Diabetes kills, but it can be prevented.
Worldwide, about 460 million people, representing 8.8% of the global adult population were said to be living with Diabetes in 2019. This means about 9 out of every 100 adults is living with diabetes. In the United States, the Center for Disease control estimates that about 83,564 die from diabetes related causes each year. Globally annual mortalities due to diabetes is about 4.2 million. Diabetes is the seventh (7th) leading cause of death globally.
It would interest you to note that Diabetes refers to two different diseases. The first is Diabetes Mellitus, and the second Diabetes Insipidus. However, when you hear people talk about Diabetes, they are most likely referring to Diabetes Mellitus. There are two types of Diabetes Mellitus, namely Type 1 and Type 2.
Diabetes Mellitus is a disease which leads to blood sugar levels in excess of the normal range. Clearly, diabetes is a dangerous disease. How can it be prevented?
Eat a Healthy Diet
In order to prevent diabetes, eat a healthy diet every day. A normal human being needs about 2000 calories each day. Sticking to this limit is one sure way to prevent diabetes. Eat food rich in whole grains and fiber, that also has good fats, such as polyunsaturated fats found in nuts, vegetable oils, and fish. In addition, limit sugary beverages and eat less red meat.
Exercise Often
If you really want to prevent diabetes, you must exercise often. Studies have shown that exercising for about 90 minutes each day reduces the risk of diabetes by about 28%. You don’t have to be Usain Bolt, or Florence Griffith-Joyner (Flojo), whose athletic skills are well known. Walking briskly each day should be enough. If you can’t go on a walk daily, purchase a treadmill. This should help in no small way.
Control Weight
Obesity increases the risk fo getting diabetes, therefore keeping weight in check is a must. No weight is ideal for all. For a particular height, there is an ideal body weight. A metric called Body Mass Index (BMI) combines weight and height into an ideal figure. In order to control your weight, first purchase a BMI chart so that you would know the ideal weight range to target. A combination of diet, exercise, and sleep measures should help you to keep your weight in check.
Check for Pre-Diabetes
Before one gets diabetes, a condition called pre-diabetes first sets in. Pre-diabetes is also called impaired glucose tolerance. This is not as serious as diabetes itself. However, if you are able to detect pre-diabetes early, your chances for preventing diabetes entirely would be higher. Going to your doctor for a check up once a year, or once every two years should be enough to detect pre-diabetes.
Avoid Tobacco
Studies have shown that smoking tobacco increases the risk of getting Type II diabetes by about 30 to 40%. Nicotine releases glucose from the cells of the liver into the blood stream increasing the blood sugar level. If you are really serious about preventing diabetes, then quit smoking. For those who already have diabetes, smoking makes managing the disease difficult.
Avoid Excess Alcohol
Each time you take alcohol, it increases you blood sugar. Beer, for example, adds 154 calories to your calorie intake, so drinking a few bottles can easily add over 500 calories to your daily calorie intake, raising your risk of getting diabetes. In addition, alcohol also stimulates appetite, which may cause you to over-eat. Further, alcohol may raise your triglyceride levels which increases your risk of getting diabetes.
Infections
Although this is well known, scientists say that infections increase the risk of getting diabetes. Therefore, we must try as much as possible to avoid infections; but this is hard. The best we can do is to ensure that anytime we detect any infection, we treat it promptly and thoroughly.
Use the Right Drugs
Some drugs predispose the body to diabetes. Examples include thiazide anti-hypertensives and steroids. With this in mind, we must be careful whenever taking drugs. If you have have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes, let every doctor you speak to know so that they can avoid these drugs.
Conclusion
Diabetes kills, and when it doesn’t kill you, you may end up with aputated limbs, poor vision, heart disease, kidney diseases, and health expenses more than twice what the average person pays. The tips outlined above can significantly reduce your chances of ever getting diabetes.
