Diabetes affects around 422 million people globally, most of whom live in middle and low-income countries, and diabetes is directly responsible for 1.5 million fatalities per year. Over the last few decades, both the number of cases and the prevalence of diabetes have significantly increased—recording over 300% increase in cases in just over four decades. This page will provide you with more insights on the same topic and much more.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a common disease in which the body cannot control blood glucose levels. This results in dangerously high levels of sugar in the blood. Diabetes is caused by either insufficient insulin or the tissues not responding to insulin appropriately, or both.
Types of diabetes
There are three types of diabetes. Usually begins during childhood, while diabetes often occurs later in life. The third type, called gestational diabetes, is generally diagnosed in expectant mothers.
Type 1
Type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused by the immune system attacking the body. The affected person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, leading to hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). An approximated figure of 5-10% of people with diabetes suffers from type 1 diabetes. Symptoms usually develop rapidly and are often mistaken for another illness.
Type 2
Type 2 diabetes is a condition that makes it harder for your body to control sugar (glucose). It usually develops over many years, but lately, it’s been diagnosed more often in children, teens, and young adults. If you have type 2 diabetes, your body doesn’t use insulin well and can’t keep sugar regular.
Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed by making healthy lifestyle changes. Healthy eating and exercise can help you lose weight, which will lower your risk of type 2 diabetes. However, you cannot change some risk factors such as age and family history, but you still have control over other factors such as food choices and physical activity.
7 Methods Which You Can Use in Preventing Diabetes
1. Consult your doctor on weight loss
The loss of weight is an essential part of diabetes prevention. You may be able to avoid or delay diabetes by losing 5 to 12 percent of your current weight. It's also crucial to prevent regaining the weight you've lost. Exercise regularly can help you lose weight. You might also need to consult a nutritionist to get proper guidelines on the best nutrition and food practices.
2. Move more each day
Every day, try and find new methods to be more active. A 30-minute walk could go a long way in ensuring you are fit. Do this at atleast five times a week. Walking is an excellent method to begin and can be done all the time effortlessly. Cycling, swimming, and dancing are all wonderful ways to get extra exercise. Keep it within your vicinity or park you are sure and familiar with to be sure you don’t get too far.
3. Get rid of sedentary behavior in your routine
More than 90% who engage in very little to no exercising activity hav a higher risk of getting infected with diabetes. If you spend most of your hours seated, it’s advisable to allocate some time walking around, maybe during long phone calls. Or another option is always to avoid using the elevator and use the stairs instead. This way, you increase your body activity and hence burn the sugar in your body quite fast and effectively.
4. Avoid Sugar and refined carbs
People who consume sugary diets and processed carbs are at an increased risk of developing diabetes. Your body swiftly breaks down these foods into little sugar molecules and absorbs them into your bloodstream. Due to the surge in blood sugar, your pancreas is triggered to produce insulin, a hormone that helps sugar exit the bloodstream and enter your body's cells. This can result in gradually increased sugar and insulin levels, eventually leading to type 2 diabetes.
5. Work Out Regularly
Apart from just going for walks, regularly getting used to doing physical exercises is also a way to prevent diabetes. Your cells' insulin sensitivity improves as a result of training. As a result, you need less insulin to keep your sugar levels in check when you exercise.
According to one study, moderate-intensity exercise raised insulin sensitivity by 55%, whereas high-intensity practice enhanced it by 75% in patients with prediabetes. This effect, however, was limited to workout days. Insulin resistance and sugar levels have been demonstrated to be reduced by a variety of physical activities.
6. Take a lot of water regularly
Water is by far the best beverage to regulate sugar in our bodies. If you consume a lot of sugar, make water the next drink you have to take to hold the amount that gets to stay in your body. A lot of water consumed leads to better controls of sugar levels and insulin in the body.
7. Quit smoking
This being one of the causes of type 2 diabetes, people that quit smoking have better chances of preventing ailing from this chronic disease. Smoking is one of the things that increase. Smoking makes it hard for the body to regulate insulin to normal levels. Quitting provides a good room for blood sugar regulation.
Final thought
Current lifestyles put a lot of people at risk of contracting chronicle diseases day in day out. The best protection you can give to yourself. Most of the prevention we have seen on this peace is mostly lifestyle-related ways of preventing diabetes. Take the first step today and prevent diabetes by visiting the nearest hospital or clinic for a check-up.
If someone has diabetes or has just got diagnosed, there is no reason to panic for diabetes. It is curable. To achieve effectiveness and for your body to react well to the medication during diabetes treatment, it’s still advised that you follow the doctor’s advice and take complete medicines as prescribed. Stay healthy, stay safe.