This is American Diabetes Month and this is a time of year to pay particular attention to your diet if you are diabetic.  Dr. Lamar Hasbrouck, Illinois Department of Public Health Director, says the percentage of Illinois adults diagnosed with diabetes rose 60 percent between 1995 and 2010, and it is projected the number of diagnosed diabetes cases will rise another 25 percent by 2020.  In numbers, this is more than 827,000 adults in the state with diabetes with over 2,700 dying each year.  By gender, race and ethnicity, in 2010, more men than women in Illinois died due to diabetes, while more blacks than whites and more non-Hispanic than Hispanic.  This month everyone is encouraged to learn the risk factors for diabetes and how to reduce or eliminate them.  Diabetes is serious chronic disease caused when blood sugar or glucose levels are above normal and a hormone called insulin is not able to help glucose get into the cells, causing sugar to build up in the blood.  When this happens, it can cause kidney failure, blindness, heart attacks, strokes and amputations.  Contributing factors to diabetes include obesity, being physically inactive, having an unhealthy diet, using tobacco use and family history.  Signs of diabetes may include increased thirst, increased urination, increased hunger, weight loss despite eating more than usual, fatigue, blurred vision and slow healing sores or frequent infections.  For more information about diabetes and to take a test to determine your risk for the disease, go to www.idph.state.il.us/diabetes/index.htm.