Oprah dedicated her show on Thursday to educating people about the risk of Type 2 diabetes and its complications, as well as announcing that Walgreen’s Pharmacy will provide free blood sugar tests on Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. to help tackle the disease. That’s according to several news reports, including the Dayton Daily News and the Digital Journal.
With Type 2 diabetes, the body becomes insulin resistant, meaning it produces insulin but doesn’t use it properly. As a result, people with the disease must take pills or insulin to help regulate their glucose levels. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to serious complications, including blindness, heart disease, stroke, amputations of limbs and more.
There are an estimated 28 million diabetics in the United States — the vast majority of them are Type 2 diabetics. It is estimated that a quarter of the people with Type 2 don’t know they have the disease. There are another 57 million with Pre diabetes, a condition that is the pathway to Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is listed as the sixth leading cause of death, but according to the Digital Journal, it is the leading killer when all the side-effects are factored in.
Dr. Oz, who also has his own show, was a special guest on the Oprah show and helped explain the disease and the consequences of uncontrolled blood sugar. He also helped to spell out the symptoms, which includes dire thirst, frequent urination and blurred vision.
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