Did you know that there are over 11 million Filipinos with pre-diabetes or diabetes?
Diabetes ia a diseases in which the person has high blood glucose (blood sugar), either because insulin production is inadequate, or because the body’s cells do not respond properly to insulin, or both. There are three types of diabetes: (a) Type 1 Diabetes where the body does not produce insulin. Patients with type 1 diabetes needs to take insulin injections in their lifetime and should ensure proper blood-glucose levels with regular blood tests and a special diet; and (b) Type 2 Diabetes where the body does not produce enough insulin for proper function, or the cells in the body are insulin resistance. According to a report of Medical News Today, approximately 90% of diabetes cases worldwide are of this type. Sypmtoms of this type of diabetes can be controlled by losing weight, following a healthy diet, doing plenty of exercise, and monitoring their blood glucose levels. However, type 2 diabetes is typically a progressive disease — it gradually gets worse – and the patient will probably end up have to take insulin.
The good news is, there are companies who have committed to help people with diabetes on how to deal with the said disease. Take the case of Abbott which recently introduced The Glucerna® 1-2-3 Challenge, a free program designed to assist people with diabetes implement new healthy habits and provide them with useful resources that can help make managing their diabetes with a healthy lifestyle easier.
This unique 12-week program provides online and mobile resources for people with diabetes to create a simple plan that incorporates 1) a healthy meal plan, 2) exercise, and 3) specialized nutrition such as Glucerna Triple Care. The three steps of the 1-2-3 Challenge help people with diabetes to address three important components of managing their condition – managing blood sugar response, reducing weight and waistline, and supporting heart health.
In an event held last August 8, Abbot gathered fitness and healthy lifestyle experts to share their knowledge on how people with or without diabetes can improve their health in simple ways.

Coach Jim Saret of reality TV show The Biggest Loser Philippines, along with his lovely wife Toni, presented a 4-minute exercise especially deigned to working people who always blame “lack of time” as their main reason of avoiding work outs. In the said set, individual just have to do 10 repetitions of jumping jacks, squats, lunges and push-ups. The rule is to repeat the same set all over within 240 seconds and stop after the duration whether what exercise you are doing.

US-Certified Fitness Nutritionist and Chef Nadine Tengco meanwhile defined what a healthy meal is along with some personal experiences that made her talk more engaging. Her health mantra, which she wants others to embrace, is “Eat the right food at the right time with the right amount.

Dr. Jose Rodolfo Dimaano, Medical Director, Abbott Nutrition meanwhile shared that proper diabetes management can be overwhelming for people with diabetes, but is essential for them to maintain a healthy and active life. He also said, “That’s why we developed the Glucerna 1-2-3 Challenge to provide people with diabetes an easy-to-use resource that helps them take charge of managing their condition and feel confident they can lead a healthier lifestyle.”
For those who are interested with the Glucerna 1-2-3 Challenge, you can check it online at http://www.glucerna123challenge.com.ph or download it via Iphone® or Android phones®*. The 1-2-3 Challenge features a robust set of tools and tips to provide people with diabetes with:
• easy, healthy meal plans and recipes based on caloric needs and personal preferences,
• daily exercise plans and step-by-step instructional videos,
• Glucerna serving recommendations,tracking tools and progress reports to monitor their progress that they can share with their doctors, and
• a loyalty program that rewards members with points so they can redeem prizes depending on the number of points accumulated such as Freestyle® Glucometer, Freestyle® glucose strips, Mercury® Drugstore Gift Certificates, Robinson’s® Gift Certificates, and a lot more.
“Little steps, such as eating right, exercising and incorporating specialized nutrition, such as Glucerna Triple Care, as part of your diabetes management plan can help you live a healthy lifestyle,” said Nadine Tengco, a US certified fitness nutritionist chef. “Lifestyle intervention is important in overall diabetes management to help reduce the risks and complications of diabetes.”
Why Proper Diabetes Management Is Important:
People with diabetes are two-to-four times more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke than people without the disease.1 Additionally, they are at risk for many health complications, such as kidney failure, blindness, lower-limb amputations and death.
These factors make proper management vitally important to people with diabetes, and maintaining healthy blood sugar levels is the first step to proper diabetes management. Additionally, managing excess weight and physical inactivity are important as they can contribute to health-related complications for people with diabetes.
The Role of Specialized Nutrition in Diabetes Management
In addition to meal and exercise plans, the 1-2-3 Challenge provides Glucerna serving recommendations, a specialized nutrition product from Abbott Nutrition that leads the world in diabetes nutrition science.
The new Glucerna Triple Care product provides a unique system of ingredients to help patients manage their blood sugar response and support heart health. Also, Glucerna Triple Care can support weight management when used as part of an overall diabetes management plan. It has been clinically proven to help manage weight and reduce A1C in conjunction with an overall diabetes management plan, including diet and exercise.
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