P.A. to host diabetes gathering

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Balancing the Circle Through Traditional and Western Ways is the theme of the fourth annual Aboriginal Gathering on Diabetes to be held in Prince Albert on April 6.

People living with diabetes or anyone wanting to know more about diabetes are encouraged to attend the event.

"What's unique about this is it's done in conjunction with the Aboriginal communities," said Nicole Burgess, who is with public programs and services with the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) in Saskatoon. "This can't be an event that the CDA puts on for the Aboriginal community but it really has to be with them in partnership because we have specifically Aboriginal literature, programs and adaptation."

Participants can expect to learn about a variety of topics during the gathering, including nutrition, physical activity, possible complications of diabetes and "a lot of good general diabetes information," Burgess said.

According to information from the CDA Web site, diabetes is a diseases in which your body can't properly store the glucose taken from foods to be used for fuel. The body needs insulin, manufactured in the pancreas, to turn glucose into energy. If a person makes too little insulin, or no insulin at all, the disease is called Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes. If the body is making insulin but can't use it, the disease is called Type 2 diabetes.

While nothing can be done to prevent Type 1 diabetes, much can be done to prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes. Getting that message to the Aboriginal community is important because of the prevalence of the disease within the Aboriginal population.

Diabetes is most prevalent in five high-risk ethnic groups-Asian, South Asian, Hispanic, African and Aboriginal.

"Just by being Aboriginal, you're automatically at a higher risk. However, the message that we kind of carry on and the evidence that we see is you go back like 50 or more years when the Aboriginal community was very much into hunting and gathering, being active and their food was quite healthy, there wasn't diabetes in the community. That alone gives a very clear message that lifestyle factors have played a huge role where we've seen them go from hunters, gatherers to a very different lifestyle, which we call the Western lifestyle," Burgess said.

"We know that people who make lifestyle changes can either prevent diabetes from happening despite their other risk factors or if anything just delay the onset of it quite significantly." Those lifestyle changes include exercising regularly and eating well, and not smoking.

In addition to learning about the warning signs and risk factors associated with diabetes, participants in the gathering will also hear about how to live and cope with diabetes.

"We will be addressing some of the emotional aspects of diabetes because it's not talked about enough," Burgess said. "We talk a lot about diet and exercise but we never quite address what the individual is going through within being diagnosed and living with diabetes."

The gathering will wrap up with the Continuing the Journey Toward Health and Wellness workshop, Burgess said.

"We want to let people know what resources are available to them so they can leave with a sense of empowerment to kind of know what steps to take."

For more information about the Aboriginal Diabetes Gathering, call the CDA at 1-800-996-4446 or the Prince Albert Grand Council at 953-7248 ext. 270.