Preventing Diabetes: Can it Be Done?

- Amy Campbell, MS, RD, CDE

Now that (hopefully) you’re more aware of diabetes, you might be wondering if it really can be prevented in the first place.  Luckily, the answer is yes.  We don’t know much yet about how to prevent type 1 diabetes, the less common type, but we’ve learned that there are ways to lower your risk of getting type 2 diabetes.   This is good news for the 79 million people who have prediabetes.

Here are a few action steps that you can take to lower your risk.  Some of them may be easier to do than others.  But they’re definitely worth a try, especially if it means a longer, healthier life.

·         Lose weight.  I realize that you may have heard this before, and I also understand that losing weight isn’t all that easy.    However, a landmark clinical trial called the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) showed that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or at least delayed in those at high risk.  How is this possible?  Researchers discovered that people in this study who lost 5 to 7% of their body weight using lifestyle approaches (healthy eating, physical activity, behavior change) lowered their risk of diabetes by 58%.  That’s a big deal!   And a 5 to 7% weight loss really isn’t all that much. Let’s say you weigh 180 pounds. Losing 5 % of weight is 9 pounds, and losing 7% is 13 pounds.  We’re not talking about losing 50 or 100 pounds.  Once these folks lost their weight, they benefited even more because they were “protected” against diabetes for at least 10 more years.   Understandably, the challenge for some people is losing any amount of weight. Others may have no problem losing weight, but keeping it off is the hard part.   Fortunately, how you lose the weight is up to you.  In other words, there’s no one right diet out there that will work for everyone.  You might decide to work with a dietitian, join a commercial program or try meal replacements.  Others may take a more extreme approach and have bariatric surgery.  Choose an approach that you can stay with for the long haul.  Fad diets and quick fixes aren’t the answer.

·         Get moving.  Now that the days are shorter and the weather is colder, it’s all too easy to skip the after-dinner walk or forgo a trip to the gym.  Don’t do it.  Another finding from the DPP was that people in the study exercised 150 minutes every week (or 30 minutes, 5 times a week).  Exercise makes your insulin work better and lowers blood glucose.    Your exercise program should include aerobics (walking, jogging, dancing, biking) as well as strength, or resistance training.  Resistance training can lower diabetes risk by 34%.  What counts as resistance training?  Using hand weights, resistance bands, kettle bells, Nautilus at the gym or even your own body weight (think pushups and lunges).   Better yet, do both aerobic and resistance training and slash your diabetes risk by 59%.

·         Give up sugary drinks.  Holiday punch, eggnog or even just a cold glass of soda are treats, but don’t fill up on them.  Besides that fact that they’re laden with calories, studies show that drink even just one or two sugary beverages (soda, juice, sports drinks, ice tea) can raise your risk of diabetes by as much as 25%.  Water, seltzer water, unsweetened tea and even diet soda are better choices.

·         Fill up on fiber.  Fiber isn’t all that exciting but you might be excited to learn that it can help you lower your risk of diabetes by up to 60%.  Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that isn’t well digested.  Foods high in fiber fill you up (so you eat less) and they also slow down digestion which means that carbohydrate is more slowly broken down into glucose.  End result?  Blood glucose levels tend to not spike up so much when you’ve eaten a high fiber meal or food.  Find fiber in whole wheat bread, brown rice, fruits, vegetables and beans.

·         Get some sleep.  Many people in the U.S. don’t get enough sleep.  Besides making you feel groggy and grumpy, a lack of sleep can lead to some very real health concerns, such as heart disease, heart attack, stroke and yes, diabetes.   Getting less than 6 hours of sleep per night boosts your risk for diabetes.   On the other hand, getting more than 8 hours of sleep per night also raises your risk.  Aim for 7 to 8 hours each night – not too much and not too little, either.

·         Go for the grain.  Carb foods aren’t bad.  Really.  The key is to shy away from refined carbs, like white bread, white rice and sugary treats.  Instead, choose whole grain bread and pasta, steel-cut oats and brown rice.  Studies show that getting two to three servings of whole grains every day can lower diabetes risk by 30 percent.  A serving is ½ cup of brown rice, ½ cup cooked oatmeal or 1 slice of whole wheat bread.

Hopefully you can see that you’re in the driver’s seat when it comes to diabetes.  Of course, there’s no guarantee that you won’t get diabetes, but there’s much that you can do to try and prevent it.  Even if you do develop diabetes down the road, the lifestyle changes mentioned above can provide many other health benefits, like keep your heart and blood vessels healthy, controlling your weight and improving your quality of life.  What do you have to lose?

- Amy