Diabetes can be a scary diagnosis. No matter what your age, this chronic condition means a change in lifestyle that includes a new diet, added exercise and careful monitoring.

In Avalon, residents who get that scary diagnosis have an asset and ally in Registered Dietitian Lisa Gibson. Once a month, Gibson visits Catalina Island Medical Center and provides individual or group counseling to diabetics. Currently, she is advising about a dozen patients a month on how to control their condition.

Gibson said she expected that the lack of fast food on the island and the amount of walking residents do each day would have an impact on the rate of diabetes. "Looking at the island you would think it wouldn't be as high as the mainland," she said. "But I think it's just as high from what I've seen."

The registered dietitian is part of the consulting firm Nutrition Ink, which provides a number of nutrition services to CIMC, including counseling, menu development and nutrition assessments. Counseling patients with diabetes about the lifestyle changes they need to make is a large part of what Gibson does.

Without careful monitoring, diabetes can have severe consequences, including kidney failure, blindness and amputation of limbs. In order to avoid those complications patients must carefully monitor their sugar and carbohydrate intake. Losing weight is frequently recommended as well.

Weight loss is also an important way to avoid getting diabetes in the first place, according to Gibson, who also recommends regular exercise and getting enough fruits and vegetables.

Periodic blood testing can also help alert individuals to their risk of developing diabetes, allowing them to make the lifestyle changes that can prevent the disease from progressing.

Those blood tests, which only involve a finger prick, will be available at the Catalina Island Health Fair, which will be held Thursday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Casino Ballroom.

For more information about the nutrition counseling services available at Catalina Island Medical Center, call 510-0700.

For more information visit www.CatalinaIslandMedicalCenter.org