You know when you see him. And you smile when you hear him. Actor and comedian Reynaldo Rey first appeared on the screen alongside fellow red-headed comedian and friend, Redd Foxx in 1980s sitcom, Sanford. Throughout his career, he made his mark in several other notable films including White Men Can’t Jump, The Bernie Mac Show, The Royal Family, The Wayans Bros, Everybody Hates Chris, and 227.
Rey or as many friends called him, “Red” died at the age of 75 in 2006 from complications due to a stroke he suffered the year prior. What many didn’t realize, however, is it stemmed from diabetes. Here’s how the disease could’ve led to a stroke:
Diabetes means you have too much sugar in your blood, and this can make you more likely to have a stroke.
This is because having too much sugar in your blood damages the blood vessels. It can make the blood vessels become stiff, and can also cause a build-up of fatty deposits. These changes can lead to a blood clot, which can travel to the brain and cause a stroke.
Your body controls the amount of sugar in your blood with a hormone called insulin. Diabetes develops when your body isn’t able to produce insulin, or the insulin it does produce doesn’t work properly. There are two main types of diabetes:
Type 1 diabetes means you can’t produce insulin. It often starts in childhood, but adults can get it too. It affects around 10% of people with diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes means that you don’t produce enough insulin, or that your body cells aren’t responding to insulin. It is mainly an adult disease, and it affects around 90% of people with diabetes.
Gestational diabetes is a temporary condition during pregnancy. It usually stops after the baby is born, although it can increase the mother’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future.
Many people don’t realise they have diabetes because it tends to develop slowly. Some people are only diagnosed after they have a stroke. Here are some of the signs:
According to Stroke.org.uk, you the risk of stroke can be dramatically reduced by:
Having a healthy diet is a big part of blood sugar control and it also reduces your risk of stroke. Eat lots of vegetables and fruit, and have homemade food if you can, as it usually has less fat and salt than ready meals and snacks. Cutting salt can help with controlling blood pressure, and eating less fat can help with weight loss. You should get advice from a dietitian or through a diabetes education programme. Ask your GP for advice.
Being active can lower your blood sugars, so try to move as much as you can. Try walking for half an hour a day. If you can, try to keep moving at home too. Just walking around the room every 20 minutes can lower your stroke risk.
If you are taking insulin or have extremely high blood pressure, it’s important that you speak to your GP before starting to be more active
Staying a healthy weight cuts your risk of a stroke. It also lowers your blood sugar levels, so if you need to lose weight ask your GP pharmacist about help available locally.
Smoking raises your chance of having a stroke, so it’s well worth getting advice on giving up.
Regularly drinking too much alcohol can raise your risk of a stroke, and the calories in alcohol can also make it harder to lose weight.
You may find that speaking to other people with diabetes is a good way of getting help and support. Diabetes UK runs local groups and care events that give you the chance to meet with other people and find out how they are coping with a similar situation.
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