Tips for Preventing Diabetes

Diabetes is a growing problem. If you have diabetes in your family or otherwise are at risk, it makes sense to take some preventative steps. Type II diabetes is the most preventable form of the disease. Here are some tips that may help prevent diabetes from developing in your life. 

Proper Diet - Foods That May Prevent Diabetes

Many sources suggest that a diet emphasizing plant foods is important for preventing diabetes. Other foods that may help stabilize blood sugar and keep you from developing full-blown diabetes include the following: 

* Magnesium-rich foods like black beans, spinach, and almonds are said to help prevent diabetes. Interestingly, diabetics are often deficient in magnesium, sources say.

* Onions and garlic are natural blood sugar regulators. Black bean soup with garlic or black bean burgers with onions would be great!

* Stevia is a very sweet, calorie-free herb; the extract is often sold in grocery stores and health food stores as a sweetener. It may lower blood sugar, too, making is a good choice for those with pre-diabetic conditions or those wishing to prevent the onset of diabetes. 

Exercise

It's important for everyone, but for those who wish to prevent diabetes, exercise is especially essential. For one thing, vigorous activity tends to lower blood sugar. For another, exercise usually results in weight loss if it's practiced regularly and properly. Maintaining a healthy body weight is key to diabetes prevention. 

Just in Case...

There are some possible preventative measures you can take that are controversial, or at least the jury is still out as to whether or not these measures are effective. If they're healthy measures, though, it might pay to err on the side of caution and implement them even if their effectiveness against diabetes is uncertain. Some examples of this type of prevention include:

* Reducing stress, whether through stretching, meditation, prayer, or other forms of stress reduction. Some studies suggest that chronic stress may increase your risk for developing diabetes.

* Reducing high blood pressure may also help prevent diabetes. These two conditions often exist together, and research suggests that high blood pressure may even trigger the onset of diabetes. Keeping your blood pressure under control is a healthy thing to do anyway, so you really can't lose on this one.

* High fructose corn syrup, that sweetener we all love to hate, may or may not be implicated in the development of diabetes. It may be no more of an issue than white sugar. Once again, cutting HFCS out of your diet is not a dangerous thing to do and may even be healthier, so it's a win-win if you cut it out of your diet for whatever reason. 

* Trans fats and saturated fats are usually included on the "do not eat" list for those wishing to prevent diabetes. It's been suggested that these artery-clogging fats can exacerbate or even trigger Type II diabetes symptoms.