Diabetes in your family? High blood pressure? Waist circumference greater than 31.5 inches? East or South Asian ethnicity?
An estimated 9 million Canadians live with diabetes or prediabetes. Of these, 1 million Canadians live with diabetes without knowing it. The difficulty is we can have prediabetes and undiagnosed diabetes without obvious signs and symptoms so often diagnosis (and care) is delayed. The key, however, is to be able to identify our risk of diabetes so we can make effective changes right away. Why right away? Insulin production is 35% of normal by the time of diagnosis! That’s less than half the production of this critical hormone by the time many of us are made aware of a problem.
Using information such as age, body mass index, waist circumference and family history, the simple Canadian Diabetes Risk Questionnaire (CANRISK) calculates a risk score to let you know if you’re at low, moderate or high risk of developing diabetes. It takes only 3 minutes to do and you may be surprised by some of the risk factors!
High risk (scores greater than 33): have a 2 in 5 chance of already having or developing type 2 diabetes
Moderate risk (scores between 21 and 33): have a 1 in 7 chance of having or developing type 2 diabetes.
For the above groups, Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) testing may be indicated. This blood test can diagnose or rule out diabetes while also giving us an idea of your blood glucose control over the past 3 months.
Whether you want to reduce the risk of developing diabetes or you are already taking medication for diabetes, we can provide effective therapies to improve blood sugar control at every stage. We provide thorough but targeted multisystem physical exams, in-office HbA1c testing (results in 5 minutes!), clinically researched nutrients and specific, individualized nutritional and physical activity recommendations based on your risk factors and overall health. For the month of December, Dr. Carin is providing complimentary HbA1c testing with an initial naturopathic consultation – only while tests are available!
