Ways you can help prevent diabetes

Diabetes is a serious illness and the number of people living with the illness has increased significantly within recent years, and this is only expected to continue to rise. However, by adopting a healthy lifestyle and making some simple changes to your diet, you can reduce your chances of getting diabetes. The more you know about diabetes the better Before you make any attempt to prevent diabetes, it is essential you know what exactly diabetes is. Once your knowledge and understanding is improved on the illness, you can best start your new regime to prevent your diagnosis. Reduce your food portion size Reduce the size of the food portions you eat. Also, always drink a few glasses of water every day before eating your meal, as this will make you less hungry and you will avoid over eating. Exercise regularly and be physically active Exercising daily helps to maintain a healthy weight, helps lower your blood sugar levels and boosts your sensitivity to insulin. Therefore, exercising daily for at least 30 minutes will keep your blood sugar levels at a normal level. Lose weight If you lose 10 pounds, this will significantly reduce your diabetes risk and if overweight. Add wholegrain to your diet Monitor and count your carbohydrate intake and switch to a wholegrain diet, this also reduces your risk of diabetes. Including wholegrain foodstuffs in your diet will not only help prevent diabetes but also slow down the carbohydrate absorption in your body. Always eat your breakfast Always eat a healthy breakfast on a daily basis and never skip your breakfast. Eating a healthy breakfast helps control your appetite, helps to control your calorie intake as you start the day off full and so also helps prevent hunger pangs and subsequent weight gain. Avoid fatty foods Junk foods are heavy in saturated fat, which when eaten too much can, or more likely will raise your bad cholesterol levels in your body. Additionally, this will also affect the blood sugar level in your body. So always avoid junk foods that will tempt you when hungry – no chocolate bars or cakes, try a piece of fruit instead. Avoid drinks that are high in sugar If you are thirsty, then drink water instead of sodas, soft drinks or juices. As these drinks beverages are sources of sugar, which will spike your blood sugar levels. Choose to eat a healthy snack Eat a bowl of salad rather than a pizza at your mealtimes. And if you are eating salad, do so without any toppings such as cheese or mayonnaise. Eat vegetables Meat is always nice, however it shouldn't be eaten every day. So try and eat lots of vegetables on a daily basis. As vegetables are heavy in nutrients and so will help prevent diabetes. Always try and be stress-free Excessive stress can raise your blood sugar level. So help reduce your stress levels by doing yoga, meditation or breathing exercises. Always sleep well Always try and get at least 6 hours of sleep every night, as sleep is essential in helping to prevent diabetes. Lack of sleep can increase the hormone cortisol in your body, which can then raise your insulin level and cause blood sugar imbalance. Eat fibre Adding fibre rich foods to your diet will help your digestive system and so lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes. So add at least 25-30 grams of fibre to your diet, to help regulate your blood sugar level. Always drink lots of water Drinking lots of water on a daily basis will help the sugar content in your blood. Water also helps to regulate proper functioning of your body and so helps reduce the risk of diabetes. Always have regular health checks Most diabetes symptoms are silent, so to avoid getting diabetes have regular routine health checks with your GP. As a health check-up will help diagnose any pre-diabetes symptoms and help prevent you from getting any worse or even getting diabetes at all after a GP consultation. Eat Soya beans Soya is one of the best foods to eat to help prevent diabetes. The isoflavones in Soya helps to reduce the sugar content in your blood, whilst also accumulating few calories, when compared to other foods. So eat a Soya filled diet to help avoid diabetes. Drink green tea not coffee Drinking green tea on a daily basis will help your body get rid of the free radicals. And antioxidants will help to normalise your blood sugar level to help prevent diabetes. Stop smoking If you smoke this increases your chances of diabetes significantly, as smoking affects your body’s hormonal secretions. Therefore, giving up smoking will help prevent diabetes.