5 Ways To Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

Welcome back! 

I hope you are having a fantastic day so far. Today we are here to talk about diabetes prevention. When it comes to type 1 diabetes, it’s an issue of you having it or you don’t. This type of diabetes is not preventable. The very best thing you can do is simply learn how to best manage your condition.

Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, is very much preventable. If you are willing to take a few smart steps, you can definitely decrease your risk factor and lessen the odds of contracting it.

What steps should you be taking to prevent type 2 diabetes? 

Here’s what you need to know.

Watch Sugar, Not Fat

Many people are in the habit of watching their total fat intake for their diet plan. While this is great and you definitely do want to monitor how much fat you’re eating, don’t be mistaken. It’s not fat that is the biggest risk factor for developing diabetes, it’s sugar. If you are consuming excess sugar – or even simple carbs for that matter, you are at risk for developing diabetes. Start paying more attention to those carbohydrates and do your very best to get them under control.

Get Regular Exercise

Next up, you’ll want to also make sure that you are getting regular exercise as well. Exercise is an important part of everyone’s day because it lowers stress levels, improves energy, builds muscle, and burns calories.

Best of all, it also helps you better regulate your blood glucose levels. If you aren’t exercising regularly, now is the time to start. It’s one of the most powerful tools you can use to help prevent diabetes before it starts.

Of particular importance is strength training, so if there is one type of exercise you’ll most want to be doing, this is it.

Manage Your Stress Levels

Stress is something that we all deal with and something that few of us can completely eliminate. This may be true, but you can definitely better learn how to manage your stress levels.

Start getting into the habit of practising stress-busting techniques such as writing in a stress journal, talking to a friend, or doing a workout. Figure out your best stress-busting technique and then start using that as often as you can.

Get Adequate Sleep

Getting enough sleep at night is another important step in regulating your blood sugar and preventing diabetes. Those who don’t sleep enough at night are at a higher risk for insulin resistance, which essentially means your body is not capable of handling the carbohydrates you eat as well. There is a higher chance that the carbohydrates you eat impact your blood glucose levels as well as get converted into body fat stores.

Make sure that you are aiming to get at least seven if not eight or nine hours of sleep. Keep in mind that factors such as reduced calorie dieting or intense exercise are both going to increase your sleep needs. Adjust accordingly.

Meditate

Finally, the last thing that you can do that will help you reduce type 2 diabetes is learning to meditate. This does not need to be a challenging thing to do but you do need to do it often on a regular basis to see optimal results.

Meditation has been proven to enhance so many qualities of your life that it’s something that everyone should really be focusing on doing.

Meditation can be done for ten minutes three to four times per week and is a great option to do before bed as it will relax you and make it easier to fall asleep.

So there you have a few of the best ways to combat diabetes before you get that note from your doctor that you are suffering. Regular doctor’s appointments will also help you stay on top of all your health numbers so you can take action if anything gets out of control.

Stay healthy!

Kayla Phillips, R.Ph

Registered Pharmacist

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ABOVE IS FOR GENERAL CONSUMER UNDERSTANDING AND EDUCATION, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED OR USED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS OR TREATMENT.