Diabetes: Living a healthy lifestyle is the most effective way to keep diabetes away. It is important to eat healthy, homemade foods, and maintain a physically active lifestyle by exercising regularly.
Diabetes prevention: Eat more fibre-rich foods to keep diabetes away
HIGHLIGHTS
- Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important to prevent diabetes
- You need to refrain from consuming refined sugar in all forms
- Avoid refined carbs and excessive intake of carbs to prevent diabetes
Two million more people could be affected with diabetes in the next five years, thanks to the national obesity crisis. The total number of people with pre-diabetes have increase to two million in a year, from an average of 1.3 million. Pre-diabetes is a condition in which one is at the brink of developing type 2 diabetes and must take urgent action to prevent it. These alarming figures were released by National Health Service, England. The NHS began recording cases of pre-diabetes two years ago.
According to the latest figures, 1,969,610 people are suffering from the condition. Around 5.6% of these people are under the age of 40 and 42% are middle-aged, between the ages 40 and 64. According to professor Mike Lean, these numbers represent a "a slippery slope". According to him, the numbers are huge and are only getting higher. These two million are the tip of the iceberg, he said.
How to prevent type 2 diabetes and prediabetes
Type 2 diabetes is a condition which affects millions of people worldwide. It is essentially characterised by high blood sugar levels. If left uncontrolled, type 2 diabetes can affect your vision, kidneys, heart health and much more. Before one is diagnosed with diabetes, there's a period where blood sugar levels are high, but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes. This is a condition known as prediabetes.
Living a healthy lifestyle is the most effective way to keep diabetes away. It is important to eat healthy, homemade foods, and maintain a physically active lifestyle by exercising regularly.
Also read: Diabetes And Coffee: What Is The Effect Of Caffeine On Blood Sugar Levels?
1. You need to refrain from consuming refined sugar in all forms. Also, stay away from refined carbs to prevent diabetes. Both of these result in rapid release of sugar in the bloodstream, putting you at risk of diabetes.
2. Exercising regularly and including strength training in your daily routine can regulate blood sugar levels and reduce risk of developing diabetes. Exercise improves insulin sensitivity of your cells. When you exercise, you need lesser insulin to keep your blood sugar levels under control.
Being regular at exercising is important to keep diabetes away
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3. If you are overweight or obese, then you are at risk of diabetes. Weight loss is therefore important for you to prevent diabetes and prediabetes. A healthy diet combined with regular exercise is the most effective and sustainable way to lose weight.
4. Quit smoking as it increases risk of numerous deadly diseases. Smoking and being exposed to second-hand smoke has been linked to development of type 2 diabetes.
Also read: Diabetics, Here Are 5 Dangerous Ways Smoking Is Harming You
5. Take care of your portion sizes to prevent diabetes. It is also an effective way to keep your weight under check. Eating too much food at a time can result in high blood sugar and insulin in people with diabetes.
Also read: Portion Size: Does It Matter?
6. Include more fibre-rich foods as they can prevent sudden spike in blood sugar levels. Fibrous foods like fresh fruits and vegetables can be beneficial for your gut health and weight management.
7. Avoid sedentary lifestyle behaviours like regular consumption of alcohol, sitting at one place for long periods of time, etc. Avoid consuming processed, packaged, junk and deep fried foods as much as possible.
Avoid sedentary lifestyle habits like regular alcohol consumption to keep diabetes away
Photo Credit: iStock
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