With Halloween just a week away, we all know there will be an abundance of trick-or-treat goodies and candy easily available to us well into November. But before you start chowing down on that Snickers Bar peering out at you from your child's trick-or-treat bag or that leftover Charleston Chew, remember this: November is National Diabetes Awareness Month.

Diabetes is a serious disease that affects the body's ability to produce or respond properly to insulin, a hormone that allows blood glucose (sugar) to enter the cells of the body and be used for energy. The cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles.

Nearly 21 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes. While an estimated 14.6 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, unfortunately, 6.2 million people (or nearly one-third) are unaware that they have the disease and have not had their condition diagnosed.

What is also important to note is that people with diabetes have a risk of premature death that is approximately two times greater than that of people without the disease. It is the fifth deadliest disease in the U.S. and it has no cure.

In order to determine whether or not a patient has pre-diabetes or diabetes, health care providers conduct a Fasting Plasma Glucose Test (FPG) or an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT). In addition, from 1980 to 2002, the number of persons with diabetes in the United States more than doubled. And in 2000, diabetes was the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and cost the nation more than $132 billion in health-care expenditures. Also, more than 9.3 million women in the United States are now living with diabetes.

It is very important to have a dialogue with your health care professional. Make sure he or she knows your family history and ask him or her if you are at risk for diabetes. Also, always remember to eat healthy and get enough exercise!

For more information about diabetes please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes or the American Diabetes Association at http://www.diabetes.org/home.jsp.