Health Awareness
Diabetes
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How to prevent type 2 diabetes
While there’s nothing we can do to prevent type 1 diabetes, around three in five cases of type 2 diabetes can be prevented, or delayed, by maintaining a healthy weight, eating healthy food and doing regular exercise. 12.3 million people in the UK are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. And type 2...
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How technology is able to reduce the burden of living with diabetes
People with all types of diabetes, but particularly type 1 diabetes, need to make potentially life-changing decisions about their treatment throughout each and every day. This places a significant unseen burden on people living with diabetes. Recent developments in diabetes technology have enhanced the lives of people with diabetes, by reducing this burden and improving...
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Diabetic foot: the cancer of diabetes
It has been estimated that a limb is lost every 30 seconds in the world because of diabetic foot. And the associated mortality is higher than that of many forms of cancer. More must be done to raise awareness of the chronic complications of diabetes. Diabetic foot describes the complications of diabetes in the lower...
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Type 2 diabetes: making changes for good
Type 2 diabetes has many risk factors, including family history, age and ethnicity. But weight can also be a major contributing factor for some, with those carrying extra weight or with obesity having an increased risk of developing the condition. Just like any other type of diabetes, type 2 diabetes is a serious condition, which...
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COVID-19 in people who have diabetes can lead to more severe disease and poor outcomes
Coronavirus has impacted on clinical services for diabetes in ways we have not experienced before. Recovery and reshaping of services provides an excellent opportunity for us to innovate. Impact on individuals with diabetes People who have diabetes are likely to be at risk of getting more severe disease. Emerging data has shown that high blood...
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COVID-19: a concern for all people with diabetes
The COVID-19 pandemic is of great concern to people living with diabetes as they can be more vulnerable to the severe effects of the virus. The latest figures from The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) show that around 10% of people worldwide live with diabetes. The condition is also a leading cause of several life-threatening or...
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Diabetes is a condition, not an illness; I’m just like any other ordinary person
“Diabetes has taught me to stay organised with my life, which helps me to perform in a good manner within boxing.” Muhammad Ali is making history as the first British professional boxer who has type 1 diabetes. Here he discusses how he manages his condition while still training as a professional athlete. How did you...
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Dietitians: helping to make the food you like healthier
Knowing what’s best to eat can be confusing and stressful for people with diabetes. Balancing what you like with what is healthy is not always easy. So, if you are looking for ideas, ask to see a dietitian. It seems everyone has a view on what diet is best, and for people with diabetes, it...
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Living my best life with type 1 diabetes
After a period of denial during her teenage years, technology is now helping Vanessa Haydock take control of her type 1 diabetes. Do you remember being diagnosed? Yes, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was just three and I remember it so clearly. Before receiving my diagnosis, I remember drinking pints and...
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Diabetes and mental health: the side people don’t see
Ups and downs are part and parcel of life with diabetes, but there is more support than ever to help individuals stay positive. Receiving a diabetes diagnosis can be overwhelming. In the blink of an eye everything changes. Life becomes dictated by monitoring blood glucose levels, injecting insulin, weighing food and planning routines. Nothing is...
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Ending the harm: Diabetes UK’s new 5 year strategy
Diabetes UK’s Chief Executive, Chris Askew (pictured above), explains how the charity’s ambitious new 5-year strategy is setting out to end the harm of diabetes. Every World Diabetes Day millions of people around the world come together to raise awareness of diabetes. It’s a time to reflect the challenges people affected by diabetes face; to...
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How diet and nutrition can prevent and manage Type 2 diabetes
Diabetes is the most devastating and fastest growing health crisis of our time. The number of people with the condition has doubled in the last 20 years, mainly due to the growing prevalence of Type 2 diabetes. Right now, there are 3.8 million people in the UK diagnosed with diabetes – 90% of those with...
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I’m taking control after my Type 2 diagnosis
“I make sure I get all my checks and by taking that control myself, that responsibility, I’m reducing my risk of developing these complications.” I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in May 2014. But I’d been getting what I now know as the symptoms for around six to nine months before that. I’d become incredibly thirsty...
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Technology that can help prevent hypos and how to access it
Karen Baxter, Country Director at Dexcom UK, Ireland, and Belgium talks about the incredible advances in diabetes technology she has seen in the last decade, with real time glucose monitoring revolutionising management for those patients who experience frequent, severe hypoglycaemic episodes. When I started working in the diabetes space thirteen years ago, the standard method...
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Exciting breakthroughs in diabetes research
Western diets are causing an epidemic of Type 2 diabetes, and UK research expertise is in demand more than ever. Exciting breakthroughs in the field are being made — with more on the horizon. There has been an explosion of Type 2 diabetes cases in recent years, says Steve Bain, Professor in Medicine (Diabetes) at...
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Being a comedian with Type 1 diabetes can be a bit of a joke
Ed Gamble was a typical 13-year-old going about his daily life, blissfully unaware of the Type 1 diabetes bubbling away beneath the surface. Now 33 and a successful stand-up comedian, he discusses his battle with regulating the condition that has, at times, been at odds with his hectic career. Q: How did you find out...
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Why I’d rather be positive than perfect
Natalie Balmain is a designer with Type 1 diabetes (T1D). Known for her line of adapted fashion for T1Ds – Type 1 Clothing – Natalie counts Barack Obama and Tom Cruise among her famous followers and is realistic about the difficulties of managing Type 1. Everyone on my timeline seems to be slimmer than me,...
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Do you know the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes?
Diabetes is a serious condition where someone’s blood glucose levels are too high. There are two main types, Type 1 and Type 2. They are different conditions, but they are both serious. There are some other, rarer, types of diabetes too. If you’ve got Type 2 diabetes, the insulin you make either can’t work effectively,...
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Pricking our baby’s fingers and toes was really upsetting
Rosey was a 17-month old baby when we found out she had Type 1 diabetes. She had been very poorly and had lost a lot of weight quickly, so we went straight to the hospital where they diagnosed her with the condition. It was a stressful time for us. She was so tiny and it...
