Learn to tame glucose levels

Greg Aiello’s “Nature Gone Wild” brings raging bears, disastrous lightning strikes and ferocious crocodiles to your TV screen, demonstrating just how magnificent and hard to tame Mother Nature really is. That’s great fun to watch.

But when it is your nature that’s untamed, it can turn seriously risky.

A study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health looked at how Americans who have diabetes are doing with their glucose control. Turns out that they’re going from bad to worse.

From 2007 to 2010, around 57% of U.S. adults with diabetes kept their blood sugar levels in a healthy range, with an A1C of 7% or less.

Now it’s about 50%. That means half of U.S. adults with diabetes are at severely increased risk for heart disease, obesity, diabetic kidney, nerve or vision complications — all health problems associated with chronicallyelevated glucose levels.

The study in the New England Journal of Medicine also saw that blood pressure and lipid (cholesterol and triglyceride) control have declined. These days, only 22.2% of adults with diabetes also have their lipids and blood pressure in a healthy range, a decline from 25% in 2010. This triplewhammy threatens the quality of daily life ... and longevity.

The good news: You can KO these health risks with your own triple-whammy.

1. Reduce your intake of highly-processed foods, red meats and high glycemic index foods (check out “High and Low Glycemic Foods” at www.Doctor. Oz.com).

2. Achieve a healthy weight.

3. Get at least 300 minutes of aerobic activity a week.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www.sharecare. com.