5 Tips to Help Prevent Diabetes
Diabetes prevention is as basic as eating more healthfully, becoming more physically active and losing a few extra pounds - and it's never too late to start. Making a few simple changes in your lifestyle now may help you avoid the serious health complications of diabetes down the road, such as nerve, kidney and heart damage.
1. Get plenty of fiber
It's rough, it's tough and it may help you:
- Reduce your risk of diabetes by improving your blood sugar control
- Lower your risk of heart disease
- Promote weight loss by helping you feel full
Foods high in fiber include fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds.
2. Get more physical activity
There are many benefits to regular physical activity. Exercise can help you:
- Lose weight
- Lower your blood sugar
- Boost your sensitivity to insulin - which helps keep your blood sugar within a normal range
Research shows that both aerobic exercise and resistance training can help control diabetes, but the greater benefit comes from a fitness program that includes both.
3. Skip fad diets and just make healthier choices
Low-carb diets, the glycemic index diet or other fad diets may help you lose weight at first, but their effectiveness at preventing diabetes isn't known nor are their long-term effects. And by excluding or strictly limiting a particular food group, you may be giving up essential nutrients. Instead, think variety and portion control as part of an overall healthy-eating plan.
4. Go for whole grains
Whole grains may reduce your risk of diabetes and help maintain blood sugar levels. Try to make at least half your grains whole grains. Many foods made from whole grains come ready to eat, including various breads, pasta products and many cereals. Look for the word "whole" on the package and among the first few items in the ingredient list.
5. Lose extra weight
If you're overweight, diabetes prevention may hinge on weight loss. Every pound you lose can improve your health, and you may be surprised by how much. Participants in one large study who lost a modest amount of weight around 7 percent of initial body weight and exercised regularly reduced the risk of developing diabetes by almost 60 percent.
Diabetes prevention is as basic as eating more healthfully, becoming more physically active and losing a few extra pounds – and it’s never too late to start. Making a few simple changes in your lifestyle now may help you avoid the serious health complications of diabetes down the road, such as nerve, kidney and heart damage.
1. Get plenty of fiber
It’s rough, it’s tough and it may help you:
– Reduce your risk of diabetes by improving your blood sugar control
– Lower your risk of heart disease
– Promote weight loss by helping you feel full
Foods high in fiber include fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds.
2. Get more physical activity
There are many benefits to regular physical activity. Exercise can help you:
– Lose weight
– Lower your blood sugar
– Boost your sensitivity to insulin – which helps keep your blood sugar within a normal range
Research shows that both aerobic exercise and resistance training can help control diabetes, but the greater benefit comes from a fitness program that includes both.
3. Skip fad diets and just make healthier choices
Low-carb diets, the glycemic index diet or other fad diets may help you lose weight at first, but their effectiveness at preventing diabetes isn’t known nor are their long-term effects. And by excluding or strictly limiting a particular food group, you may be giving up essential nutrients. Instead, think variety and portion control as part of an overall healthy-eating plan.
4. Go for whole grains
Whole grains may reduce your risk of diabetes and help maintain blood sugar levels. Try to make at least half your grains whole grains. Many foods made from whole grains come ready to eat, including various breads, pasta products and many cereals. Look for the word “whole” on the package and among the first few items in the ingredient list.
5. Lose extra weight
If you’re overweight, diabetes prevention may hinge on weight loss. Every pound you lose can improve your health, and you may be surprised by how much. Participants in one large study who lost a modest amount of weight around 7 percent of initial body weight and exercised regularly reduced the risk of developing diabetes by almost 60 percent.
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I can agree with about half of your 5 points. First, I assume you are not diabetic. As a diabetic I have found that it doesn't matter if the grains I eat are whole grain or not. Whole grain may have a little more fiber, but whole grains contain almost as much carbs (which get converted to glucose/sugar) and spike bG. Diabetics are not able to handle properly carbs/sugar. The logical response would be to cut down on what is causing you problems. If a person has an allergy to peanuts, you don't tell them to keep eating them (and take a drug). You tell them to cut it out! That leads to a lower carb diet which will definently help diabetics lower their blood glucose levels. Fiber is good, Physical activity and Weight loss are very good. Cutting back on carbs is common sense. You recommend whole grain bread and pasta… I've checked my bG hundreds of times over the last 5 years and those are a no no for every diabetic I know who is trying to keep their bG under control. Your option would be to eat the carbs then take an ever increasing amount of diabetes medicine to control it. I appreciate the time you put into making these videos, but please… think about it.