00:00 Yesterday was World Diabetes Day, a global effort to raise awareness about the disease.
00:05 But how can we strive for a healthier, diabetes-free world for all?
00:11 Joining us today via Zoom is St. Luke's Medical Center endocrinologist Dr. Monica Therese Cating-Cabral.
00:18 Welcome to New Day, Dr. Monica.
00:20 Good morning and thank you for having me today.
00:23 Thank you for being here with us.
00:25 Now, diabetes is such an important disease, but why should we be aware of diabetes?
00:31 Especially those who might say, "We don't have any diabetes patients,"
00:37 or they're not even diagnosed or they don't know anyone with diabetes.
00:40 Why is it significant to be aware of diabetes?
00:43 Well, diabetes is actually fairly common among Asians, and that includes us.
00:48 And sometimes diabetes, you don't know you have it until you actually get tested for it.
00:53 Because it's really something that you don't really feel until you have complications.
00:57 And the complications can only come 10, 15 years later after you've been diagnosed.
01:02 So if you have family members or risk factors for diabetes, like you're obese,
01:06 or you've had something called polycystic ovarian syndrome,
01:10 or if you are a woman who's had a child and during that pregnancy you had gestational diabetes,
01:16 these are some of the risks that really come about,
01:19 and you might have diabetes in the next 5 to 10 years.
01:23 So complications include eye problems, heart problems, heart attacks, stroke,
01:27 it can affect your kidneys.
01:29 The whole body really is affected by diabetes if it's undiagnosed and uncontrolled.
01:33 That's right.
01:34 So in short, it can happen to anyone.
01:36 And like what you said, the complications are really significant.
01:39 It can affect someone's quality of life.
01:42 Now, Dr. Monica, can you give us an overview of the landscape of diabetes here in the Philippines?
01:47 How common is it, like what you said?
01:50 Well, depending on the test, the latest survey says that it can be anywhere from 7 to 12 percent,
01:56 or just say about 4 million Filipinos have diabetes.
02:01 And it's divided into type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
02:04 So type 1 diabetes, these are patients who absolutely need insulin.
02:08 They cannot live without insulin.
02:10 And insulin is the hormone that you make to control blood sugar levels
02:14 and to store it properly in the body.
02:16 They don't have any insulin, so they have to inject all the time.
02:19 Now, type 2 diabetes, you can use tablets or you can use insulin.
02:23 But this is also a type of condition where your blood glucose levels just aren't controlled,
02:28 even if you have insulin, but maybe you don't have enough or you're not using it.
02:32 So this is why we really need to identify which patients have one or the other.
02:36 And we need to treat them early.
02:38 Now, whether it be type 1 or type 2 diabetes, why is it common among Filipinos?
02:44 Is it something to do with the lifestyle of Filipinos?
02:47 Is it diet? Lack of exercise in our culture?
02:52 It has to do something with genetics as well.
02:56 You know, the way our bodies are made compared to other nationalities, for example.
03:01 We have something more called visceral fat.
03:03 It's the fat that's inside the body.
03:05 You can't see that.
03:06 And sometimes that's the one that predisposes us more towards it.
03:10 It's not really the diet.
03:12 You know, the diet, there are a lot of rice eaters out there as well.
03:15 And just because we eat rice doesn't mean it makes us diabetic.
03:18 But again, genetics has something to play with it.
03:21 And lifestyle, of course, you know, all over the world, things are changing.
03:25 You're showing, you know, people exercising right now and people eating.
03:28 But are these the more common things?
03:31 You know, we don't exercise as much.
03:33 We have bad diets now.
03:34 It's so much easier to just order food and eat fast food.
03:37 So that's why the obesity pandemic is also driving this increase in number of patients with diabetes.
03:44 That's interesting that you mentioned that diet isn't the main driver for someone to have diabetes.
03:48 But a big factor of that is genetics.
03:50 A lot of Filipinos, of course, like sweets.
03:53 And sweets are associated with the notion of having diabetes.
03:58 Let's set the record straight.
04:00 What can you say about this, Dr. Monica?
04:02 Of course, if the calories are higher, it's sweeter.
04:06 The glucose level is higher.
04:09 So if you eat more, you really will get more glucose from that.
04:12 Everything we eat becomes glucose.
04:13 Whether it's meat, rice, sweets.
04:16 But of course, if it's already sweet to begin with or things like juice,
04:19 liquid calories, even fruit, that's a lot of sugar right there.
04:23 So amount also matters, quantity, not just the quality.
04:28 So if you're drinking soda, for sure, your glucose levels are going up really, really fast.
04:33 But if you drink, for example, juice, it goes up not as fast as with the soda, for example.
04:38 But still, these contain a lot of glucose, a lot of sugar.
04:42 So it's better to eat whole foods, vegetables, whole fruits.
04:46 But again, everything in moderation.
04:48 Okay, keyword there is in moderation.
04:50 Now, doctor, a very important part here.
04:53 How will someone know?
04:54 What are the symptoms of this?
04:55 What are the early signs that may point that they should have themselves checked with an endocrinologist?
05:01 It could be a sign of early-onset diabetes.
05:03 So like I said, some don't feel anything.
05:07 But maybe one early sign is after you eat something that is sugary or high-calorie,
05:11 you get dizzy.
05:12 That might mean that your glucose levels are going up.
05:15 When it's really more severe, patients really usually feel very hungry.
05:19 They keep eating, but they're losing weight.
05:21 So that's actually a sign of uncontrolled diabetes or always being thirsty.
05:25 And since you're always thirsty, you keep on drinking, and then you keep on going to
05:28 the bathroom to urinate.
05:29 Those are other signs also of uncontrolled diabetes.
05:32 But you don't have to wait for those signs to show up.
05:35 If you have family history, a parent, a sibling, a close relative who has diabetes,
05:40 get yourself checked.
05:41 If you are overweight or obese, get yourself checked as well.
05:44 It's not a bad idea to get these tests done once a year, especially if you think you're
05:49 high-risk.
05:50 So in other words, if you're not sure, just go see your doctor.
05:54 That's right.
05:55 So don't wait for the signs to come out.
05:57 Have yourself checked with your endocrinologist as soon as possible.
06:01 We definitely learned a lot today about diabetes.
06:04 Thank you so much, Dr. Monica, for joining us here on New Day.
06:06 Thank you.
06:08 Good morning.
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