Do’s and How-To’s – Tips for a Healthy & Happy Diabetes Life

If your diet is at all similar to that of the average person, there will be areas needing improvement. Otherwise, you would be at risk for several health complications as you age – if you haven’t been affected already. Being overweight is merely the beginning. Sadly, it is also the norm. Being overweight or obese, along with generally poor diets are the reason why diseases like Type 2 diabetes are prevalent in our society. Not surprisingly, such diseases can be prevented with simple improvements or changes in your eating plan and lifestyle.

Some of the devastating complications of Type 2 diabetes include heart and blood vessel disease, kidney disease, and high blood pressure. Researchers at Shahid University in Tehran, Iran, found a link between eating onions and garlic and a smaller risk of diseases often associated with Type 2 diabetes. Their work, reported on in March of 2017 in the Journal of Hypertension, compared men and women 26 to 54 years of age enrolled in the 6-year Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study. Compared with participants with a little or no intake of onions or garlic, individuals with the highest intake of garlic and onions had a 64 percent lower risk of heart and blood vessel disease, 32 percent lower risk of diabetic kidney disease, and a 26 percent lower risk of developing high blood pressure.

You are likely no stranger to Type 2 diabetes. The dramatic rise in the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes is very closely tied to the increase in obesity While you may not have personal experience with the disease, there is a good chance you are at least familiar. But when it comes to the treatment and management of Type 2 diabetes, you may find yourself lacking experience and knowledge in the matter. For many people, treatment and management of a disease may appear to be the same. But there is a difference worth noting.

When it comes to staple foods, there will always be foods that are better options than others for people with Type 2 diabetes to include in their eating plan. Especially if body weight and blood sugar are serious concerns. While white rice is a staple for many, any whole-grain alternative would be better for someone trying to improve their blood sugar control. Lean meats are excellent sources of protein but are not viable for vegetarians, who must find a different way of getting their protein in a healthy manner.

Type 2 diabetes has quickly become the biggest epidemic of our time, and it is worldwide. It is no coincidence this goes hand-in-hand with the increase in obesity. According to a report published in February 2017 in the International Journal of Nursing Practice at least one school-based education program shows promise for preventing Type 2 diabetes in adolescents.

Exercise is not only good for you but also essential. Most health benefits can be derived from adding thirty minutes of moderate-intensity exercise to your daily life. You can choose to ignore this fact for as long as you like but it would eventually come back to bite you at some point in the future. It is better to acknowledge it now rather than later. You are given a choice: do you take care of your health now or then? Taking immediate action may be inconvenient because it is so much simpler to procrastinate and postpone. But taking action later may prove to be more difficult because you may have health issues to deal with then. Such is the case for many who wait until they are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes to change their ways.