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Diabetes affects millions of people in the world. If not addressed properly through certain medical measures, it can lead to blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, and other severe health issues. Prior to getting diagnosed, there’s prediabetes first. This means the blood sugar levels are high but not high enough to be determined as diabetes.
Unfortunately, 70 percent of people with prediabetes later develop type 2 diabetes. The good news is that the progression from prediabetes to diabetes can always be stopped through a series of lifestyle changes, such as proper nutrition and regular exercises.
Even though some factors aren’t changeable, such as your age, genes, or past lifestyles, there are still several things you can do to lower the risk of diabetes, which are as follows:
You’re bound to develop diabetes fast if refined carbs and sugar are part of your daily diet. With the consumption of these, your body breaks them down into tiny sugar molecules, which are assimilated into the bloodstream. As the sugar increases, your pancreas is triggered to generate insulin, which is a hormone that aids in the removal of sugar from the bloodstream.
In the case of prediabetes, the body’s cells become defiant to insulin’s action, which is why sugar remains prolific in the blood. To make up for it, the pancreas creates more insulin, endeavoring to reduce blood sugar down to a normal level.
As time progresses, this results in higher blood sugar and insulin levels that type 2 diabetes becomes the endgame. Numerous studies have demonstrated that there’s a correlation between the frequent intake of sugar or refined carbs and the likelihood of developing diabetes. So, cutting sugar and refined carbs from your diet seems like the right thing to do.
While not all who have type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese, most of them are. People with prediabetes also have the tendency to bear extra weight in their midsection, which is called visceral fat. This ultimately leads to swelling and insulin resistance, notably heightening the risk of diabetes. Shedding even just a few pounds is already a huge deal when it comes to lowering your risk of this chronic disease.
What’s more is that losing more weight also means greater health benefits for you. There are many diet options you can try to lose weight, such as low-carb and vegetarian diets. The key to losing weight here is that you find a diet plan that you’ll commit yourself to in order to help you maintain a healthy weight. You can try some of the dieting options available and decide which one works best for you.
1. Reduce intake of refined carbs and sugar
You’re bound to develop diabetes fast if refined carbs and sugar are part of your daily diet. With the consumption of these, your body breaks them down into tiny sugar molecules, which are assimilated into the bloodstream. As the sugar increases, your pancreas is triggered to generate insulin, which is a hormone that aids in the removal of sugar from the bloodstream.
In the case of prediabetes, the body’s cells become defiant to insulin’s action, which is why sugar remains prolific in the blood. To make up for it, the pancreas creates more insulin, endeavoring to reduce blood sugar down to a normal level.
As time progresses, this results in higher blood sugar and insulin levels that type 2 diabetes becomes the endgame. Numerous studies have demonstrated that there’s a correlation between the frequent intake of sugar or refined carbs and the likelihood of developing diabetes. So, cutting sugar and refined carbs from your diet seems like the right thing to do.
2. Exercise on a regular basis
Engaging in physical activities consistently may help you avoid the disease from wreaking havoc in your life. This is because workouts boost your cells’ insulin sensitivity. Thus, there’s less insulin needed to normalize your blood sugar levels when you make it a habit to work out. There are several kinds of physical activity that have been demonstrated to decrease insulin resistance and glucose levels in people who suffer from obesity and prediabetes. Some of these activities are aerobic workouts, high-intensity interval training, and resistance training. Plus, exercising more often appears to create notable improvements when it comes to insulin response and function. Hence, it is important that you pick an activity that you enjoy so that you can do it regularly since working out won’t feel like a chore.3. Drink more H20
By drinking lots of water, you’re also avoiding consumption of sugary drinks such as sweetened juices and sodas, which are loaded with sugar and preservatives. These drinks have been connected to an augmented risk of type 2 diabetes and latent autoimmnune diabetes of adults (LADA). The latter is a kind of type 1 diabetes that happens in people who are 18 years old and older. In contrast with type 1 diabetes symptoms observed in childhood, LADA progresses deliberately, which is why the disease needs more treatment as it gets worse. Moreover, some studies suggest that drinking more water may result in better blood sugar regulation and insulin response.4. Shed pounds if you’re overweight or obese
While not all who have type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese, most of them are. People with prediabetes also have the tendency to bear extra weight in their midsection, which is called visceral fat. This ultimately leads to swelling and insulin resistance, notably heightening the risk of diabetes. Shedding even just a few pounds is already a huge deal when it comes to lowering your risk of this chronic disease.
What’s more is that losing more weight also means greater health benefits for you. There are many diet options you can try to lose weight, such as low-carb and vegetarian diets. The key to losing weight here is that you find a diet plan that you’ll commit yourself to in order to help you maintain a healthy weight. You can try some of the dieting options available and decide which one works best for you.
