Type 2 diabetes affects millions of people around the world. It is a chronic (long-lasting) disease that occurs when your body doesn’t fully respond to insulin, causing blood glucose, also known as blood sugar, to keep rising. Type 2 diabetes can happen at any time and is often linked to obesity. This condition has no cure and, if left untreated, can lead to a plethora of severe health issues like heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke.
Despite that fact, it’s important to know that you can help prevent type 2 diabetes with proven, achievable lifestyle changes. Here are five ways on how you can help prevent type 2 diabetes.
When you engage in physical activities regularly, you’re more than likely to reduce insulin resistance and blood sugar. You should avoid living a sedentary lifestyle and try to engage in physical activities or exercises that you enjoy so you can stick with them long-term.
Type 2 diabetes is often linked to obesity. Although not everyone who is overweight or obese develops type 2 diabetes, most of them are. So, if you can lose excess weight, you can drastically decrease your risk of diabetes.
Smoking can contribute to insulin resistance. And when your body can’t use insulin the way it normally needs to, your risk increases over time. Not to mention, smoking can cause many serious health conditions like cancer, lung diseases, and stroke. So, the best way to reduce your risk to those diseases is to quit smoking.
As a start, you can limit sugar-sweetened beverages, refined carbs, and processed foods from your diet. You can start adding high-fiber foods to your plate instead, which can help prevent spikes in blood sugar and insulin level.
If you’re not getting enough sleep, the hormone levels in your body become irregular. Your blood sugar level rises, and your insulin resistance increases, which is both associated with the development of type 2 diabetes.
As we’ve mentioned earlier, there’s no cure for type 2 diabetes. But it is manageable and, most importantly, preventable. With good lifestyle choices, you can reduce your risk and stay healthy.
If you want to know more about type 2 diabetes and your risk factors, feel free to contact our office at (613) 592-0862, or you can fill out the form on this page and have a patient advisor call you today.
