I am happy to pass on some news I just read: in a study that looked at 250,000 people with diabetes, the rate of death from cardiovascular disease was down 40% and the overall rate of death from diabetes was down 23% (1997 to 2006)! The report says that people with diabetes are less likely to smoke and more likely to be physically active than in the past. This is great news!
It’s rewarding to read that all this hard work is paying off. It may not feel like that when we see a number we don’t like on the blood glucose meter, or when we don’t want to go to the gym one more time. If you have quit smoking, or never started; if you started exercising recently or have been active for years – give yourself a pat on the back!
If you are working on quitting smoking or starting exercise, don’t give up! Every step you make in that direction is beneficial to your long-term health. People with diabetes still have an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease, but at least we are moving in the right direction.