Diabetes is fast becoming the killer disease that is making a lot more people sick and shooting up health care costs. An alarming percentage of the population has been affected with diabetes and the numbers are only growing. Not only do people with a family history of diabetes are susceptible to it, but also young kids and others because of the lifestyle changes and the genetically modified and processed foods. Even if there is a history of diabetes in the family, you can do a lot of things to reduce your risk of getting it or at least postpone it for a long time. Here are the things you can do and the changes you can make in your lifestyle to reduce the risk of diabetes.
1. Exercise regularly
You do not have to exercise a lot and stress yourself out every single day, but can start and follow a mild exercise regimen. The important part is that you do it on a regular basis. Exercise every day or every alternate day for at least an hour and this could be a game changer in reducing your diabetes risk.
2. Eat healthy
Stay away from processed food, genetically modified food items and sugar. When the diet you have is as close to nature as possible, the chances of you getting diabetes is also reduced. Also do not go on yo-yo diets. Radical weight loss and gain can also trigger the onset of early diabetes.
3. Do not smoke
If you are already a smoker, try to cut down on the number of cigarettes or try and quit smoking altogether as smoking can also cause diabetes apart from many other diseases.
4. Cut down on those drinks
If you are someone who drinks more than once in a week, bring down the drinks to once in a month or twice in a month. And even when you are drinking make sure you stick to two drinks at the most.
5. Drop those extra pounds you are carrying
Try to exercise and reduce the extra pounds you are carrying especially around your stomach. Stomach fat is also a cause for diabetes as it brings down the production of insulin in the body.
6. Add fiber and whole grains to your diet
Fibers and whole grains do not carry a lot of calories and also take a longer time to digest. They also make you feel full. Thus your craving for food and to eat more in shorter periods of time becomes less.
Little changes in your diet and lifestyle can go a long way in bringing down the risk of diabetes. You do not have to let go of eating everything, but you can eat in minimal quantities and increase the number of times that you eat. Cutting down on snacking and junk food will also help you ward off diabetes at least by a few years. Prevention is always better than cure, make these small changes now to stay diabetes free and healthy.