Vim & Vigor - Winter 2017 - Parrish Medical Center - 13

About the same time, Anderson also
made exercise a part of his routine,
biking while he was in Manhattan and
running while in L.A. He kept a close
eye on his blood sugar, checking it
three times a day.
His eﬀorts paid oﬀ. Anderson lost
46 pounds, enough to have a positive
eﬀect on his blood sugar. It also meant
that the production crew on Law &
Order had to buy a new wardrobe for
his character.
Petersen stresses the importance of
weight loss to diabetes management,
because excess body fat leads to insulin
resistance, or an inability of the body to
properly deal with glucose.
"It is the cornerstone of what we can
do to potentially curb and treat diabetes," he says. "There is a genetic component, yes. But if you have that genetic
component, then the leading risk factor
you have control over is your weight."
The good news is that weight loss
doesn't need to be as dramatic as
Anderson's to yield results. Losing 5 to
10 percent of your body weight-that's
10 to 20 pounds for a 200-pound person-can greatly reduce the risk of
heart-related diabetes complications,
according to the journal Diabetes Care.

The Magic of Moderation
Being handed a diagnosis of diabetes
is stressful, but managing the disease
doesn't have to be overwhelming.
"Yes, there is a lot to think about,"
says Joanne Rinker, RD, a certiﬁed diabetes educator and a spokeswoman for
the American Association of Diabetes
Educators. "Talk to your diabetes educator about which changes are important right now, and take them one at
a time."
In addition to eating less, Anderson
focuses on reducing the amount of
reﬁned carbohydrates he eats. He still
allows himself sandwiches, but now
he has half, so he's eating one piece of
bread instead of two. When he's hungry
for pasta, he opts for multigrain.

"It's really just about portion control and making healthier choices,"
Anderson says.
Rinker recommends moderation
when starting an exercise routine, too.
"If you haven't done much activity
before, start with 10 minutes of walking around your neighborhood," she
says. "Associate walks with mealtime.
Walk and then eat breakfast, or walk
after lunch and dinner. At the end of
the day, you're at [the recommended]
30 minutes."
Eventually habits will form, and eating well and exercising will become
second nature. That's what happened
for Anderson, and he hopes his story
will inspire others to make changes.
Whether acting as a spokesman for
the FACE Diabetes campaign, which
stands for Fearless African-Americans
Connected and Empowered, educating
his family or incorporating lines about
the disease into Black˙ish, Anderson's
goal is to live by example.
"I found out that when I'm doing
interviews like this, I am and have
become an inspiration to people. They
stop me on the street and they tell me,
'I read this article that you did, and I
just want to let you know because of
you, I've turned my life around,' " he
says. "I hear stories like that all the
time, and it makes me feel good about
going public with my disease and trying to inspire people."
And what an inspiration Anderson
has become. No -ish about it. ■

DIABETES
(MONEY)
MANAGEMENT
Golden Globe nominee Anthony
Anderson consulted The Biggest
Loser's Bob Harper and hired a
nutritionist to help battle his diabetes.
But we're not all so lucky. Here are
three tips for managing diabetes on
a budget.
3 Bring in a professional. Ask
your healthcare provider to refer you
to a diabetes education program.
Medicare and most insurance plans
cover diabetes education.
3 Plan ahead. Susan Coleman,
director of Parrish Diabetes
Education, recommends planning
out your meals for the week and
making a shopping list before going
grocery shopping. Remember, half
of your plate at meals should be
ﬁlled with nonstarchy vegetables,
like lettuce, carrots, tomatoes,
broccoli, cauliﬂower, cabbage and
green beans, plus you can have a
serving of fruit.
Often, we shop with the best intentions of eating the recommended
amount of colorful vegetables, and
then we don't even cook them.
Planning your meals in advance will
help ensure you use the produce you
put in the cart.
3 Ask for assistance. It's important that all medication be taken as
prescribed. If you're having diﬃculty
aﬀording your medication, talk to
your doctor.

CALL

Diabetes Resources Near You
At Parrish Medical Center's Diabetes Education & Nutrition Services,
you'll get the knowledge and skills you need to live a healthy life
with diabetes. Learn more by calling 321-268-6699 or visiting
parrishvigor.com/diabetes-education.

WINTE R 2017

http://www.parrishvigor.com/diabetes-education

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Winter 2017 - Parrish Medical Center