The total prevalence of diabetes in the U.S. covering all ages as of 2005 totaled 23.6 million people, which is 7% of the population; 17.9 million people included in that number have been diagnosed with this condition; and 5.7 million people have this condition but have not been diagnosed. Twenty five percent of the population of the U.S. has insulin resistance. Every 21 seconds another American is diagnosed with diabetes. About 176,500 of the people diagnosed with diabetes are aged twenty years or younger. This represents 0.22% of the entire population in this age group or about one in every 400-600 children an adolescents.

Although Type 2 diabetes can occur in youth, the nationally representative data that would be needed to monitor the diabetes trends in the youth by type are not available. Clinically based reports and regional studies suggest that Type 2 diabetes is being diagnosed more frequently in children and adolescents, particularly in the ethnic groups including American Indians, African Americans and Hispanic or Latino Americans and anybody else that does not care about what they put in their mouths.

The incidence of diabetes in this country is on the rise. One and a half million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people aged twenty years and older in 2005. In 2002, diabetes was the sixth leading cause of death listed on death certificates. This ranking is based on the 73,249 death certificates in which diabetes was listed as the underlying cause of death.

Diabetes contributed to a total of 224,092 deaths. Diabetes is likely to be underreported as a cause of death. Studies have found that only about 35% to 40% of decedents with diabetes had it listed anywhere on the death certificate and only about 10% to 15% had it listed as the underlying cause of death. Overall, the risk for death among people with diabetes is about twice that of people without diabetes of similar age.

Why Our Office focusses so much on helping to treat Diabetes.
Due to the complications I have seen over the years I have devoted a tremendous amount of time to helping my patient battle this terrible disease. The complications of diabetes are a great concern to millions of people. Here is some data on the Complications of Diabetes in the U.S.
Heart Disease and Stroke: Heart disease and stroke account for about 65% of deaths in people who have diabetes. Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates about two to four times higher than adults without diabetes. The risk for stroke is two to four times higher among people with diabetes.

High blood pressure: About 73% of adults with diabetes have blood pressure greater than or equal to 130/80 millimeters of mercury or use prescription medication for hypertension.
Blindness: Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults aged twenty to seventy years. Diabetes retinopathy causes between 12,000 and 24,000 new cases of blindness each year.

Kidney Disease: Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, accounting for 44% of new cases in 2002. In 2002, 44,000 people with diabetes began treatment for end stage kidney disease in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. A total of 153,730 people with end stage kidney disease due to diabetes were living on chronic dialysis or with a kidney transplant in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Nervous System Disease: About 60% to 70% of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nervous system damage. The results of such damage include impaired sensation or pain in the feet or hands, slow digestion of food in the stomach, carpal tunnel syndrome and other nerve problems. Almost 30% of people with diabetes ages 40 and older have impaired sensation in the feet, at least one area that lacks feeling. Severe forms of diabetic nerve disease are a major contributing cause of lower extremity amputations.

In the Club Reduce program at our office we have had patients before who have come in with numbness and tingling in their feet. None of the blood tests they’ve received have shown any blood sugar issues. But once they have filled out the Club Reduce symptom assessment we can determine whether they are pre-diabetic. We can help the symptoms of diabetes with nutrition and other types of treatments. A person must stay on top of this pre-condition with our natural treatments until the body can heal itself.

We had a patient recently, we will call her Betty, who came in complaining that she had numbness and tingling and hadn’t been able to wear shoes. Her doctor had told her if she kept going down this road she’d lose her legs. We discovered she had Candida and put her on our twelve week Candida Program. Betty lost fifty-five pounds and can now wear shoes. She went from a size 4X to an XL. She has no more neuropathy and no more numbness and tingling due to her changed lifestyle.

If you or a loved one are living with the terrible effects caused by diabetes attend one of our weekly seminars or call our office for a consultation. We have seen so many lives changed in ways they could have never imagined.

Remember whether you are just trying to lose that extra weight or get over chronic health issues, take time to attend one of our free seminars on Wednesday evenings. Register or call our office and we will save a spot for you. I am currently giving every one who attends a copy of my new book, “Improve the Quality of Your Life – Why Live in Pain?” We look forward to seeing you.

I hope the information on diabetes will give each of you a perspective on how rapidly this is spreading through our country. It does not have to be that way. This rapid increase is a reflection on our eating habits and lack of exercise as a country. In most cases diabetes should have never occurred. As I alway close, remember we are never stuck where we are. We can always change, Just DECIDE too. Take one small step this week to Improve the Quality of Your Life. If you can do that every week you will be amazed at the compounding effect over a lifetime.