10 steps to Prevent Diabetes-World Diabetes Day

Can Diabetes be prevented? This is a big question today among researchers, however few data and studies have shown that if we cannot prevent it, at least we can delay it by a decade or so . For your life delaying the onset of Diabetes is a great achievement. In the long term we are not only preventing Diabetes, we are preventing complications arising out of Diabetes. So how can we as an individuals prevent Diabetes and what steps need to be taken.

• Start early-Stop Weight Gain: Good habits start from childhood and as a parent it is our responsibility to not make our child gain weight, as this is the biggest contributor for early onset of diabetes.
• Check your Blood Glucose: Never shy away from getting your blood glucose checked. All individuals beyond 40 should check there blood glucose if they are in the high risk category like obesity, hypertension, history of GDM, PCOS, family history of Diabetes etc. If your lifestyle is very hectic it is still better to start early by 35 of age and check it on yearly basis.
• Eat Good Salads: Always include salads in your meal and eat it before starting your main course. Salads help in slowing down absorption your food and lead to slower rise of blood glucose.
• Be portion size conscious: Indulging on anything too much leads to increase in blood glucose. It is better to take care of how much you eat and when you eat.
• Limit Red Meat: It has been seen that people who eat red meat and processed meat on daily basis have almost 30% chances of having Diabetes.
• Eat Fruits regularly: Eat 2 to 3 servings of fruits, as they contain lot of antioxidant that helps in detoxifying our body.
• Be Physically active: It is always good to leave the comfort of the chair and start moving and it is never too late to start. Try to include physical activity in your daily routine.
• Quit Smoking: Smoking is one of the worst things to happen to a person who is prediabetic as your chances of Diabetes and especially complications arising out of this increases manifold.
• Get good Night Sleep: Try to sleep at least for 7-8 hours a day. It maintains your energy level and also reduces craving for high calorie food.
• Manage Stress effectively: Try to do yoga, meditation to destress yourself, plan your daily routine in advance and don’t leave anything for last moment.

If you are having difficulty in planning a healthy diabetic life – consult your endocrinologist today.