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Some links in this article are affiliate links. We may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we find useful to our readersMore than being a hereditary disease, diabetes has become a lifestyle borne disease nowadays. According to the collected statistics from the World Health Organization (R), the reported cases of diabetes have risen from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. There are thus no two thoughts on why it is important to prevent diabetes.
Managing the signs and symptoms of this condition could very well be a work in progress. But it is always better to avoid diabetes in the early stages itself.
By the end of this article, you will have a stern knowledge about the best ways on how to prevent diabetes by making a few changes to your lifestyle and diet.
How Does Diabetes Hamper Health?
You would be surprised to know that diabetes does have the possibility of influencing your health for the worse, the longer it prevails.
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Check Out These Ways To Prevent Diabetes.
Long term impacts of diabetes can have a plethora of impacts on your body and on your overall organs in the body.
1. Cardiovascular Health
The relation between diabetes and coronary artery disease are interrelated. Diabetes does induce risks associated with your overall cardiovascular health because of it links with high levels of cholesterol in the blood. This has been found to enhance the risks of heart attacks and strokes as well.
2. Nervous System
Long term diabetic complications can vehemently end up influencing the nervous system as well, especially if the nerves are associated with movement and motility. Neuropathy in diabetic patients is quite common as well.
3. Digestive Health
The impacts of diabetes on digestion might not be very prevalent but the same has been found to have a negative influence if there has been any kind of nerve damage involved because of the condition. Nausea, constipation and diarrhea are very common side effects.
4. Renal Health
The correlation between diabetes and kidney is quite prevalent. Diabetic nephropathy is quite a common issue that many often tend to suffer from. Long term impacts of diabetes can be an influencing factor for causing damage to the kidneys and the functional units of this organ. The risks are associated with poor maintenance of the condition along with elevated levels of cholesterol and blood pressure.
How to Prevent Diabetes?
For your better understanding and convenience, we are going to be categorizing the preventive measures into three different categories- lifestyle changes, dietary changes and exercises you can indulge in.
Let us start then, shall we?
Lifestyle Tips to Prevent Diabetes
As stated at the very beginning, our lifestyle choices are becoming one of the leading factors for the induction and development of diabetes.
Some of the effective lifestyle changes that you can focus on are enlisted below.
1. Manage Your Weight
It is a misconstrued concept that every single diabetic patient is overweight but it is also not wrong that the majority of them are.
Majority of the people at risk or who are at the pre-diabetic stage tend to predominantly suffer from fat deposition around their midsection and an abdominal region which is referred to as the visceral fat. These fats are very stubborn and hard to lose, thus enhancing the risks associated with
Studies (R) (R) (R) have found that the persistent presence of visceral fats has been associated with increased inflammation in the body as well as the heightened risks of developing insulin resistance in the body.
In a conducted study (R) with 1000 pre-diabetic participants, the researchers concluded that for every kilogram of weight that they lost, they reduced the risks of diabetes by 16%.
Losing weight is a personal preference. While some diet to shed off those extra pounds, some work it out. Ensure that you opt for natural weight loss ways for an overall effective impact on the body.
2. Get Regular Check-Ups
Getting regular checkups have been found to have amazing results when it comes to avoiding diabetes in the early stages itself. This helps provide with a better idea about the state of health and thus actively lets you prepare for the best of management and regulation of the condition.
Schedule a regular doctor’s check-up every 4-6 months and get the tests done to ensure that your levels blood glucose as well as insulin levels are in check and not a complete whack.
3. Look Out for the Portion Sizes
If you are overweight, looking out on the portion size can be the best way to prevent diabetes. Often times, the majority of us don’t realize and we end up eating more than we should.
Eating a large portion of food (R), especially high carb food has been found to cause higher spikes in the blood glucose as well as insulin levels.
Even in a conducted study (R) with Asian Indian men for an extended period of 2 years in a randomized controlled primary prevention trial, it was found that the ones who cut down their portion sizes and indulge in other nutritive methods were found to reduce the risks of diabetes by 46%. The same was the result because of heightened insulin sensitivity as well as beta-cell prevention.
4. Practice Mindful Eating
Being focused while eating is important. It is necessary that you keep the distractions away in order to ensure that your sole focus is on eating and chewing the food properly for extraction of better nutrition from the same.
Even studies (R) have found that we tend to eat the optimal amount when we practice mindful eating. This also does help avoid the conditions associated with overeating and the problems with high cholesterol levels in the body.
5. Keep a Look Out at Hydration
Not only does it help in preventing labored metabolism because of heightened toxicity, it is also quite beneficial in helping to avoid getting diabetes.
Picking water as the primary beverage helps you avoid the temptation associated with the carbonated and sweetened beverages which are an omen for death for diabetic and prediabetic patients.
It is very important to ensure that you drink an optimal amount of water throughout the day – 8 glasses a day is believed to be ideal.
Studies (R) have also found that people who consume two servings of these beverages on a daily basis had an increased risk of developing Type-2 diabetes by 20%.
6. Quit Smoking
Even the packaging of the cigarettes has clear instruction on why it is not good for health. Still, the majority of the people do have the habit of reaching out for them.
One of the primary reasons why quitting smoking is believed to be one of the effective tips to prevent diabetes is because of the fact that it is associated with prevention of several risks of health issues ranging from heart diseases to cancer.
Even multiple studies (R) (R) have found impacts associated with heightened risks of diabetes with active and passive smoking.
In a conducted observational study (R) with over a million participants, it was found that the average smokers experienced a heightened risk of diabetes by 44% while regular and vigilant smokers experienced an increased risk of diabetes by 60%.
7. Avoid a Sedentary Lifestyle
Sedentary and an inactive lifestyle (R) (R) not just contribute to obesity but can even end up hampering the metabolism of the body which enhances the deposition of visceral fats in the body.
The more the visceral fats, the more are the changes associated with the development of insulin resistance in the body. It is thus very important to let go off of the sedentary lifestyle and ensure that you do indulge in amping up those habits for good.
Dietary Changes To Prevent Diabetes
Let’s take a look at some of the possible dietary changes to avoid getting diabetes, shall we?
8. Say Goodbye to Sugar and Refined Carbs
Sugar and refined carbs are a complete no for someone who is at risk of diabetes. The consumption of these has been associated with a faster breakdown of consumed food which causes spikes in the blood glucose levels in the body.
Persistent spikes in the blood glucose levels have been found to enhance the risks associated with insulin resistance in the body. This is one of the most common contributing factors when it comes to the induction of diabetes.
Even several of the conducted studies (R) (R) have found the correlation between the consumption of sugar with the risks of diabetes in people.
In a collaborative analysis (R) including 37 separate studies, the researchers found that the individuals who did consume the fast metabolizing carbohydrates were at a 40% heightened risk of developing diabetes.
9. Adhere to a Low-Carb Diet
If you have been looking around for tips to prevent diabetes, it is always best suggested to adhere to a low carb diet or stick to eating complex carbs which break down gradually to keep you energised throughout the day.
Consuming a low carb diet has been scientifically proven (R) (R) to be very effective to prevent diabetes. The main reason behind the same is because of the fact that they help to lower the blood glucose levels and even enhance the condition of insulin sensitivity.
Even in a conducted study (R) with prediabetic participants for 12 weeks, the individuals were either given a low fat or a low carb diet to consume. The researchers found that the ones who consumed a low carb diet had reduced levels of blood glucose by 12% and the insulin levels by 50%.
If possible, try the Ketogenic diet for beneficial results.
10. Consume more fiber
Soluble fiber (R) has been found to be more beneficial in the prevention of diabetes, mainly because of the kind of impacts it has on the blood glucose levels in the body. It doesn’t cause any kind of spikes in the glucose or insulin levels in the body.
Insoluble fiber (R), on the other hand, has been found to have beneficial impacts in reducing the blood sugar levels in the body.
For the best of ways to prevent diabetes, try and consume more fibers in the natural form with oatmeal, berries, etc.
11. Optimize the Vitamin D consumption
The lack of Vitamin D in the body can have varying impacts on one’s health.
If you have been trying to find ways on how to prevent diabetes, optimizing the consumption of Vitamin D is definitely one of the most effective ways to go around with it.
You would be surprised to know that even studies (R) (R) have found that people who have a lower level of Vitamin D in their body have a heightened risk of developing diabetes at a later date.
Even in a conducted study (R), the researchers found that the participants with the optimal levels of Vitamin D were at reduced risks of developing diabetes in comparison to the ones who had lower levels of vitamin D.
If you wish to enhance the levels of Vitamin D consumption in your body in a natural way, it is always best suggested to opt for fatty fishes in your diet. Even cod liver oil supplements have beneficial impacts in this regard. Enhance your sun exposure for the maximum impacts altogether.
12. Eat More Fruits and Vegetables
These are not just rich in nutrients and essential vitamins and minerals but have also been found to have beneficial fibers in them.
Fruits and vegetables are not just amazing to keep your weight in check; they also help in managing your weight as well which is one of the primary factors associated with the development of diabetes in individuals.
Bulk up on the vegetables which are low on carb because this will not just keep you full throughout the day but also ensure to keep the problems of diabetes at bay.
13. Spice it Up
Turmeric and berberine have been found to have amazing and beneficial impacts in the prevention of diabetes effectively.
The anti-inflammatory properties (R) of the Curcumin in turmeric have been found to have beneficial impacts in preventing the inflammatory markers, associated with the risks of prediabetes.
Even a conducted study with 240 prediabetic patients, it was found that the group which was supplemented with 750 mg of Curcumin on a daily basis for 9 months showed no signs of diabetes while the control group did showcase 16.4% in them.
Much like Curcumin, even Berberine has similar impacts on the body to prevent the risks associated with diabetes.
These spices have been associated with better insulin sensitivity and even reduce the risks of other allied diseases which could be caused because of the condition.
14. Start Drinking Coffee or Tea
Several conducted studies (R) (R) have even found that drinking coffee in moderation on a daily basis reduced the risks associated with type-2 diabetes by 8-54%. These have predominantly been found effective in people who are obese or overweight.
The presence of polyphenols (R) in the coffee and tea has been found to have beneficial impacts in protecting the body against the risks of diabetes.
Exercises To Prevent Diabetes
Some of the exercises to prevent diabetes include:
15. Aerobic exercises
Indulging in 30 minutes of aerobic exercises multiples day in the week has been found to be quite beneficial in keeping the risks of diabetes to a bare minimum.
Some of the best forms of aerobic exercise include walking, jogging, tennis, swimming, biking etc. If you are finding it hard for you to indulge in 30 minutes of exercising, start with 10 minutes and then work your way up to 30.
Don’t put excess strain on your body, rather be creative about the process and indulge in exercises that you actually do enjoy doing.
16. Strength Training
Strength training has beneficial impacts in not just inducing better weight loss but also building muscles and toning the body down. It has also been found to have impacts in maintaining healthy and strong bones.
This form of exercise is predominantly better for Type-2 diabetic patients because it lets them utilize the glucose present in the bloodstream to avoid getting diabetes altogether.
Weight training is the one that the majority of people tend to opt for. If required, just ensure to indulge in something that doesn’t put excessive strain on your body.
17. Flexibility training
Flexibility training might necessarily not contribute to the regulation of the condition of diabetes but is quite beneficial in regulating the condition associated with the flexibility of the muscles altogether.
It improves how well your muscles and the joints work. It is very important to stretch not just before but even after the exercise regime is done with.
It has also been found to reduce the soreness and the strain that the majority of the people experience with the condition altogether.
When it comes to exercising, it is important to be regular with it. Don’t abandon it halfway through and ensure that you do indulge in it from time and time.
In order to prevent diabetes, it is important that you balance out every prospect of it, be it a lifestyle of even the diet that you are adhering to. Start with easier switches and then make the big ones. It is important to be very cautious with the process if you don’t want to end up experiencing something negative.