Avoiding Type 2 Diabetes

Learning that you have pre-diabetes or glucose intolerance can be a bit scary. Learning that you are in the high risk categories for developing diabetes can also be nerve-wracking for many people. Youre likely to be asking yourself many questions. What does it mean? What do I need to do now? Can I avoid developing Type 2 diabetes?

If you have pre-diabetes, you are very likely to develop Type 2 diabetes within a ten year window. Many people today currently have pre-diabetes or even diabetes itself and are not aware of that fact. The first thing you should do is assess your risk factors. If you have a family history of diabetes or if you are part of one of the following ethnic groups you are far more likely to develop diabetes: African American, Alaska Native, Latino, Native American, Asian, or Pacific Islander. People over 40 are also more likely to develop diabetes, however, there has been a steady increase in young people developing Type 2 diabetes recently. This is due to the fact that many young people are much more sedentary now than in the past. Being less physically active puts you at a higher risk for developing Type 2 diabetes. Being overweight is also a significant risk factor.

If you find yourself with some of the risk factors noted above it is important to discuss the possibility of diabetes with your doctor, and have a fasting blood glucose test run to see if you have the disease. Diabetes affects almost every system in the body. The longer a person lives with diabetes, the more likely he or she is to suffer from diabetic complications. Diabetes can cause blindness, it contributes greatly to heart disease, puts you at risk for stroke, can cause circulatory problems or slow healing infections which can lead to amputation of limbs. These are just a few of the complications you can suffer, so it is important to avoid allowing pre-diabetes to degenerate into Type 2 diabetes as long as possible.

There is a way to prevent, or at least delay, the onset of Type 2 diabetes. Its the real magic bullet. Lose weight and exercise. And guess what, it wont just help you delay the onset of diabetes, but it can help to reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer, just to name a few! Many people are not happy to hear they should change their eating habits and get up off the couch. It can be quite daunting to consider these lifestyle changes, but making these changes will help you live a healthier life overall. It may not be the easiest change to make, but if you consider the alternatives, its a much more palatable change.

Losing weight and eating better mean changing the way you think about food. Over time, you can change what your body craves. You can move from potato chips and/or cookies to healthier snacks of fruits and vegetables. Try not to consume calories that have no nutritional value, such as soda. Its also important to get an understanding of real portion sizes. Often we eat what is given to us without thinking. Restaurant portions are often more than one meal and more often than not, most people consume the entire dish they are served rather than leave something on their plate or bring home leftovers. Make sure to look at packages to understand how many servings are in that box or bag or can. Often what you thought was one serving is much more. General guidelines to eat healthier are to reduce the amount of meat you consume and increase fruits and vegetables. Cut down on refined and processed foods in favor of whole foods. Switch from refined flours to whole grains. These changes will result in better overall health.

Exercise is also very important for diabetics. Exercise can help to reduce the amount of sugar in your blood and will help you to lose weight and keep it off. You should strive to exercise 6 days a week and try for one hour a day. This is probably an aggressive goal initially. You can start gradually. Most doctors suggest 30 minutes a day for 5 days as a good starting point, and you can break up your exercise into 10 minute segments until you can work up to a longer period of time. Walking is one of the easiest, least costly methods of exercise and is something most people can do with minimal impact. Make sure to discuss your planned exercise regime with your doctor first.

Switching to a healthier diet and exercising regularly will help you to lose weight and will help to keep that weight off. These are the most important things you can do to delay or prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes.