Type-2 diabetes, popularly known as adult diabetes, is a chronic condition that affects the way the body processes sugar, the body’s main source of fuel. When you have Type-2 diabetes, your body either resists the effects of insulin — a hormone that regulates the movement of sugar into your cells — or doesn’t produce enough insulin to maintain a normal glucose level.
Untreated, type 2 diabetes can be life-threatening. There is also no cure for it, but it can be managed or even reversed in some cases.
Diabetes is on the rise with increasing childhood, adult obesity and hypertension.
When it comes to Type-2 diabetes — the most common type of diabetes — prevention is a big deal. For example, if you are overweight or have a family history of the disease, you must be very careful.
Diabetes prevention is as basic as eating more healthily, becoming more physically active and losing a few extra pounds — and it’s never too late to start.
Making a few simple lifestyle changes can help one avoid serious health complications of diabetes down the road, with experts saying that up to 90 per cent of the cases of Type-2 diabetes can be prevented by eating and living right.
Authors of Eating Well, Living Well: Diabetes Prevention, Dr. Richard Béliveau and Dr. Denis Gingran, note that given the serious consequences emanating from Type-2 diabetes, preventing the disease is certainly the best weapon in reducing the damage caused by a surplus of blood sugar.
They also give lifestyle changes people can make to avoid becoming a part of the on-going diabetes epidemic.
Given that excess weight and obesity are instrumental to the development of Type-2 diabetes, maintaining a normal body weight is an essential aspect of any preventive approach. Radically reducing the size of the stomach rapidly decreases obesity and almost completely eliminates Type-2 diabetes.
Losing just five kilogrammes, even over several years, can reduce the risk by 50 per cent. At a time when being overweight has become the norm rather than the exception, Type-2 diabetes undoubtedly illustrates the dangers of excess weight and the need to be as slim as possible in order to prevent this disease.
You can also significantly reduce the risk of diabetes by paying attention to the amount and especially the type of carbohydrates in your diet. Ingesting food with high glycemic (sugar) load can be a mistake.
Conversely, consuming foods containing complex carbohydrates (with a low glycemic load, such as whole grain products and legumes) produces a much smaller amount of glucose and insulin in the blood.
The type of fat you consume can also exert a huge influence on the development of Type-2 diabetes. Certain saturated fats, for example, promote inflammation, indirectly causing insulin resistance. Conversely, oleic acid, the main fat in olive oil, has an anti-inflammatory action, thereby reducing the risk of insulin resistance. It is noteworthy that omega-3 fats can improve the insulin response of our organs. As for heart disease prevention, using olive oil as the main fat combined with sustained omega-3 intake is a key element in diabetes prevention.
Besides its central role in preventing cardiovascular diseases, regular physical exercise is essential for Type-2 diabetes prevention. Muscles are the main organs involved in the absorption of glucose in response to insulin. Therefore, regular physical exercise, by maintaining optimal muscular function, improves our sensitivity to insulin, thus ensuring stable blood glucose levels.
Regular exercise not only reduces glycemia but also notably improves blood pressure, an extremely positive effect for heart disease prevention and one not seen in treatment with hypoglycemic drugs. In other words, while molecules like metformin are vital allies in fighting disorders responsible for diseases like Type-2 diabetes, we must never underestimate the remarkable effect of lifestyle changes such as physical exercise on a number of processes induced by these diseases.
Aim for 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day. Take a brisk daily walk. Ride a bike. Swim laps. If you can’t fit in a long workout, spread 10-minute or longer sessions throughout the day.
As incredible as it may seem, certain spices can be instrumental in diabetes Type-2 prevention. The most obvious one is undoubtedly cinnamon, an aromatic substance that improves glucose tolerance and has the ability to interfere with the creation of glycation products that damage blood vessel linings.
This property appears to be widespread in the plant kingdom as spices and seasonings such as Jamaican allspice, black pepper, thyme, and many other herbs can also block glycation reactions. Turmeric also seems to reduce blood glucose levels, which is why it is used in traditional Indian medicine (Ayurveda). In addition, turmeric’s powerful anti-inflammatory activity is a very good preventive weapon for reducing the damage caused by a sugar surplus in the cardiovascular system.
Culled from Punch News.
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