North Carolina is ranked 38th in the US for diabetes, having decreased in the past few years from 13.1 percent to 11.4 percent. In addition, over 2.7 million adults in North Carolina may have prediabetes, but only about 780,000 report being diagnosed by a health professional. Local company Betr Health, based right here in Raleigh, NC, is aiming to increase the urgency to educate others about how to prevent and reverse prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. They are helping others all over the world, affecting the health and longevity of digital therapeutics.
With November being National Diabetes Month, Betr Health has started a challenge for members to participate in a video blog series, sharing a video for each week that they are making healthy changes during the month of November for a total of four videos. For each member that submits all four videos, $50 will be donated to the Inter Faith Food Shuttle charity. So far, over 25 members have signed up to participate. For more information on the Betr Health challenge, visit their website.
What you eat is so important for lifestyle changes and intervention. With Betr Health’s November challenge, you can hear from real people who are diabetics or pre-diabetics that are working to be proactive about their health and lower A1C levels while losing weight.
Betr Health is also partnering with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle to help give back to the community and empower the mission that focuses on hunger relief and healthy food initiatives throughout North Carolina, while also helping to educate the next generation on the importance of healthy eating to prevent the onset of chronic diseases. With the current number of members enrolled, their minimum donation will be $1,250 at the end of November, and will hopefully rise as members are encouraged to get involved! The Betr Health team also volunteered at the Food Shuttle’s Camden Street Learning Garden to get some hands-on experience with harvesting healthy food in the form of organic vegetables that will go on to feed those in need in the community.
Diabetes is a major public health problem in North Carolina, affecting all socio-demographic groups. Type 2 diabetes accounts for over 90 percent of diagnosed diabetes cases in adults, and being overweight or obese is a key risk factor to its development. Not only is it affecting an individual’s health, but it may also affect their salary and insurance rates. Diabetes and prediabetes cost an estimated $10.9 billion in North Carolina each year.
The numbers alone are staggering, yet diabetes continues to be misunderstood and often disregarded. “We live in a stressed out and toxic world, and it’s becoming almost impossible to express health,” says Betr Health CEO Dr. William Ferro. “Gut health has been linked to over 40 different chronic diseases, including your inability to lose weight no matter how many calories you count or burn.”
The CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program offers scientifically-proven programs like Betr Health that are currently helping Americans reverse prediabetes and prevent or delay the onset of type 2. Eating well and becoming more active is proven to help reduce patients’ blood glucose levels and overall weight, minimizing risks of progression to type 2 diabetes.
If you learn that you are one of the 84 million Americans at risk, talk to your doctor about CDC-recognized diabetes prevention programs to help get your health back on track.