Rates of diabetes are growing each year in the United States. One of our big challenges is that the convenience foods and snacks commonly available are loaded with white flour, sugar, and saturated fats. Additionally, many of our snack foods are also loaded with salt. To fight the health risks of high blood sugar and diabetes, turning away from the Standard American Diet is a critical first step.
Get Regular Exercise
Even if you have no time to exercise, you can find ways to walk a little further, take the stairs, and focus on balance and core strength. If you do not have the strength or flexibility to bicycle, consider getting an electric bike for errands and enjoying the great outdoors. Your legs will not work as hard, but your core will be engaged in keeping the bike balanced.
Everyone starts where they are when starting a fitness program. If you really cannot get moving, ask a bossy friend to pester you into getting out of bed and going to the gym with you. Your kind, understanding friend is the wrong contact for this. You want someone annoying to get you moving.
Make Water Your Go-To Beverage
Treat yourself to a couple of stainless steel water bottles, a countertop ice maker, or whatever you have to do to start with water when you notice thirst. Keep a thermal jug of water at hand all the time.
If drinking this much water makes you feel like you are drowning, get some unsweetened tea. Make sure that you are watching your caffeine intake. For those who love coffee and know how that caffeine will impact you, the caffeine in tea can be a jolt.
Keep on hand
- tomato juice
- sugar free drinks
for when you have had enough water. Another option is to add a twist of lime or lemon. You can also get a great deal of flavor from unsweetened carbonated beverages, such as club soda and flavored but not sweetened sparkling water. Be aware that many who have given up diet soda for sparkling water find that it is easier to avoid unhealthy snack foods after enjoying sparkling water. Diet soda sets up your taste buds for more flavor, while sparkling water can easily settle down your taste buds.
To that end, avoid
- sugary sodas
- fruit juices
- energy drinks and coffee loaded with sugar
If you always have something sweet in your coffee, try to wean yourself off the candy bar flavors of coffee and stick with heavy cream to avoid a blood sugar spike with that first cup.
Another option to improve your water intake is to treat yourself to a countertop water filter. With this reminder on the counter, you will feel more inclined to fill up your water cup, which you always have with you, as soon as you walk in the kitchen.
Consider Intermittent Fasting
There are many forms of fasting. If you already have trouble with your blood sugar, the act of not eating anything all day could be dangerous. For those who are interested in intermittent fasting for weight loss and blood sugar control, it may be worth it to try either the 5:2 diet or the eTRF, or Early Time-Restricted Feeding Diet.
The 5:2 diet allows you to eat the necessary calories for health 5 days a week, then reduces your caloric intake for 2 days a week. On no days are you completely avoiding food, which would be much harder.
The eTRF asks users to avoid eating in a long window of time. For example, you might have breakfast at 8 a.m. and dinner at 6 p.m., leaving at least 13 hours of time when you eat nothing but drink lots of water. Current studies indicate that starting your eating cycle earlier and having a longer overnight stretch of not eating is the most beneficial.
Get Your Hormones Checked
There are those who believe that using HGH and building muscle can greatly increase your health and help you fight the risk of diabetes. This turns a useful product into a controlled substance that can actually damage your health over time.
Abusing HGH can actually increase your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. However, if you have had a problem with your pituitary gland or are found to be deficient in growth hormone, getting supplemental therapies with most widely used types of HGH injections can help you build the muscles you need to exercise comfortably and build strength.
Focus on Healthy Food Intake
One of the key factors that is necessary to keeping your blood sugar low is your regular food intake. If you choose to use intermittent fasting, make sure that your diet includes
- high fiber foods, especially vegetables
- roughage, from raw fruits and veggies
- whole grains, which cleanse the colon effectively
Lean proteins, low fat and low sugar dairy products, and lots of fiber and roughage will provide you the energy you need to keep going while you lose weight and further reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes.
The foods that will best support your health will also reduce your risk of diabetes over time. Staying physically fit will protect your bones, joints and muscle tissue as you age. Every action that you can take outside the world of medication to avoid diabetes can also benefit you in many other ways.