{"id":11481,"date":"2011-11-16T00:39:50","date_gmt":"2011-11-16T00:39:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newspaper.ctsi-logistics.com\/?p=11481"},"modified":"2011-11-16T00:39:50","modified_gmt":"2011-11-16T00:39:50","slug":"cnmi-joins-worldwide-vigil-for-world-diabetes-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/cnmi-joins-worldwide-vigil-for-world-diabetes-day\/","title":{"rendered":"CNMI joins worldwide vigil for World Diabetes Day"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Clarissa David
\nReporter<\/div>\n

Candles were lit for a sunset vigil that marked the CNMI’s participation in the World Diabetes Day celebration, a global effort to promote diabetes care and prevention.<\/p>\n

Held every Nov. 14 around the world, the annual event was celebrated on Saipan at the Oleai Sports Complex track oval and was spearheaded by the Diabetes Prevention and Control Program under the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.<\/p>\n

House Speaker Eli Cabrera (R-Saipan), who served as the event’s keynote speaker, told the participants that there’s no excuse for island residents not to eat healthy and assured the public of his and his colleagues’ commitment to help the healthcare corporation in its awareness, prevention, and control efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hold the key to a healthier lifestyle.Let’s continue promoting awareness and become a healthier Commonwealth,\u201d said Cabrera.<\/p>\n

While medical providers play a large part in dealing with diabetes, Dr. Dan Lamar, acting director for Medical Affairs, noted that \u201ceach and every individual\u201d holds the \u201cmost important role\u201d in preventing this disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe medical community, we’re here to serve you. But really, you’re the one who’s the most important member of the team, making the right choices in your life such as how you eat and how active you are. Those are really critical decisions you have to make to help prevent getting these problems,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Lamar also shared with some 30 members in the crowd an article he read in a medical journal, which stated that a person’s diet \u201cactually overrides a lot of our genetic predispositions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though they had this genetic gene, there are ways to turn genes on and off. Through diet, you can turn off those genes that are problem genes and help prevent those things from occurring. That’s great news. It helps you realize that you have a lot more control. That’s the message I want to get to you,\u201d explained Lamar.<\/p>\n

Two individuals also delivered testimonials on how diabetes changed their lives.<\/p>\n

John Manglona, 55, said he was diagnosed with diabetes in 1996, years before he retired from the government service in 2003. He said his illness had \u201cripple effects\u201d on their household, prompting himself and his family members to make adjustments and sacrifices.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was painful, there was a lot of sacrifices,\u201d said Manglona. \u201cBut life must go on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since then, Manglona said he changed his diet. From being a meat lover, Manglona now eats raw vegetables and lots of fruits and drinks warm water only. Meditation became an important part of his life, too.<\/p>\n

Manglona encouraged the community to have a \u201crenewed mindset and positive attitude\u201d to embrace a longer and healthier life. \u201cLet us all work together for a diabetes-free lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Malua Peter, for her part, said that after her retirement, she started getting involved with health-related gatherings in the CNMI, even becoming a member of the Commonwealth Diabetes Coalition.<\/p>\n

Peter, a staunch advocate of healthy living in the CNMI, disclosed that she started her efforts in her own home, taking out beer and roasted pig, especially during family celebrations. \u201cI was successful in my family,\u201d said Peter.<\/p>\n

Monday’s event concluded with the sunset vigil, where participants held lit candles wrapped in blue bags as they walked around the facility’s track and field four times, equivalent to a mile.<\/p>\n

Young participants also played with their blue hula hoops, which represent the International Diabetes Federations’ Blue Circle, the universal symbol for diabetes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Clarissa David Reporter Candles were lit for a sunset vigil that marked the CNMI’s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11481\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}