Type 2 diabetes is a chronic illness affecting millions of individuals across the world. Blindness, renal insufficiency, heart disease and other severe problems may occur in uncontrolled situations. Before diabetes is identified, it takes time for high but not high levels of blood sugar to be diagnosed as diabetes. This is referred to as prediabetes. Up to 70% of persons with prediabetes are predicted to acquire type 2 diabetes. Fortunately, it is not inevitable to move from prediabetes to diabetes. Although you can’t control certain variables like as heredity, age or prior habits, you may take numerous measures to minimise the risk of diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is an impairment in the way that sugar (glucose) is regulated and used by the body as fuel. This long-term (chronic) disease causes the circulation to circulate too much sugar. High blood sugar levels may eventually lead to cardiovascular, neurological and immunological systems problems.
There are mainly two linked issues at work in type 2 diabetes. Your pancreas does not make enough insulin – a hormone that governs sugar transport in your cells – and cells respond poorly to insulin and absorb less sugar.
Diabetes of Type 2 is regarded as adult diabetes, however diabetes of Type 1 and Type 2 may occur during infancy and adult life. Type 2 is more frequent in older persons but increased childhood obesity has led to more younger occurrences of type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes type 2 is not treated, however weight loss, good food and workout can help you control the illness. If you don’t have enough nutrition and exercise to regulate your blood sugar, you could additionally need diabetes or insulin therapy.
What are the Symptoms of Type 2 diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes symptoms may develop slowly. You can really live with, and do not know, type 2 diabetes for years.
Increased hunger, Functional urination, Increased starvation, Unintentional loss of weight, Fatigue, Vision blurred, Slow-cure sores, Frequent infections, frequent infections Stupidity or tingling in hands or feet, darker skin areas, commonly in the axes and neck are the symptoms of type 2 diabetes.
There are 13 strategies to prevent diabetes.
Reduce Your Consumption of Sugar and Refined Carbohydrates
Sugar and raffinated carbohydrates can put people at risk to acquire diabetes. Your body quickly breaks these foods into little molecules of sugar that are taken into your bloodstream. The ensuing increase in blood sugar prompts the pancreas to generate insulin, a hormone that helps the bloodstream gets sugar into the cells of your body. The cells of the body are resistant to insulin activity in patients with prediabetes so that sugar remains high in the blood. In order to compensate for this, the pancreas generates more insulin and tries to reduce blood sugar to a healthy level. Over time, this can lead to increasing blood sugar and insulin levels, until the condition ultimately becomes type 2 diabetes. Many studies have demonstrated that sugar or refined carbs are frequently consumed and that they are at risk for diabetes. Moreover, replacing them with foods with less blood sugar effects can also minimise your risk. A comprehensive analysis of 37 studies showed that persons with the greatest intakes of fast digestion carbs were 40% more likely than those with the lowest consumption to acquire diabetes.
Exercise on a regular basis
Regular physical activity can help prevent diabetes. Exercise boosts your cell’s insulin sensitivity. So less insulin is needed when you exercise to keep your blood sugar levels under control. One study in patients with prediabetes shows that exercise of moderate intensity raised insulin sensitivity by 51% and exercise of high intensity by 85%. However, this effect happened exclusively during training days. Many types of physical activity in overweight, obese and prediabetes persons have shown to lower insulin resistance and blood sugar. These include aerobic training, high intensity and strength training.
Working more often seems to boost the reaction and function of insulin. A study of patients with diabetes risk indicated that these advantages need burning more than 2,000 calories weekly through exercise.
It is therefore preferable to choose the physical activity you enjoy, to engage consistently and to feel that you can stay with it in the long run.
Consume Water Primarily
Water is the natural liquid you can consume by far. Furthermore, sticking to water most of the time prevents excessive sugar, preservatives and other debatable elements from drinking drinks. Suggestive drinks like soda and punch have been associated with an increased incidence of adult diabetes of both type 2 and latent autoimmune diabetes (LADA). LADA is a type 1 diabetes occurring in persons over the age of 18. In contrast to the immediate symptoms of children Type 1 diabetes, LADA develops slowly and has to be treated more as the illness advances. A major observational research examined the risk of diabetes in 2 800 individuals. Those who eat more than two portions of sugar-sweetened drinks each day showed a 99% increase in the incidence of LADA and a 20% rise in diabetes. Researchers of one study on diabetes impacts of sweet drinks found that either artificially sweetened drinks or fruit juice were effective diabetes preventive drinks.
In contrast, water consumption can bring advantages. Increased water consumption may contribute to better blood sugar management and insulin responsiveness in certain studies.
A 24-week research revealed an insulin resistance reduction and lower blood sugar and insulin levels for overweight people that substituted diet drinks with water during a weight loss programme.
Reduce Your Body Weight If You Are Overweight or Obese
Although not all people who acquire type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese, most of them are overweight. Moreover, people with prediabetes tend to carry extra weight in the middle and around their abdominal organs like the liver. This is called visceral fat. Excess visceral fat induces inflammation and resistance to insulin which substantially increases the risk of diabetes.
While reducing even a modest amount of weight can help lower the risk, research suggest that the more you drop, the more advantages. In a research of more than 1000 persons with prediabetes, a maximum decrease of diabetes risk was lowered by 16 percent for every kilogramme (2,2 lbs) of weight loss, to a maximum of 96 percent. There are several healthy alternatives include low-carbon, Mediterranean, paleo and vegetarian diets for losing weight. However, finding a manner to eat that you can keep to is crucial for maintaining weight reduction.
One study revealed that obese persons who lost all or a portion of the weight of their blood sugar and insulin dropped after weight was gone. These values increased after recovery.
Give Up Smoking
Smoking has been found to cause or contribute to several major diseases of health such as heart disease, emphysema and lung, breast, prostate and digestive system cancers. There are also study related to type 2 diabetes exposure to smoking and second-hand smoke. Tobacco consumption has increased the risk of diabetes by 44% in typical smokers and 61% in those who smoked more than 20 cigarettes daily in a number of studies totalling over one million.
One research monitored the diabetes risk in men smokers of medium age after quitting. After five years, their risk had decreased by 13% and they had the same risk after 20 years as those who had never smoked. Researchers have said that although many of the men have gained weight after leaving, their risks of diabetes have been reduced after a few years without smoke than if they continue to smoke.
Adhere to a Very Low-Carbohydrate Diet
You can avoid diabetes with a ketogenic or very low-carb diet. While there are other ways of eating that encourage weight reduction, there is solid evidence supporting extremely low-carb diets. They have consistently demonstrated reduced blood sugar and insulin levels, increased insulin sensitivity and reduced other risk factors for diabetes. In a 12-week trial, prediabetic people fed a diet with either low fat or low carbon content. Blood sugar decreased in the low-carbon group by 12 percent and insulin decreased by 50 percent.
In the low-fat group, blood sugar fell by just 1% and insulin fell by 19%.. The low-carb diet therefore showed superior benefits in both areas. You don’t increase your blood sugar levels too much after you eat if you reduce your carb consumption. Your body therefore needs less insulin to keep your blood sugar healthy. Moreover, very low carbon or ketogenic diets can help lower blood sugar fasting. Average fasting blood sugar dropped to between 118 and 92 mg/dl, which was within the normal range, in a trial of obese males with prediabetes followed by a ketogenic diet. Participants also dropped weight and improved a number of other health indicators.
Keep an eye on portion sizes
Whether you opt to follow a low-carb diet or not, it is vital to avoid big parts of food, especially when you are overweight, to minimise the risk of diabetes. It has been proven that among those at risk for diabetes eating too much food at one time causes increased blood sugar and insulin levels. Diminishing portion sizes, on the other hand, may avoid this kind of reaction.
A two-year research among prediabetic males revealed that those who decreased the amount of their meal portion and performed other healthy nutritional practises had a 46 percent lower risk for diabetes than those who did not modify the way they lived. Another study examining strategies for weight loss in persons with prediabetes showed that the portion control group decreased considerably their blood sugar and insulin levels after 12 weeks.
Abstain from Sedentary Behaviors
It is critical to minimise sedentary behaviour if you wish to prevent diabetes. If you receive little or no physical activity and spend the most of your day sitting, you live a sedentary lifestyle. Observational studies have consistently demonstrated a connection between sedentary behaviour and diabetes risk. A meta-analysis of 47 research found that those who spend the most time per day inactive had a 91% higher chance of getting diabetes. Sedentary behaviour may be changed by simply rising up from your desk and walking about for a few minutes each hour.
Regrettably, it can be difficult to break deeply ingrained behaviours. In one trial, young individuals at risk of diabetes participated in a 12-month programme aimed at changing their sedentary behaviour. Regrettably, when the training concluded, the researchers discovered that participants had not reduced their sitting duration. Establish reasonable and attainable goals, such as standing while on the phone or using the stairs rather than the elevator. Adhering to these simple, tangible acts may be the most effective method to combat inactive inclinations.
Consume a Fiber-Rich Diet
Getting lots of fibre is good for good health and weight management. Studies in obese, elderly and prediabetic people have demonstrated that this helps maintain low blood sugar and insulin levels. It is possible to classify fibres into two major categories: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibre absorbs water, whereas insoluble fibre does not absorb water. Soluble fibres and water in the digestive system produce a gel that slows down the pace at which food is digested. This leads to a steady increase in blood sugar.
Insoluble fibre has also been connected with decreases in blood sugar levels and a lower risk of diabetes, but it is not known exactly how it functions. Most unprocessed plant foods include fibre, although some have more fibres than others.
Optimize levels of vitamin D
For blood sugar regulation, vitamin D is necessary. In fact, research have revealed that persons with too little vitamin D or with too low blood levels are more at risk of all forms of diabetes. The vitamin D blood level is recommended for most health organisations to maintain at least 30 ng/ml (75 nmol/l). One study revealed that those with the greatest levels of vitamin D in the blood are 43 percent lower than those with the lowest blood levels in type 2 diabetes.
A further observational research examined Finnish youngsters who took supplements with appropriate vitamin D levels. Children receiving the supplements with vitamin D were 78% lower than children receiving less than the prescribed quantity of vitamin D at risk of developing type 1 diabetes.
Controlled research have demonstrated that when deficient persons are receiving vitamin D supplements their insulin-producing cells increase function, regulate blood sugar levels and dramatically decrease their risk of diabetes. Fatty fish and cod liver oil are good sources of vitamin D. Sun exposure can also boost blood vitamin D levels. In addition to 2,000-4,000 IU of vitamin D daily, however, many people may need to reach and maintain optimum levels.
Reduce Your Consumption of Processed Foods
One simple step for improving your health is to reduce your consumption of processed meals to a minimum. They are associated with all manner of health conditions, including heart disease, obesity and diabetes. Research suggests that reducing the risk of diabetes by eating down on packaged meals high in vegetable oils, processed carbohydrates and additives.
The preventive benefits of entire foods such as nuts, vegetables, fruits and other veggie foods may be caused. One study revealed that low quality diets in processed foods raise diabetes risk by 30%. However, this risk was reduced by the inclusion of healthy whole meals.
Coffee or tea should be consumed
While water should be your primary drink, evidence shows that coffee or tea in your diet may help prevent diabetes. Studies have shown that drinking coffee everyday reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by 8–54%, most of which is seen among those who consume higher. In addition to numerous studies including caffeinated tea and coffee, comparable results were discovered with the biggest reduction in the risk of overweight men and women.
Coffee and tea include antioxidants believed to protect against diabetes, known as polyphenols. Green tea also includes a unique antioxidant called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which has been proven to decrease hepatic blood glucose and enhance sensitivity to insulin.
Think of using these natural herbs
Some herbs can assist to enhance insulin sensitivity and minimise the chance of progression from diabetes.
Curcumin
Curcumin is one of the primary components of curries, the brilliant gold spice curmeric. It has significant anti-inflammatory characteristics and was utilised as part of Ayurvedic therapy in India for centuries. Research has shown that arthritis can be extremely helpful and can help lower inflammatory markers in prediabetes patients. There is also remarkable evidence that it can improve insulin resistance and lower the risk of development of diabetes.
None of the group that received 750 mg curcumin daily, acquired diabetes in a controlled nine-month trial of 240 prediabetic people. However, the control group did 16.4 percent. The curcumin group also reported an improvement in insulin sensitivity and better functioning in the pancreas of insulin-producing cells.
Berberine
Berberine is present in numerous plants and has been utilised for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine. Studies have demonstrated that it combats inflammation and reduces cholesterol and other indicators of heart disease. Furthermore, numerous studies have shown that berberine has substantial blood-sugar reducing effects for patients with type 2 diabetes. A broad review of 14 research has shown that berberine has the same efficacy as metformin, one of the oldest and most commonly used medicines for diabetes, to reduce blood sugar levels. Since berberine works by raising insulin sensitivity and lowering hepatic sugar releases, patients with prediabetes may be potentially helped to prevent diabetes.
At this moment, however, there are no research examining this. Moreover, since its effects on blood sugar are so severe, it should not be used with other diabetic medicines unless permitted by a physician.
Conclusion
Numerous variables affecting diabetes are within your control. Rather than seeing prediabetes as a precursor to diabetes, it may be more beneficial to consider it as an incentive to make lifestyle changes that will help lower your risk. Consuming the appropriate meals and engaging in other lifestyle choices that support normal blood sugar and insulin levels can increase your chances of avoiding diabetes.
References
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19800084/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21731035/
Sirisha B