Do Everything You Can to Prevent Diabetes

Here’s a sobering thought. You might have diabetes and not even know it. It’s a chronic disease that typically has no symptoms until it’s caused major damage.

Left unchecked, diabetes can lead to kidney disease, nerve damage, high blood pressure, stroke, vision loss, or worse. In other words, do everything you can to prevent diabetes. It’s a growing health problem.

• Diabetes is the leading cause of death in the world.
• An estimated 30 million people in the United States have diabetes, and 1 in 4 don’t even know it.
• More than 84 million people in the U.S. have prediabetes, and most don’t know it.
• If you have diabetes, your medical costs are typically twice as much as a healthy person’s
• Diabetes costs an estimated $327 billion a year in medical care costs and lost wages

That might sound like a lot of gloom and doom. But here’s the thing. Diabetes is largely preventable. If you’re at risk, you can make changes now to avoid diabetes. And even if you have diabetes, you can make diet and lifestyle changes to manage diabetes.

Here are some diabetes prevention strategies to help you avoid it or manage it:

Eat healthy foods.

Most of your food should come from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, fish, nuts, seeds, legumes, and low-fat dairy products. Avoid sugary drinks, sweets, desserts, and highly processed foods.

Exercise.

Aim to get at least 30 to 60 minutes of moderate exercise a day.

Maintain a healthy weight

Or lose weight if you need to. If you’re overweight, losing just 5 to 10 percent of your body weight can significantly reduce your risk for diabetes.

Don’t smoke, or quit if you do.

Smoking causes insulin spikes and high blood sugar levels linked to diabetes.

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