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and owner of Neighborhood Nutrition LLC, a consulting firm focused on providing solutions to help food companies and supermarkets improve consumer health & wellness. She’s a former supermarket dietitian and has run a successful business for 17 years. A leader in the field of nutrition, her mission is to help people by impacting the way food is produced, marketed and sold. She’s a strong advocate for supermarket dietitians and believes the retail food industry has the greatest potential to impact public health.

Cheryl Orlansky has over 25 years of experience in health promotion and chronic disease prevention and management. Her first career as a registered dental hygienist led her towards a path of wellness and nutrition! Her expertise is in diabetes, weight management and cardiovascular disease for individuals and groups. She works in a large private practice including endocrinology, internal medicine, rheumatology, neurology and sleep medicine. She is an award winning dietitian with current leadership positions in state and local dietetics organizations.

She has been interviewed and quoted in media outlets for WebMD, Atlanta Sports and Fitness, Georgia Public Broadcasting, and the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. She has partnered with V-103 Radio to lead supermarket tours as part of a community outreach during National Nutrition Month.

Cheryl helps her clients reach balance through lifestyle choices: cooking and eating, activity and purpose in life.

Jackie Newgent, RDN, CDN, is a registered dietitian nutritionist and classically-trained chef. With a passion for helping people (including her father) with diabetes, she’s author of The With or Without Meat Cookbook: The Flexible Approach to Flavorful Diabetes Cooking and the award-winning The All‐Natural Diabetes Cookbook, both published by the American Diabetes Association. Jackie is also author of 1,000 Low-Calorie Recipes and Big Green Cookbook. Her next book, The All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook—2nd Edition, was published in 2015.

Nutritionist Rania Batayneh, MPH is the author of the best-selling book, The One One One Diet. She holds a master’s degree in public health nutrition from the University of Michigan School of Public Health and is also a Wellcoaches Certified Health and Wellness Coach endorsed by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

OmnichannelHealth Media, publisher of DiabetesDigest.com, does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information.