Recently, I read a report on the latest research from the National Clinical Care Commission. They shared insights into the diabetes epidemic that has been plaguing our country. The research reported that 1 in 7 adult Americans are diabetic and 1 in 3 Americans are pre-diabetic (meaning they are VERY close to developing diabetes).

In the report, they also shared the following:

“In the U.S., more than half of the preventable burden of diabetes is attributable to the non-clinical social and environmental factors that shape health behaviors. The other half is attributable to lack of access to affordable, quality care and to failings in the design of our current health care delivery system—one that is more geared to reactive, acute care than to proactive, team-based care.”

In other words, diabetes can be attributed to Americans (especially African Americans and the BIPOC population) having poor access to quality healthcare, quality housing, clean air & water, and quality food and grocery store choices (to name a few).

When you add on stress, it creates a situation in which people are being fashioned for diabetes. In fact, one of the researchers from this study recently said:

“Our entire society is perfectly designed to create Type 2 diabetes,”

So why did I say that I was wrong about diabetes?

Well, the reason why I decided to go into this field was because of my experience with my diabetic grandmother. She passed in 2007 from diabetes related complications. I remember watching her as a girl and hearing my family tell her that she had to stop cooking with bacon grease. I also remember her telling stories of when she got the sugar disease.

When I saw the disease take her life and plague the life of other family members, I was determined to change the narrative for myself. But as a teenager, I thought that the solution was eating salad, avoiding Soul Food, and eating fat-free.

Little did I know the social, emotional, and environmental factors that contributed to her disease.

Racism within my field of work compounded the issue by standing in agreement that if Black people just ate better and exercised, they would be better off… Basically, it was all our faults that we were not well.

Well… this perspective in preventative health has contributed to the continuation of Black hate. We as Black people have believed that we are the problem and we have to fix it.

Well, let me tell you now, THAT IS NOT TRUE!

As this national report has detailed, our society is designed in a way in which it makes it almost impossible to maintain health, unless you are wealthy.

So what can you do?

Well, I would say take some time to consider what you have access to.

Do you have time access? If you have time, maybe you can set some aside to practice self care (such as relaxing, reading a book, sleeping, getting your hair done, or watching/playing sports). Self care may help to decrease stress.

Do you have access to discretionary funds (extra money after bills)? Maybe you can set some aside to pay for house cleaning (which may reduce your stress) or join an exercise class (this can be overwhelming… email me at info@jillianq.co if you need help).

Do you have access to PTO? Maybe you need to use it! Take a relaxation day to drink water, pray, meditate, and do whatever else you want to do.

Do you have access to quality food, SNAP, EBT? Look at your budget to see what you currently spend on groceries and what type of groceries you buy. There may be room to tweak your budget to accommodate other foods in your diet (like veggies, beans, fruit) while still enjoying the other food you like.

All in all, this topic on diabetes can be overwhelming. If you need help figuring out how to prevent diabetes or just improve your quality of health, apply for 1-1 health coaching, and sign up to learn more about group classes.

Comment below if this was new for you, and share to encourage a friend.

Have a great day!

-Jill

References:

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2022-01/NCCC%20Report%20to%20Congress.pdf

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/05/health/diabetes-prevention-diet.html