If you're at risk for diabetes, here are some helpful strategies for decreasing your odds of getting it.
DIET
Doctor your diet. For most people, carbohydrates (especially complex carbohydrates that are high in fiber) should form the bulk of the diet. Protein foods (meat, soy foods, and dairy) should make up 10 to 20 percent of daily calories. Choose protein foods that are lower in fat, especially saturated fat. That means emphasizing fish, poultry, beans, and low-fat or no-fat dairy products.
Stick to a schedule. Avoid delaying or skipping meals and binge eating, all of which can play havoc with blood-sugar levels.
Shed some pounds. At least 80 percent of people who develop type 2 diabetes are overweight. Slim down and you may avoid the disease. Even if you can't get to your ideal weight, a 10-pound loss can dramatically lower blood-sugar levels.
EXERCISE
Move it. Exercise improves your body's sensitivity to insulin, aids glucose control, and can help you lose weight. Brisk walking an hour a day could cut your risk of developing diabetes in half.
MEDICAL OPTIONS
Get a diabetes test. In order to determine whether or not a patient has pre-diabetes or diabetes, health care providers conduct a Fasting Plasma Glucose Test (FPG) or an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT). Either test can be used to diagnose pre-diabetes or diabetes. The American Diabetes Association recommends the FPG because it is easier, faster, and less expensive to perform.
With the FPG test, a fasting blood glucose level between 100 and 125 mg/dl signals pre-diabetes. A person with a fasting blood glucose level of 126 mg/dl or higher has diabetes.
In the OGTT test, a person's blood glucose level is measured after a fast and two hours after drinking a glucose-rich beverage. If the two-hour blood glucose level is between 140 and 199 mg/dl, the person tested has pre-diabetes. If the two-hour blood glucose level is at 200 mg/dl or higher, the person tested has diabetes.
NATURAL HEALTH
Protect yourself with E. In one Finnish study, men with the lowest blood levels of vitamin E were found to be about four times more likely to develop diabetes than men with the highest levels. Some experts recommend taking a supplement of 200 to 400 mg of vitamin E daily.
LIFESTYLE
Lower your stress. Excess stress, in combination with poor coping skills, can raise your blood-sugar levels.
From Looking After Your Body
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