In Bexar County, 257,233 people have diabetes. Hispanics are twice as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites of similar age.

According to a study done by the American Diabetes Association, the age and sex-adjusted incidence of Type 2 diabetes was found to be four times higher in San Antonio’s men and women than in Mexico City’s men and women ages 55-64.

The cause of this disease continues to baffle scientists, but they agree genetics and environmental factors, such as lack of exercise and obesity, play their roles. According to the Texas Diabetes Institute in San Antonio, as an individual with diabetes, it can be hard to manage your life. Exercise, blood levels and diets can sometimes seem like too much.

Difficult as it may be, it is vital to keep tabs on medical appointments and checkups, such as feet, eye, skin, kidney and cholesterol exams. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented by losing weight via a low-fat, low-calorie meal plan and getting 30 minutes of physical activity five times per week.

Freshman Communications Major Valerie Ytuarte said, “Living day to day with diabetes is like a roller coaster. Some days you have high blood sugars due to stress or any sudden changes, and then within minutes you can have a low blood sugar for the same reasons.” Ytuarte has had diabetes for nine years and tries to keep a positive attitude at all times but she said, “Some days it just hits me as if it were the first day I was diagnosed.”

Type 1 diabetes is found in children; Type 2 is diagnosed as an adult; gestational diabetes hits pregnant women; and pre-diabetes, which is most common, will turn into Type 2 if it’s not treated.

According to the American Diabetes Association, most Americans diagnosed with diabetes have Type 2. Diabetes occures when the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. Insulin is necessary for the body to be able to use glucose, sugar in the blood, for energy. About 5-10 percent of Americans have Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes, and about 20 percent of Americans have pre-diabetes, which is a condition that occurs when a person’s blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes.

Since many Americans have pre-diabetes, if changes aren’t made, Type 2 diabetes will develop.

Diabetes limits the diets of the thousands of people diagnosed each year, but there are options and a certain level of sweet tooth satisfaction that you can enjoy from time to time.

According to a Diet and Nutrition Sourcebook, you can control your blood sugar and diabetes when you eat healthy, get enough exercise and stay at a healthy weight. Your Body Mass Index is the number calculated from your weight and height, and it provides a reliable indicator of body fat. A healthy BMI means body fat of around 20 percent for men and 25 percent for women.

Health and Nutrition Instructor Alexis Lowe of the Kinesiology Department at Palo Alto College said, “Working out most days of the week is ideal,” meaning around five days a week, but this number is given as a general goal and not to scare people into a set number.

A person with diabetes should follow a well balanced diet, incorporating low-glycemic foods where they can. The Glycemic Index is a system that ranks foods based on their immediate effect on blood sugar. The lower the food’s GI the better. Vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage, lettuce and mushrooms, have a lower GI than corn, peas, carrots and beats. Fruits such as cherries, grapefruits, prunes and apples have a lower GI than watermelon, pineapple, cantaloupe, raisins and bananas.

“Diabetes has had a HUGE effect on my life in a very positive way,” said Ytuarte.

Because of her condition, she is a Youth Ambassador for the ADA, raises money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, is a counselor at Camp Independence and gives speeches on diabetes. She said, “It’s such a struggle on its own just having diabetes, but if you don’t face it, challenge it and turn it into something positive, diabetes will defeat you.”

For additional information on diabetes visit the Texas Diabetes Institute website at www.universityhealthsystem.com/tdi or the American Diabetes Association at www.diabetes.org