5 Smart Ways to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Uncontrolled diabetes can cause kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, and many other severe conditions. While you can’t change some factors like genes, age, and past behaviors, here are five things you can do to reduce your risk of diabetes.

Check Your Vitamin D

Several studies show us that those who don’t get enough vitamin D or have low blood sugar levels are at a greater risk of all types of diabetes. Some studies have even shown that those with the highest vitamin D levels were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those with low blood levels.

Switch to A Low-Carb Diet

Following a ketogenic diet can help you avoid diabetes as well as lose weight. A low-carb diet has consistently been shown to lower blood sugar and insulin levels, increase insulin sensitivity and reduce other diabetes risk factors. When you minimize carb intake, your blood sugar levels won’t rise very much after you eat therefore needing less insulin to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. It may also reduce fasting blood sugar.

Stop Smoking

Smoking causes and contributes to many dangerous health conditions, including type 2 diabetes. An analysis of several studies showed that smoking and secondhand smoke increases the risk of diabetes by 61% in people who smoked about 20 cigarettes daily.

Stop Consuming Sugar and Refined Carbs

The body rapidly breaks these foods down into small sugar molecules, which are absorbed into your bloodstream; the resulting spike in blood sugar makes your pancreas produce insulin. While this helps sugar get out of the bloodstream and into your body’s cells, people with prediabetes have cells resistant to insulin’s action. This means sugar stays high in the blood forcing the pancreas to produce more insulin to stabilize the blood sugar levels. Over time, this can lead to higher and higher blood sugar and insulin levels until it finally reaches the point of type 2 diabetes.

Work out Regularly

Exercise increases the insulin sensitivity of your cells. This means less insulin is required to keep your blood sugar levels under control. This makes it essential to choose a physical activity that you will stick with long-term.