What Type are you? Diabetes UK

 

Shaleen and Suzanne from the charity Diabetes UK gave a great presentation on diabetes, they talked about the two different types of diabetes and how it can be monitored. 

They explained the main symptoms to watch out for 

• Going to the toilet more often
• Extreme thirst
• Tiredness
• Weight loss
• Thrush and genital itching
• Slow healing of cuts and wounds
• Blurred vision

If you experience more than 2 of these symptoms- please see your GP straight away and keep a record if needed e.g. how many times you go to the toilet, how much liquid you drink etc. 

They also discussed the importance of healthy eating and understanding how to choose well. 

1. Choose drinks that don’t have added sugars- squashes that don’t have added sugars or adding sugar to hot drinks. 

The best drink will always be water but you can add a lemon/lime wedge, mint or a slice of cucumber.

2. Brown foods such as brown pasta, brown rice, brown bread etc are higher in fibre. 

3. More fish and beans (kidney, lentils, butterbeans, chickpeas) are better than processed meat and red meat- less of those!

4. No flavoured yoghurts- add some fruits and a bit of honey for taste. Cheese is good in moderation 

5. Eat more vegetables, and healthy snacks, be sensible with alcohol, and less salt! 

Exercising is also a big part of looking after our health as living with diabetes and not monitoring it properly, can lead to extra health complications such as 

• Retinopathy (eye disease)
• Cardiovascular disease, heart attack and stroke
• Nephropathy (kidney disease)
• Neuropathy (nerve disease)
• Foot problems 

We would like to thank both Shaleen and Suzanne for coming and talking to us as well thanks to Jas who shared his story about being diagnosed and how he’s managed with living with type 1. 

If you have any concerns- PLEASE see your GP and ask for a NRCPD Registered BSL Interpreter for your appointment. 

 

 

This would have not been possible without the funding from Comic Relief