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May 3, 2012

100 Black Men of London Uses Website to Tackle Diabetes

100 Black Men of London is using May, Diabetes Month, to publish a detailed explanation about the disease that affects a large number of individuals from Africa and the Caribbean who live in the United Kingdom.

100 Black Men's website is headlined, "Diabetes---May 2012."  It reports that diabetes in ethnic and minority communities is four to six times higher than it is in white neighborhoods. 

Diabetes is a chronic health condition in which blood glucose, or the amount of sugar in the blood, is higher than normal, and the body cannot make use of glucose effectively.  If diabetes is untreated, it can cause serious long-term health problems, including neuropathy, blindness and the loss of limbs. The disease also can cause stroke and heart disease.

The website explains that there are two types of diabetes, Type 1, which is juvenile diabetes, an auto- immune disease characterized by a person's body inability to produce insulin.  In the case of Type 1 diabetes, the person must take regular insulin injections, eat a healthy diet and engage in regular physical activity.

Type 2 diabetes, which is often preventable, also occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin.  This form of diabetes can be treated with physical activity,  a healthy diet and maintaining a healthy weight.  In addition, Type 2 Diabetics can control the disease through insulin shots and glucose-lowering medications.  Type 2 diabetes is often associated with unhealthy weight gain.

Individuals are encouraged to eat foods with a low glycemic index, such as green vegetables that are slowly absorbed into the human body and don't cause a spike in blood sugar.

The website lists sugar and sugar substitutes with low and high glycemic index numbers. For example, Stevia, a sugar substitute, has a glycemic index number of zero, compared with raw honey, which has a glycemic index of 30.  Corn syrup, a key ingredient in soft drinks, has a glycemic index of 75.

“Lower glycemic numbers are healthier,” the website says.

Men, women and children from the African Diaspora who suffer from either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes are in good company. 100 Black Men notes that actress Halle Berry, singers Aretha Franklin and B.B. King and boxer Sugar Ray Leonard are diabetics.

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