Diabetes is one of the most common diseases globally. It is a long-term medical condition that develops due to prolonged high levels of sugar in blood. It is typically manifested when body fails to produce insulin at all (type 1 diabetes) or when it doesn’t produce enough insulin for proper functioning (type 2 diabetes). Diabetes is often referred to as a silent killer, and if not kept under check, can cause several adverse health conditions.
There are many factors that can cause diabetes and not all are modifiable. While you can’t do much about genetic factors, you can take some other steps to cut down your risk of getting diabetes. Here are 10 steps you can follow to avoid diabetes.
- Keep your weight in check. Overweight people have a higher risk of getting diabetes. As a good start, you can target a BMI of <23, which is usually considered as a healthy range for Asian Indians.
- Exercise regularly. It keeps you active, keeps your metabolism going and helps you keep fit apart from reducing the risk of diabetes as well as cardiovascular diseases.
- Walk – Importance of walk can never be underemphasized! Avoid taking your car for places that are close by. Consider taking stairs rather than lift while in your office or apartment.
- Quit Smoking – Smoking increases your chances of getting diabetes, apart from causing other health issues including cancer. So quit smoking now. And it is not just because of diabetes.
- Cut down on alcohol. Alcohol may cause blood sugar to rise or fall rapidly. Apart from that it also has an adverse effect on liver.
- Include plenty of fibers in your diet in the form of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts etc. It helps you feel full and prevents frequent snacking on other high calorie foods. It also keeps your blood cholesterol and blood sugar under check.
- Unwind regularly – This helps to reduce stress levels. Chronic stress is another reason that causes diabetes.
- Avoid processed and packaged foods. They contain an array of chemicals that cause hormonal imbalances including impaired insulin secretion
- Get proper sleep – Sleep is an important ingredient of keeping your metabolism going and keeping chronic conditions including diabetes under check.
- Get a complete health check-up done regularly including blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. This becomes especially important if you are above the age of 30. You can upload your reports on ekincare.com and monitor various health parameters on a continuous basis. It also helps you detect potential chronic health conditions (not just limited to diabetes) early.
#Thinkhealth blog 