How To Reduce Your Risk Of Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder which affects blood sugar levels, of which there are two main types: Type 1 & Type 2, both of which we shall discuss in this article.

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes usually occurs in young children as a result of a virus or an autoimmune disorder which destroys the body’s ability to produce insulin.

As a result, people with Type 1 diabetes must take insulin injections for the rest of their life.

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes occurs more commonly in middle age as a result of a poor diet and unhealthy lifestyle which subsequently reduces the efficiency of insulin to control blood sugar levels.

Difference Between Type 1 & Type 2 Diabetes

The main difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes is that type 1 occurs mainly in children, develops rapidly and requires insulin injections to control.

Whereas type 2 occurs mainly in middle age, develops slowly and can be controlled by changing your lifestyle.

The reason type 2 diabetes is becoming such a concern, is because in the past it used to be relatively rare, and those who did get it would at least be in their 40s or 50s.

However today more and more people are developing type 2 diabetes, and at a much younger age. In fact children and young adults in their 20’s are now developing diabetes, something which was unheard of before.

What Are The Signs Of Diabetes?

There are lots of medical tests you can do to test for diabetes, such as checking your blood pressure or levels of blood fats.

However the simplest test you can do is to look at your abdomen if you are a male, and buttocks if you are a female.

If you have a fat stomach or butt then there is a good chance you are in a pre-diabetic stage.

This means you are one step away from developing full blown diabetes, and will eventually develop it if you continue with your current lifestyle.

To help you reduce your risk of diabetes, read the following tips given below.

Lose Weight

The fatter you are, the higher the level of insulin resistance you have.

This means the insulin your body produces is not very effective at controlling your blood sugar levels, and when it reaches a certain point you will have developed diabetes.

So to cut your risk of diabetes, lose some weight by reducing how much food you eat at each meal.

Exercise

Exercising for 30 minutes 5 times a week can half your risk of developing diabetes.

Ideally this exercise should make you sweat, but if you don’t have time to exercise for so long just make sure you keep yourself active throughout the day.

This form of exercise is called non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), and can reduce your risk of developing diabetes simply by you being active during a normal working day.

Lift Weights

Lifting weights helps to develop muscle mass, which increases the rate at which you burn fat whilst also helping your body to use insulin more efficiently.

If you don’t have weights, use your own body weight by doing press ups or squats.

Cut Out The Carbs

Refined carbohydrates are a major contributing factor towards the development of diabetes.

Refined carbohydrates are basically anything that tastes sugary or tastes like bread or cake.

Refined carbs will cause you to put on weight quickly, because they stimulate the body to deposit fat.

You can therefore massively reduce your risk of developing diabetes by cutting out sugar and white flour from your diet.

Cut Out Artificial Sweeteners

Although people used to eat a moderate amount of sugar in the past, most did not develop diabetes. Apart from the fact that they did not eat so much sugar as we do today, the type of sugar they ate was different.

Today we tend to eat a lot of high fructose corn syrup or glucose fructose syrup, instead of the natural sugars people used to eat.

The trouble with these artificial sugars is that the body can’t deal with them in the same way it does with natural sugars.

This makes artificial sugars the biggest single cause of obesity and diabetes, and should therefore be completely avoided if you are trying to reduce your risk of developing diabetes.

Stop Smoking

Smokers are almost twice as likely to develop diabetes than non smokers, so you can reduce your risk by quitting or cutting down.

Take Supplements

Certain supplements such as cinnamon or chromium can help your body to control blood sugar levels, and so can reduce your risk of developing diabetes.

Avoid Drinking Milk

Recent studies suggest that a certain protein in milk is almost identical to a protein on the surface of insulin-producing cells.

Drinking milk could therefore cause the body to destroy its own insulin producing cells, leading to type 1 diabetes (insulin injections for life).

Since there seems to be a strong link between this milk protein and the development of heart disease and diabetes, it would be best to stop drinking milk completely if you are trying to reduce your risk of diabetes.

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