Diabetes 101 with Susie Jin

By Jesse Johnson

NORTH BAY – Susie Jin, a pharmacist and certified diabetes educator from Cobourg, Ont., did an interactive presentation on diabetes management at the 9th annual Anishinabek Nation Health Conference on Oct. 17 in North Bay, Ont.

Jin took questions from participants who were interested in getting a better understanding of diabetes and how it has had an impact on their friends and family members.

She taught participants about diabetes and the ways to identify the complications of diabetes. She went over the differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

“Usually at diagnosis, they would assess if the person needs cardiovascular protection because there is an underlying inflammatory process going on that puts you naturally at a higher risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, and heart failure. So what we know is if there are agents that will reduce your risk of a heart attack or stroke, you should be on these agents if you are in the high-risk population.”

She then distributed information to participants that can also be found at guidelines.diabetes.ca for further information on diabetes.

Jin then spoke about the organs involved in blood sugar balance and the ways diabetes affects our bodies. Diabetes can be responsible for mental health problems, erectile dysfunction, foot problems, congestive heart failure, osteoporosis, etc.

She spoke about low-carbohydrate (CHO) diets for adults with diabetes.

“Research on lower-CHO diets has shown improvements in people with Type 1 diabetes, including lower A1C levels, reduced insulin requirements, less glucose variability, and weight loss. Studies on lower-CHO diets in people with Type 2 diabetes have shown similar improvements.”

Jin pointed out that due to our advanced technology, we don’t have to walk as much.

“There are many things affecting our lifestyle, but there are studies that show how we can make cities healthier by just encouraging physical activity.”

For more information on the 9th annual Anishinabek Health Conference, visit anishinabek.ca.