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	Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative

Diabetes

Diabetes is a lifelong condition where either your body does not produce enough insulin, or your body cannot use the insulin it produces. Your body needs insulin to change the sugar from food into energy. There are three main types of diabetes:

• Type 1, where the body makes little or no insulin;
• Type 2, where the body makes insulin but cannot use it properly; and
• Gestational Diabetes, where the body is not able to properly use insulin during pregnancy. This type of diabetes goes away after the baby is born.

Nine out of ten people with diabetes have Type 2.

General Information

• Miracle Cure for Diabetes?
• Health Canada advises diabetic patients not to use the antibiotic Tequin - February 2006
• Insulin Products - It's Your Health
• Diabetes Type 2 - It's Your Health fact sheet
•  Are you at risk? Learn more about the risk factors and complete a quiz to help you determine whether or not you are at risk of type 2 diabetes
•  Get serious to prevent the complications of diabetes

Related Resources

Canadian Diabetes Strategy
Diabetes is a complex health problem and a national challenge. The purpose of the Canadian Diabetes Strategy, managed by the Public Health Agency of Canada, is to articulate and establish effective diabetes prevention and control strategies for Canada.

Eat well. Be active. Have fun.
You can prevent type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases in Canada, and around the world. It is estimated that two million Canadians have diabetes and one-third of those affected are unaware they have the disease. The cost of diabetes in Canada is estimated to be up to $9 billion annually.

But there is good news. You can prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes by making some simple lifestyle changes, which include healthy eating, regular physical activity, and maintaining a healthy weight.

Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative
In Canada, Aboriginal people are at greater risk for developing type 2 diabetes than other Canadians. Even Aboriginal children are now being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes -- a condition that once occured mainly in older adults. Although Inuit rates of diabetes are not as high as other Aboriginal populations, there is concern that the rates of type 2 diabetes are increasing among Inuit as well.

For other information on Diabetes prevention visit the  Canadian Health Network, a consumer health information service brought to you by the Public Health Agency of Canada and major health organizations across Canada.