Ditch diabetes - 5 fit ideas for reducing risk

by Maggie Vink (Subscribe to Maggie Vink's posts)
Nov 5th 2008 7:00PM

Categories: Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Nutrition & Supplements

Exercise, a healthful diet, and maintaining an appropriate weight add up to a power play for health. The benefits are numerous, but one important perk is reducing your risk of diabetes. For improved blood sugar control and a reduced risk of developing diabetes, practice these five habits:

Lose weight or maintain your healthy weight. Even a small weight loss can have a positive impact on blood sugar. More than 80% of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight -- controlling this factor significantly lowers your risk.
Exercise regularly. Not only does physical activity help you with weight maintenance, it also offers diabetes risk reduction of its own.
Eat less saturated fat and total fat. For some people, higher fat meals trigger a blood sugar response. Some researchers think that high-fat meals make insulin less effective. In addition, reducing the bad fats in your diet helps with weight control and is definitely a heart-healthy move.
Keep excess calories to a minimum. When it comes to weight, you need to burn more than you eat. So keep treats and high-calorie foods to a minimum.
Increase fiber intake. Dietary fiber -- especially soluble fiber (found in oatmeal, for example) -- isn't just for a healthy heart; it also helps regulate blood sugar.

[via FitSugar]

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Comments (4)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Andrew R 11-05-2008 @ 9:44PM

I agree with all of the bullet points except the one that says to "eat less saturated fat and total fat". Here's a link from Mark's Daily Apple that helps explain the link between Diabetes and carbs.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/diabetes/

Carbs, in bread, pasta and grain form have more of an impact on the occurrence of diabetes than fats. It's a great read!

Thanks for the post!

All the Best,

Andrew R