October is Health Literacy Month |

Did you know that 60% of Canadian adults have trouble managing their health? And why is this the case? It may be because of low health literacy! So what is health literacy? In the words of the Canadian Public Health Association it is having the "skill to enable access, understanding and use of information for health". To be health literate involves being able to

understand and work with numbers
understand complex language
do both often at the same time

To see how health literate your city is visit the health literacy map . And remember the following adage: "reading each day helps keep the doctor away". Research has shown that a daily dose of reading is one way to improve your health literacy.

Let's look at type 2 diabetes for a minute. It is a chronic disease. It can be prevented. But once you have it you must manage it. How? Know your medication. Know when to take your medication. Understand food portions and carbohydrate counting. Know how much exercise to get. Know when it is okay to exercise. Learn words like: hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, ketoacidosis, neuropathy, impaired fasting glucose etc. That is a lot to learn and your health depends on it. The more health literate you are the better you will be able to manage your diabetes. Maybe you will even be able to prevent it!

There are teams to help improve diabetic health literacy. Among them: The Canadian Diabetes Association, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dieticians and complementary and alternative health practitioners.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. You are not alone. Your health is important! And check out some of these sites and books: