A few healthy lifestyle tips can help prevent diabetes complications, and even stop the onset of type 2 diabetes at a later stage.
Summary
Adopt a balanced diet
Engage in regular physical activity
Avoid stress
Stop smoking
Watch your weight
Take stock of your risk factors
Know the warning signs and do not hesitate to consult
Pay attention to certain pathologies
Be vigilant in case of the desire for pregnancy
1 |Adopt a balanced diet
In a century, our lifestyles have radically changed for the better but also the worse … Industrialization has been accompanied by its share of stress, fast food, and sedentary lifestyle, which are all risk factors in the development of type 2 diabetes and complications of type 1 and 2 diabetes.
Whether you have the condition or not, adopting a healthy lifestyle can lower your risk of developing the disease or limit its complications. Depending on your condition and the type of diabetes affecting you, medication (insulin, tablets, etc.) may be helpful. Anyone with diabetes can now lead a normal life by managing their condition as well as possible, thanks to a few daily adjustments.
Adopt a balanced diet
Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as a “diabetic diet” but rather food hygiene advice that is beneficial to all. Thanks to a balanced diet, you will be able to control your glycemic (sugar level in the blood) but also stabilize your weight and serve as an example to all those around you.
To reach this goal :
Reduce the amount of fat in your diet by limiting its use for cooking. Prefer grilled, boiled, or steamed foods to fried foods;
Avoid sweets such as cakes, cookies, or candies;
Eat less salt, and prefer other flavor enhancers such as herbs, spices, or lemon, be careful with prepared meals;
Limit your alcohol consumption;
Don’t skip meals, make sure you eat at regular times and avoid snacking.
Engage in regular physical activity
Our modern lifestyles are not conducive to physical exercise. Yielding to a too sedentary life, the balance between the consumption of sugars contained in the blood and their storage too often tilts on the wrong side. Regular physical activity lowers the amount of sugar in the blood and improves the action of insulin.
To get the maximum benefit from a sports activity:
Choose a sporting activity that motivates you and that you could practice in the company;
Prefer the stairs to the elevator;
Favor walks after meals;
By public transport, get off a station before your final destination and walk a bit;
Do the same by parking your car a few meters before your appointment.
If you have been inactive for a long time, talk to your doctor about your plan to return to sport.
Avoid stress
Stress can be a big trigger for diabetes. To limit it, be sure not to neglect your social life and relax with friends or family. If you are anxious, learn to manage your stress. Why not start practicing yoga, meditation, breathing, or even relaxation therapy?
Stop smoking
Tobacco is a now known risk factor for diabetes. It would induce insulin insensitivity. “These are probably hormonal mechanisms: tobacco tends to induce an increased secretion of catecholamines in the adrenals, but these hormones have a hyperglycemic effect”, explains Professor Daniel Thomas, cardiologist.
It also increases the risk of complications with diabetes. It’s never too late to quit smoking, just find the method that’s right for you.
Watch your weight
Being overweight, especially excess belly fat is also a risk factor for diabetes, as well as for many diseases. Losing a few pounds if you are overweight or even obese can be very beneficial for your health. Don’t panic, if you opt for a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet and reintegrate sport into your habits, weight loss will happen automatically. No need to inflict a draconian diet that you will not stick to in the long term. Do not hesitate to have you followed by a nutritionist if you do not know where to start.
Take stock of your risk factors
Some people are more at risk than others. As we have seen, an unbalanced diet, a lack of physical activity, and smoking are modifiable risk factors. Others, however, are not. It’s the case :
