According to the American Diabetes Association, 23.6 million people in the United States, or approximately 8% of the population, currently have diabetes. Roughly 1 in 4 of these individuals are not even aware that they have the condition.

If you are someone who has a pre-diabetic condition or already has diabetes then it's very important to learn about the condition and how to manage it.

Diabetes is on the rise. The combination of less active lifestyles and more generous food portions have thrown us out of balance, causing our waistlines to expand at an alarming rate.

Our ancestors grew their own food and ate higher quality vegetables, grains, and fruits. This is in sharp contrast to how most of us eat today. It's all about convenience. Instead of eating fresh fruits and vegetables we opt for fast food and processed food. Instead of working on the farm we've become couch potatoes.

Our ancestors worked hard, ate right, and stayed thin though more out of necessity than conscious effort. They didn't count calories and go to the gym because they didn't have to. Because they didn't have all of the modern conveniences that we do, they got enough activity in their everyday lives. Also, their diet didn't contain all of the chemical laden, artificial, processed foods of today.

As mentioned previously, we've thrown everything out of balance. The combination of excess food input, not enough energy output, and too much low quality food has left us overweight and undernourished.

Excess weight is one of the largest, no pun intended, contributing factors to developing diabetes, if you are genetically predisposed to the condition.

Diabetes Management

There are many factors to consider when preventing and/or managing diabetes such as:

* If you are overweight try to lose the fat
* When eating carbs, try to choose healthy carbs with a lower glycemic index rating
* Eat lots of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, whole grains and fish
* Avoid consuming trans fats and excessive animal fats
* Reduce your fat and calorie intake
* Try to exercise for at least 20 - 30 minutes daily
* Monitor your blood sugar
* Monitor your blood pressure
* Learn as much as you can
* Take an active role in your health and have a team of good doctors

There's certainly more, but this list is a good place to start in taking charge of your health and improving the quality of your life.http://healths.cz.cc/html/2009-10-16/a-392.html