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Type 2 diabetes is a disease that can affect all ages. Currently, there is no cure for this disease. However, there are practical ways to prevent diabetes that you can apply every day.
Getting to Know Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which the body has difficulty regulating and using sugar as energy. When the amount of sugar in the blood is high over a long period of time, it causes problems with the circulatory, nervous and immune systems.
When a person has type two diabetes, there are two common problems. First, the pancreas does not produce enough insulin to suppress the amount of sugar in the blood. Secondly, the cells respond poorly to insulin and can only absorb small amounts of sugar.
Apart from obesity, the disease can also be hereditary. If you have a family member who has this condition, it means that you are susceptible to having this condition as well. Therefore, preventing type 2 diabetes should be your priority.
How to prevent type 2 diabetes
There are several practical ways you can do at home to prevent diabetes. Here's how:
1. Maintain ideal body weight
People with ideal body weight will avoid the risk of diabetes. This is because many cases of type 2 diabetes are caused by obesity or overweight.
Quoting the Mayo Clinic, in a study people who lose about 7% of their original body weight by diet and exercise can reduce the risk of diabetes by almost 60%.
In the process of dieting to maintain weight, you need to pay attention to daily calorie needs. The recommended daily calorie intake is between 1800 to 3200. This depends on age, weight, gender and amount of physical activity. There are also differences in daily calorie needs between men and women. Men need more calories than women, with a range of men (2000 - 3200) and women (1600 - 2400).
But to be more accurate, you need to consult a nutritionist about the right diet.
2. Reduce sugar intake
Consuming more foods and drinks with high sugar content will increase the risk of diabetes. Especially the type of food and drinks that have high sugar content. In fact, every day adults have a maximum limit of sugar consumption of only 30 grams or 7 teaspoons.
If you have a family history of diabetes, it is better to immediately reduce sugar intake.
3. Reduce carbohydrate intake
In addition to sugar, also reduce simple carbohydrates such as rice, flour, white bread, pasta, soda and snacks. These simple carbohydrates can cause blood sugar to rise dramatically because they are easily digested and have a high glycemic index, triggering diabetes.
You can switch to eating complex carbohydrates such as oats, vegetables, fruits and nuts. This is because complex carbohydrates contain high fiber and take longer to digest. Blood sugar and cholesterol levels can also be maintained.
4. Reduce instant and processed foods
Instant and processed foods cause many health problems from diabetes, heart disease to stroke. Avoid junk food, frozen foods, biscuits, instant noodles and packaged foods for healthier blood sugar levels.
Start choosing healthy foods to avoid type two diabetes at a young age.
5. Consume foods high in fiber
An easy way to avoid diabetes is to eat foods high in fiber. Fiber is useful for regulating blood sugar levels in the body. Some types of foods that are high in fiber are vegetables, fruits, grains and legumes.
6. Consume whole grains (whole grain)
Whole grains are a recommended diabetes diet menu because they contain low glucose levels, even referred to as blood sugar lowerers. Types of whole grains include brown rice, bran bread, whole wheat pasta, quinoa and cereals.
7. Optimize vitamin D consumption
Vitamin D can help people avoid diabetes. This is because vitamin D deficiency decreases the amount of insulin released by the body into the blood.
Make sure your vitamin D needs are met through sun exposure, eating fish, and if necessary vitamin D supplements.
8. Reduce saturated fat consumption
Good fats or unsaturated fats are good for heart and blood vessel health by increasing good cholesterol (HDL) levels. With good fats, you can maintain an ideal body weight and reduce the risk of diabetes. These types of good fats include olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, nuts, seeds, salmon, mackerel, sardines, and tuna.
9. Drink more water
You can replace the consumption of sugary drinks with more healthy water. Moreover, water has many benefits for the health of the body such as balancing body fluids, helping to lose weight, and keeping blood pressure normal. It can also improve the body's control over blood sugar levels and insulin response.
10. Exercise
Exercise is one of the physical exercises that can effectively prevent diabetes. Moving can increase the sensitivity of body cells to insulin which prevents the accumulation of sugar levels in the blood. The type of exercise can be anything that needs to be noted is a routine of at least 30 minutes every day.
11. Drink coffee and tea
Coffee and tea contain antioxidants, namely polyphenols, which can help protect against diabetes. Of course, drink them without adding sugar or you can add a little milk.
A study says daily coffee consumption reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by 54%. Meanwhile, green tea reduces the risk of this disease lower than coffee.
12. Quit smoking
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking can increase the risk of diabetes. Quitting smoking can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
13. Avoid sitting too long
Sitting for too long can slow down metabolism such as insulin resistance which can lead to type 2 diabetes. You can stop sitting and take a two-minute walk every 20 minutes of sitting to maintain glucose control and insulin response.
When to see a doctor?
After all the ways to prevent type 2 diabetes are done independently, but regularly seeing a doctor is very important, especially for conditions such as below:
- Over 45 years old.
- Obese and have one or more risk factors for diabetes such as a family history of diabetes.
- Women who have experienced gestational diabetes.
- People diagnosed with prediabetes, a condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes.
- Children who are overweight or obese and have a family history of type 2 diabetes.
