Monday 24 December 2012

How to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

According to the WHO (World Health Organization) there are 347 million diabetics in the world today, and this figure is projected to increase to over 500 million by the year 2030. Of the diabetics that exist in the world at the present time, about 90% have the Type 2 variety of the disease. Type 1 diabetics usually have the disease from birth, or get it at an early age, and are insulin dependent because the body has stopped producing this hormone which regulates blood glucose levels. Type 2 diabetics usually get the disease in middle or old age, and for this reason it is also known as “adult-onset diabetes”.

Diabetes is a chronic condition resulting from either the body’s inability to produce enough insulin to regulate blood glucose (sugar) levels, or the insensitivity of the body to react to the amount of insulin produced. If the blood sugar level in the body remains high for a sufficient period of time, it can negatively affect the function of the heart, eyesight and limbs. In both the USA and UK, diabetes is second only to road accidents as the cause of amputations. Lots of people have died from health complications arising from diabetes.

It is prudent to take some preventative measures against Type 2 diabetes, especially if you are in one of the at-risk groups. Statistics on the disease has shown that a person stands a greater chance of getting the disease if a parent has suffered from It, you are overweight or obese; if you are of Afro-Caribbean or Asian origin, or you are of middle or low class income groups. You can ask your doctor to carry out tests if you consider yourself to be susceptible to the disease. The main symptoms of the disease are: excessive thirst; frequency of urination; muscle cramps; poor healing of wounds; itching; and eyesight problems.

The bodily organ that produces enough insulin to aid the metabolism of food is the pancreas. If you take pre-emptive actions against getting the disease by concentrating on diet, exercise and food supplements, you are insuring the pancreas does not become overloaded thereby impairing its ability to function properly.  As the disease is caused by the body becoming too acidic, there should be alkaline bias in the diet.

The diet should consist mainly of raw natural foods. Vegetables such as kale, celery, cabbage, watercress, lettuce, cucumber, chicory, onion, olives, beans, soybean, fruit in general and especially apples, oats, grains and sprouted grains , beef liver, egg yolk and wholegrain bread should constitute a major part of the diet. Natural foods to be avoided are bananas, beets and potatoes. The latter have shown to increase blood sugar levels rapidly. If you eat potatoes from time to time, do so with their skins intact, which contain fibre which counteracts some of the rapid increase in blood sugar levels.

Anything causing a rapid rise in blood glucose levels such as sugar-laden soft drinks should be avoided. Other foods to be avoided are chocolates, biscuits, jam, fruit syrup, jelly, ice cream mayonnaise, honey and white rice. It is also best to avoid coffee, cocoa and only take alcohol in moderation. Giving up smoking also helps the whole body to function better.  

Adequate daily exercise is the second preventative measure that should be undertaken against Type 2 diabetes. This can involve walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, going to the gym, or anything else that takes your fancy.  You will need to engage in a physical activity of your choice for 30-40 minutes daily in order to achieve and maintain an ideal weight. The time period involved daily can be split up into two or more sessions if necessary. Two 15 minute exercise sessions 30 minutes after eating a meal that contains carbohydrates, which convert to sugar in the body, would be ideal.  

Lastly, it would be prudent to take a multivitamin and mineral tablet daily as insurance against a deficiency in the diet having an influence on the development of diabetes. Sufficiency in vitamins B2, B6, and the minerals chromium, manganese, magnesium and potassium are vital in the fight against developing this chronic condition.

9 comments:

  1. This is such an important topic, Kieran, thank you so much for sharing all of this info. So many foods these days have hidden sugars, so avoiding anything causing a rapid rise in blood glucose levels is can be a real challenge. Education and reading labels is key.

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  2. Thanks for your comment Mikayla. Yes,anything that makes your blood sugar move on an even keel, as opposed to up and down rapidly, will help and should be practiced daily.

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  3. A friend of mine who read the above post asked the following question: " do all carbohydrates increase blood sugar levels when eaten ? ". The answer to the question is yes, but there are two types of carbohydrates:complex and simple. The complex type contain slow assimilation sugars and are found in peas, beans, lentils, wheat, oats, barley, wholegrain rice, fruit, vegetables and wholegrain bread.The simple type contain fast assimilation sugars and are found in soft drinks, chocolate, honey, jams, cakes, biscuits, candy, syrup and potatoes.

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  4. In response to a point made on the above post in a diabetes forum, the fibre content of certain foods helps keep blood sugar levels stable. It does this by forming a gel in the intestinal tract to trap sugar for a period of time so it will be absorbed more slowly into the intestines. It is therefore beneficial to have some foods with a high fibre content in the daily diet.

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  5. My previous posts titled “Why Fibre is Crucial In The Diet “ and “ Beware of White Processed Foods “ are relevant to the above post, and can be read in conjunction with it.

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  6. Useful information shared. I am very happy to read this article. Thanks for giving us nice info. Fantastic walk-through.I appreciate this post.

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  7. Thanks for your comment Musclefeast.

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  8. This is an interesting post and quite disturbing particularly the WHO's prediction. If this holds true, millions of people will be added to the pool by 2030.

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  9. Thanks for your comment Tim. Yes, the WHO's conservative prediction is for well over 500 million to have the disease by the year 2030, or circa 5% of the world's population. In some countries and age groups, the incidence of diabetes is running at well over 5% such as persons over 65 years of age in the USA.

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