HOW TO PREVENT DIABETES

HOW TO PREVENT DIABETES

Sitting May Prompt Diabetes

Among women‚ being seated for long periods of time every day raises the risks of developing type–2 diabetes.

An emerging factor for chronic disease‚ sedentary behavior – marked by an obvious lack of routine physical activity‚ may prompt the onset of type–2 diabetes among women. Thomas Yates‚ from the University of Leicester (United Kingdom)‚ and colleagues assessed 585 men and women‚ ages 40 and over‚ for the amount of time they spend sitting during the course of the week. Additionally‚ the team collected blood samples to identify markers linked to diabetes and metabolic dysfunction. The researchers found that women who spent the longest time sitting have higher levels of insulin‚ as well as elevated levels of leptin (a chemical released by fatty tissue in the abdomen)‚ and higher amounts of inflammatory markers including C–reactive protein and interleukin–6. These correlations were not found in the male study subjects. Urging that women need to engage in 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity exercise a day‚ the study authors conclude that: “Total self-reported weekday sitting time was associated with biomarkers linked to chronic low–grade inflammation and poor metabolic health in women … independent of physical activity.”

1. Get movingPhysical activity lowers blood sugar and boosts your sensitivity to insulin. Research shows both aerobic exercise and resistance training can help control diabetes, but you’ll get the best benefits if you do various types of exercise, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

The ADA recommends a half-hour of mild aerobic activity (like dancing or tennis) five times per week, based on results from a landmark, 16-year study by the Harvard School of Public Health, which found that even brisk daily walking reduces risk of type 2 diabetes by 30%.

Why resistance training? Because muscle is a good absorber of blood sugar (which gets it out of the bloodstream).

Do a full-body workout – engaging chest, back, butt and legs – for 30 minutes twice a week, according to Melina Jampolis, M.D., a member of the CNN Health team.

If that doesn’t fit your schedule, exercise for 10 minutes each day, varying your routine.

“You need to challenge yourself and change things up to keep getting a benefit from it,” she says.

You don’t have to hit the gym, adds Howard Shapiro, M.D., author of Eat and Beat Diabetes with Picture-Perfect Weight Loss (Harlequin). 
1. Get movingPhysical activity lowers blood sugar and boosts your sensitivity to insulin. Research shows both aerobic exercise and resistance training can help control diabetes, but you’ll get the best benefits if you do various types of exercise, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

The ADA recommends a half-hour of mild aerobic activity (like dancing or tennis) five times per week, based on results from a landmark, 16-year study by the Harvard School of Public Health, which found that even brisk daily walking reduces risk of type 2 diabetes by 30%.

Why resistance training? Because muscle is a good absorber of blood sugar (which gets it out of the bloodstream).

Do a full-body workout – engaging chest, back, butt and legs – for 30 minutes twice a week, according to Melina Jampolis, M.D., a member of the CNN Health team.

If that doesn’t fit your schedule, exercise for 10 minutes each day, varying your routine.

“You need to challenge yourself and change things up to keep getting a benefit from it,” she says.

You don’t have to hit the gym, adds Howard Shapiro, M.D., author of Eat and Beat Diabetes with Picture-Perfect Weight Loss (Harlequin).
3. Pour a spoonful of vinegarTwo tablespoons of apple cider vinegar a day lowers the blood sugar surge you get eating from eating carbs, thereby lowering your blood sugar, according to a series of studies by Carol Johnston, Ph.D., professor and director of the Nutrition Program at Arizona State University.

And no, you don’t need to take it straight. Johnston recommends making a vinaigrette with 2 parts vinegar to 1 part olive oil (avoid bottled dressings, which have the opposite ratio) and starting your dinner with vinaigrette-dressed salad or steamed vegetables.

4. Spice it upIn an often-quoted 2003 study, Pakistani researchers along with Richard Anderson, a scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, found even 1 gram of cinnamon daily reduces blood sugar.

Subsequent U.S. studies haven’t confirmed the benefits of the spice or cinnamon supplements, but diabetes experts still recommend adding it to your diet.

“It can’t hurt, sprinkled on toast or whatever,” Johnston says.

5. Drink more coffeeHold on to your mugs: An 18-year, 125,000-participant study (84,276 were women) by the Harvard School of Public Health showed that women who drank six or more cups of coffee per day reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by nearly 30% – although that much coffee can pose other health risks. 

 

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