11 Best Ways to Prevent Diabetes

Picture 1: Eating fresh fish can help you to prevent diabetes

Diabetes affects over 30 million adults in the US, that’s according to the US CDC.

However, this condition, which occurs when the body is unable to make effective use of the insulin produced by the pancreas to control glucose that is released after the digestion of food, can be prevented easily.

All you have to do is to change certain habits and eat particular foods.

Here are tips about foods you should eat, ways you should live, and other tips to help you keep yourself healthy so that you will not develop this disease.

Related: How To Prevent Diabetes

Figure 1: Process by which Type 1 Diabetes occurs

  

1.    Eat Brown Rice

The next time you have a party at home, you might consider cooking brown rice in addition to the potatoes, meatloaf, fried alligator, or pizza. That’s because brown rice doesn’t cause the levels of glucose in the blood to rise rapidly after you eat it.

In fact, a study carried out by researchers at Harvard University has revealed that eating two or more cups of brown rice in a week can reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by about 10%.

Figure 2: Increase in diabetes cases worldwide between 1980 and 2014.
You want to avoid becoming one of these stats, don't you?

2.    Consume A Lot Of Fish Oil Supplements

A review of 14 clinical trials by scientists at Harvard School of Public Health has revealed that taking a lot of cod liver oil supplements or halibut oil supplements can help to prevent you from ever going to see a doctor because of this disease.

Fish oils are rich in a hormone known as adiponectin, which increases the sensitivity of body cells to insulin. This helps to promote the absorption of sugar by the body’s cells. Consequently, the levels of sugar in the blood drop significantly after one eats.

Figure 3: Total number of Americans with diabetes and prediabetes (having high sugar levels but not high enough for you to be considered a diabetic)

3.    Eat A Lot Of Fish

Research done by scientists at the University of Valencia suggests that eating herrings, wild trout, catfish and other types of fish leads to lower glucose concentrations in the blood. Fish increases the amount of omega-3  in the cells of the muscles of the skeleton and it also improves insulin sensitivity.

Figure 4: Percentage of Americans in different age groups who have diabetes

4.    Consume Between 55 And 450 Micrograms Of Selenium Daily

Do you love eating roasted corn? Do you love eating wholemeal bread for breakfast before you go to work? Do you love chewing Brazil nuts?

If you don’t, then add them to your diet. That’s because research done by scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health has revealed that eating at least 55 micrograms of selenium (found in bread and nuts), and at most 400 micrograms, daily, can help to prevent you becoming a diabetes patient.

Selenium contains high amounts of antioxidants, which make the body’s cells receptive to insulin. Consequently, glucose finds it very easy to move from the blood into the cells.  

5.    Eat A Lot Of Food Rich In Vitamin D…

A study published in the British Medical Journal BMJ has revealed that vitamin D can help to prevent type 1 diabetes.

Vitamin D, which you can get from oily fish such as sardines, mackerel, and salmon, stimulates the manufacture, as well as the secretion, of insulin.

And if you don’t eat enough vitamin D, don’t forget to take vitamin D3 supplements.

…Or Stay In The Sun For 20 Minutes Daily

Another way you can get vitamin D is to bask in the sun for between 15 and 20 minutes a day. That’s because the skin synthesizes the vitamin when one exposes himself to sunlight.

6.    Eat One Egg Daily From Monday To Thursday Every Week

Research carried out by scientists at the University of Eastern Finland, and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,  has revealed that eating 4 eggs a week can help you to reduce your risk of ever developing this disease. This is because eggs contain nutrients that enhance glucose metabolism.

7.    Drink Tea, But Without Milk

A study done in the Netherlands in 2009, and another study done by scientists at Framingham State University in the US, has revealed that drinking 3 cups of tea can reduce one’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Tea contains compounds known as polyphenols that block pancreatic alpha-amylase and intestinal alpha-glucosidase, two enzymes that cause spikes in blood sugar levels after one eats a carb-rich diet, and that helps to stabilize glucose levels in the body.

Related: How to Prevent Diabetes

8.    Consume Fresh Meats Instead Of Processed Meats

Thinking of ordering hot dogs for your date with your wife next week? Considering eating bacon or hot dogs when you have your next birthday? Or, are you going to eat sausages or cold cuts when you have lunch tomorrow?

Then you might consider killing your chickens, asking your friend to give you parts of his goat he killed this week or ordering beef from the butcher’s shop instead.

Why?   

A study carried out by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health has revealed that eating one serving daily of processed meats ( the equivalent of one hot dog) can increase one’s risk of developing diabetes by 19%.

9.    Add More Broccoli, Cabbages, And Lettuce To Your Diet

You might consider buying two more cabbages than you normally buy, or ordering 6 servings of lettuce or spinach the next time you have a date with your girlfriend.

Research done by a group of nutritionists at the Diabetes Research Unit of Leicester University has revealed that eating 1 ½ serving of green leafy vegetables a day can reduce one’s risk of developing diabetes by 14%.

Green leafy vegetables contain high amounts of polyphenols, vitamin C, and magnesium, which help to boost glucose metabolism and insulin secretion. 

10.                      If You Have Prediabetes, Scrunch and Ingest 3 Handfuls Of Pistachio Nuts Daily

Research done by Universitari Hospital of Sant Joan de Reus and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III in Spain, suggests that people who have prediabetes can prevent it from developing into diabetes by enjoying these nuts.

The study revealed that eating 57 grams of the nuts (about 3 handfuls) improved the metabolism of glucose, as well as improved insulin sensitivity, in the prediabetic patients who ate them and that caused significant reductions in the levels of sugar in their blood.

11.                      Do Weight Training

You swim regularly, right? You run on your treadmill before you go to work, right? But have you considered adding resistance training to your exercise regimen?

If you haven’t, then you might consider incorporating strength training into your exercise regimen. That’s because according to a study done at the Harvard School of Public Health, doing both aerobic exercise and weight training for at least 150 minutes in a week can reduce one’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 60%! 

Weight training improves the sensitivity of insulin receptors. Consequently, the cells of the muscles can absorb glucose quickly and efficiently and thus prevents the buildup of excess sugar in the blood.

 

Takeaways

If you want to prevent diabetes:

• eat brown rice, fish or fish oil supplements, and four eggs a week;
• eat fresh meat more often than you eat processed meat;
• add at least 5 servings of green veggies to your diet daily; and
• pump iron too in addition to doing aerobic exercises.

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