Clinicians may vary on their ranges, but
hypertension may be seen as blood pressure
greater than 140/ 90. High blood pressure may
be linked to some causes or risk factors such
as genetics, environmental factors,
socioeconomics, age, smoking, or obesity.
Also, race and ethnicity play a role, and
African Americans develop high blood pressure
twice as often as other groups to include
Whites or Hispanics. While hypertension
occurs at an alarming rate, it can be treated
and often prevented with a healthy lifestyle and
healthier eating as well as prescription
medicines. Healthy eating may include: eating
more fresh fruits and vegetables, limiting or
reducing sodium and caffeine intake, drinking
more water, eating less fried or fattening foods,
eating more lean meats (baked chicken, fish, or
shrimp), eating more natural or whole grains
and less processed foods. Healthier lifestyles
include an increase in exercise, more sleep
and rest, and less stress. Lifestyle changes
can occur with time, support, and dedication.
Remember this: “A journey of a thousand
miles begins with one step.” As the old saying
goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound
of cure.”
Diabetes is characterized as the body’s inability
to produce or utilize insulin and therefore
causes excessive amounts of glucose in the
blood or urine. As you eat, your body turns the
food into glucose (or sugar) into energy via a
hormone called insulin. Insulin is released to
help convert this energy throughout the cells.
Insulin signals the cells to “open and receive”
glucose. If your body cannot produce enough
insulin, cannot properly use insulin, or is insulin
resistant then too much sugar will develop or
remain in the blood and may lead to diabetes.
It is estimated that 30 million Americans are
diagnosed with diabetes.
FAITH HEART MAGAZINE I 36
It is the 7th leading cause of death in the
United States. African Americans are two
times more likely to have diabetes than non
Hispanic Whites. The risk of diabetes is
77% higher among African Americans than
among nonHispanic white Americans. There
are 3 major types of diabetes: Type 1, Type
2, and Gestational Diabetes. Type 1 usually
starts at an early age in your childhood in
which your pancreas stops making insulin.
Type 2 usually occurs later in life in which
your body can’t properly use the insulin it
produces. Type 2 is occurring at an earlier
age due to the rise in obesity among
children. Gestational diabetes occurs while
pregnant in which the placenta makes too
much hormones or by producing too little
insulin. If the mother has high blood sugar
then the baby may be more likely to have
high blood sugar. Diabetes may be treated
or prevented but is caused by a number of
factors: genetics, environmental factors,
viruses and infections, decreased insulin
production or utilization, increased insulin
resistance, age, obesity, and/or physical
inactivity. Making changes to diet, weight
control, lifestyle changes, and drug therapy
are major keys to managing or preventing
diabetes. Diabetes is also associated with a
number of other serious complications or life
threatening conditions which may lead to
blindness, kidney disease, and amputations.