5 ways to prevent type 2 diabetes

Up to 90 percent of cases of type 2 diabetes can be prevented by healthy lifestyle habits. Here are five ways to avoid becoming part of the diabetes epidemic

Given the serious consequences emanating from insulin resistance and Type-2 diabetes, preventing this disease is certainly our best weapon in reducing the damage caused by a surplus of blood sugar. Luckily for us, the preventive potential is extraordinary: Adopting a healthy lifestyle can prevent up to 90 percent of Type-2 diabetes cases! To see how we can reduce the risk of diabetes, let us review some lifestyle factors.

1. Maintain a healthy body weight

Given that excess weight and obesity are instrumental in the development of Type-2 diabetes, maintaining a normal body weight is an essential aspect of any preventive approach. The most spectacular illustration of how weight loss can influence the risk of diabetes is undoubtedly the effect of bariatric surgery (reducing stomach size) on morbidly obese people. Radically reducing the size of the stomach rapidly decreases obesity and almost completely eliminates Type-2 diabetes!

Fight Colon Cancer, Diabetes, And High Cholesterol With…Leftover Pasta?

At first, resistant starch sounds a little too much like magic: A carbohydrate with less calories that can help you burn fat? But truth is, resistant starch, or RS, is the real deal.

This awesome starch passes through the small intestine without being digested, which means it has slashed caloric value—that's one reason why it's been linked to weight loss and increased fat burning. And chances are, you eat it almost every day, since RS is found in many starchy whole foods like oats, barley, lentils, black beans, unripe bananas, and some types of corn. Better yet, you can increase the RS of foods like rice, potatoes, and pasta and cut their number of calories in the foods by up to half (!) simply by cooking them slowly and letting them cool before serving. 

Alternative Treatments For Type 2 Diabetes

Learn more about alternative methods to manage your blood sugar and avoid complications

Type 2 diabetes doesn't just affect blood sugar and insulin secretion—it also can lead to a host of other problems including kidney damage, blood vessel thickening, nerve damage and pain. Find out more below about common alternative and complementary methods, vitamins, minerals, herbs and foods used to treat type 2 diabetes and other conditions associated with it.

Acetyl L-Carnitine

In a double-blind study of people with diabetic neuropathy, supplementing with acetyl-L-carnitine was significantly more effective than a placebo in improving subjective symptoms of neuropathy and objective measures of nerve function. People who received 1,000 mg of acetyl-L-carnitine three times per day tended to fare better than those who received 500 mg three times per day. 

Dairy Blocks Diabetes

Two servings a day may keep you diabetes-free

A sneaky side effect of the sitting-still lifestyle is putting up to 30 million Americans at risk for diabetes. Extra body fat and too little exercise lull your body into resisting the efforts of insulin, a hormone that sends blood sugar into your cells.

Now, researchers say that, even if you're overweight, choosing more low-fat dairy products--such as a glass of 1 percent milk or a smoothie made with low-fat yogurt instead of a soda--could help prevent diabetes.

In a 10-year study of 3,000 people, those who were overweight but consumed lots of milk and other dairy products were 70 percent less likely to get insulin resistance as dairy avoiders.

8 Ways To Beat Your Sugar Addiction

Use these rules to naturally slow your sugar absorption—and keep eating meals you love 

In the world of fantasy wish lists, wouldn't it be great if—instead of prompting us to snack all the time—our bodies would just use up fat we have already stored?

One major reason this doesn't happen has to do with our diets. When you consume starch and refined sugar, these foods enter the bloodstream quickly, causing a sugar spike. Your body then produces the hormone insulin to drive that sugar from your bloodstream into cells. But over time, excessive levels of insulin can make your muscle cells lose sensitivity to the hormone, leading to type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Your fat cells are another story: They always remain sensitive. Insulin spikes lock fat into them, so you can't use it for energy.

6 Essential Eating Rules For Diabetics

Protein, fat, and carbohydrates are all important for a diabetes-taming diet. But certain types of foods are better for curbing diabetes—specifically anti-inflammatory foods, including fresh vegetables, herbs, legumes, mushrooms, nuts, fruit, seaweeds, and fermented foods—which is a symptom of body-wide inflammation. The list of "good" and "bad" foods for diabetes is pretty lengthy —but here are a few simple rules to help you stay on track and get the most out of each meal.

1. Never go hungry! It's important to make sure you're full and satisfied at the end of each meal. This will go a long way toward helping you to turn down any "fake" foods you may encounter throughout the day.

The Diabetes And Celiac Diet

You think it's tough counting carbs? Throw in a second, food-restricting disease, and the challenge is on.

All people with type 1 diabetes have to pay close attention to diet, but those who also have celiac disease need to be extra vigilant. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in which the protein gluten (found in wheat, barley, and rye, and sometimes in oats) causes a person's immune system to attack and damage the small intestine. People with type 1 diabetes have a higher risk of celiac disease, and about 8 to 10% of people with type 1 diabetes also have celiac disease. Symptoms of the disease are generally gastrointestinal—bloating, gas, and diarrhea—but not everyone gets them. Because it interferes with the body's ability to absorb nutrients, celiac disease also can cause weight loss and fatigue. Early diagnosis is key.