Sara Hunt, MSN, RN, PHN, FNP-C

The holidays are a wonderful time for fellowship with family and friends and bonding over delicious meals. Although this time spent bonding is actually good for one's health, many of the tasty treats can wreak havoc on those with diabetes.

Cancer, diabetes, and heart disease account for a large portion of the $3.3 trillion annual US health care expenditures. In fact, 90% of these expenditures are due to chronic conditions. About 23 million people in the United States have diabetes, 7 million have undiagnosed diabetes, and 83 million have prediabetes.

There are many different causes of throat discomfort, but patients commonly associate a sore throat with an infection and may think that they need antibiotics. This unfortunately leads to unnecessary antibiotic prescribing when clinicians do not apply evidence-based practice.

The rate of the disease is at historic lows thanks to vaccinations that prevent it.

It is important to recognize the signs of this disease, which can cause many complications and a decrease in life expectancy.

These are websites and apps to assuage fears and provide appropriate education to reluctant individuals.

Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to serious health consequences and is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, and nontraumatic lower-extremity amputation among people 20 to 74 years.