How to beat back risk of diabetes with diet and exercise

Diabetes and its complications are responsible for nearly 200,000 deaths a year in the United States; the fatality rate among affected adults is 50 per cent higher than among similar people without diabetes. Type 2 diabetes runs in families, largely because its primary risk factor — excess weight — runs in families. But you can keep it at bay by losing weight and becoming more active.

Unfortunately, as numerous studies have shown, intensive efforts to get people to lose weight, eat healthier and become moderately active fail more often than not even among those who already have diabetes. It is easier to avoid becoming overweight in the first place.

But it is by no means impossible to lose weight, and at some point, your physical and mental well-being may depend on it. Here are some diet and exercise tips that can help.

Avoid drastic measures. Crash diets and kooky eating plans are doomed to fail. It’s better to make gradual changes in what and how much you eat to give your body a chance to adjust.

The Diabetes Prevention Program study, conducted among about 3,800 people who had pre-diabetes, found that moderate weight loss — an average of 12 pounds — reduced the odds of progression to diabetes by nearly 50 per cent.

An excellent discussion of what is known about the effect on diabetes of various foods and supplements appeared recently in Nutrition Action Health letter at cspinet.org/iceberg.pdf. Some highlights:

Carbohydrates — breads, grains, cereals, sugary drinks and sweets of all kinds are most problematic for people with diabetes or at risk of developing it. Carbohydrates are eventually metabolized to glucose, which raises the body’s demand for insulin. Consume less of them in general, and choose whole-grain versions whenever possible.

If you must have sweet drinks, select artificially sweetened ones. In two huge studies of nurses and other health professionals who were followed for 22 years, those who drank one or more sugary soft drinks a day had about a 30 per cent higher risk of developing diabetes than those who rarely drank them, even after their weight was taken into account.

Fruit juice is not necessarily safer than soda. All drinks with fructose (table sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, honey or agave) may increase body weight, insulin resistance and belly fat, all of which can promote diabetes.

But there’s good news about coffee. Two or three cups of coffee (but not tea) a day, with or without caffeine, have been consistently linked to a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes.

For protein, limit consumption of red meat, especially processed meats like sausages, hot dogs and luncheon meats. Instead, choose fish, lean poultry (skinless and not fried), beans and nuts.

Low-fat dairy products, including yogurt, and even fatty ones may lower the risk of diabetes.

Most protective are green, leafy vegetables as well as cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. But all vegetables are good and should fill at least two-thirds of your dinner plate.
Nutrients magnesium and vitamin D are also potentially protective.

Of course, how much you weigh and what you eat are not the only concerns.

Regular, preferably daily, physical exercise is a vital component of any prevention and treatment programme for Type 2 diabetes, or most any chronic ailment. Weight loss can reduce diabetes risk by about 50 per cent, but adding exercise to that can lower the odds by 70 per cent, according to a study that followed nearly 85,000 female nurses for 16 years.

Women who were active for seven or more hours weekly had half the risk of developing diabetes as did women who exercised only a half-hour a week.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.








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