10 Natural Ways to Combat Diabetes

1. Early Prevention

It’s not hard to speculate why so many people develop diabetes.  Genetics has a lot to do with it, but lack of activity will most certainly cause weight gain, increasing risk factors.  Prediabetes is on the rise, in where raised blood sugar levels are not at it’s peak yet to cause symptoms.  Excess visceral fat stores in the body and lack of activity cause cells to stop responding to insulin for absorption of sugar in the blood.  Prediabetes is seldom tested for, but it’s the most optimal time to prevent it from developing into diabetes.

2. Losing A Few Pounds

Extra weight is the main reason people have an elevated risk for type 2 diabetes today.  Weight gain could gather extra fat around organs located in your midsection which is elevated under stressful conditions due to the stress hormone, cortisol.  New studies indicate that this buildup of fat around the abdomen produces a chemical signal to your cells that instruct them to ignore insulin, reducing blood sugar absorption.  Studies have shown that losing just 7% of your body weight lowered risk of diabetes by 58% making it a more viable option than insulin-sensitizing drugs for diabetics.  Quick cardio exercises 3-5 times a week or daily 30 minute walks can be more efficient at losing weight than dieting.

3. Cut Out Sugary Drinks

Get used to only drinking water, club soda, unsweetened tea, of fat-free milk and cut out all sodas, fruit punches, or sweetened ice teas and other such beverages.  One daily serving of soda increases the risk of increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels by a whopping 44%.  Experts have speculated over the possible reasons but may have something to do with the caloric density of sugary drinks as well as the high-fat foods we tend to pair the drinks with.  Findings also show that drinking a single serving of soda daily has been correlated with being overweight.  It might have something to do with the fact that the high caloric count in the beverages are not recognized in the brain, so you don’t end up lowering food intake as a result.

4. Limit Your Inactivity

Daily activity helps reduce chances of diabetes by moving blood sugar into muscle cells and increasing cell sensitivity to insulin.  Limiting inactivity such as watching TV to 10 hours a week can cut diabetes by up to 43%.  A night at the gym or other activities such as hiking, bowling, and dancing can be great forms of “fun” exercise.

5. Reducing Food Intake

Can fast food lead to diabetes? Studies have shown that two servings per week of red meat such as the kind found in hamburgers were 26% more likely to develop metabolic syndrome.  Add a helping of fried foods such as french fries to that equation and that risk rises by another 10-25%.  These foods tend to be high in saturated & trans fats which are detrimental to lowering risks for diabetes.

6. Reduce “Bad Fats”, Increase “Good Fats”

Saturated fats like those found in fast foods like hamburgers clog arteries and increase insulin resistance.  They also cause inflammation, which is harmful to cells, along with those that manage blood sugar.  The precisely opposite effect of lowering your risk can be found the the “good fats” found in foods such as fish, olive oil, nuts, & avocados.  The lowering of saturated fat intake to 7% of total daily calories greatly reduces risk of diabetes.

7. Eat Breakfast

Research indicates that those who skip breakfast are 35-50% more likely to be overweight and/or have insulin resistance than those who do.  Overnight fasting while you sleep puts your body into “starvation mode” and your body has to compensate to keep your blood sugar levels up.  Meanwhile not having breakfast reduces insulin sensitivity as well as increasing appetite throughout the day resulting in progressive weight gain.

8. Get Help With That Depression

When depressed, it is not as likely to find yourself eating well and exercising, although the hazards don’t end there.  Studies have shown that depression changes body chemistry in such a way that it is detrimental to people at risk for diabetes.  Some women in the study have been shown to have 23% higher insulin resistance over women who were not depressed.

9. Sleep More

Constant lack of sleep will eventually lead to weight gain and reduction of insulin sensitivity.  In one research with 1,709 men, it was found that an average of 5-6 hours of sleep doubled their risk of developing diabetes.  The same result was found for women as well.

10. Body Types

Regardless of body weight, waste measurements for women exceeding 35 inches or more and men with midsections of 40 inches or more tend to have fat stores deep in the abdomen, triple the risk of diabetes.  It is not as simple as merely watching total body weight but body composition as well.

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