Diabetes Prevention - Take Action Before It's Too Late

Risk factors for Type II diabetes include obesity, age, family history, lack of exercise, high blood pressure (hypertension), and increased blood cholesterol and triglycerides. If you are at risk and have not been diagnosed with Type II diabetes, you should take action now before it's too late. Diabetes is a long and debilitating disease and you should take any and all measures for prevention.

In order to prevent diabetes, you are going to have to make some lifestyle changes. These will not be easy, but they will be easier than dealing with this difficult disease in the long run. The first step towards diabetes prevention is to increase your weekly exercise regimen. The second is to reduce the number of calories in your diet, specifically cutting out fat calories. There is no need for drastic changes; just small steps in these two areas of your life and you are well on your way to diabetes prevention.

Your goal for exercise should be moderate activity for 30 minutes per day for five days per week. If you are not very active, you should start slowly and build your way up. Begin with 10 minutes of exercise daily and work your way to the goal of 30 minutes daily. The type of exercises you perform can include walking, dancing, and light weight lifting with dumbbells. Try to find ways to incorporate these exercises in a manner that you find enjoyable. This will ensure you stay with the exercise program for the long haul. Be sure to warm up before you exercise and stretch when you are finished.

A change in your diet is the other important step in diabetes prevention. You should begin by reducing the number of calories you consume on a daily basis. Begin by concentrating on eating smaller portions of the food you already eat. You should then reduce the amount of fried foods you eat by as much as possible, eating only one or two fried food meals weekly if you can. Limit the amount of high fat sources of protein such as hamburger and steaks. Concentrate more on lean protein sources such as fish and poultry. Also, be sure to add fruits, vegetables, and nuts to your diet, preferably at every meal. Lastly, drink six to eight glasses of water every day.

Studies have shown that losing between five to seven percent of your body weight is enough to prevent, or at least delay, the onset of diabetes. Following the guidelines set forth above, this can be accomplished in a relatively short period of time. There are also other benefits to these lifestyle changes such as more energy, better sleep, fewer mood swings, and you'll even look better.

As you can see, you don't have to go to extreme measures to prevent diabetes, but you will have to make some changes in your life. Visit your doctor before starting any exercise program and make some clear goals for yourself. Prevention of diabetes is possible and well worth the effort.