When it comes to diseases, diabetes is one of the most feared by many people. However, this fear of diabetes does not translate to fewer cases of such a disease. It seems that people have started to think that it’s an inevitable disease. But diabetes is highly preventable.
Here’s a staggering ratio for you, about one in three Americans have prediabetes. If we put that number into perspective, about 88 million Americans are very vulnerable to diabetes, and about 34 million of the overall population have diabetes. This comes as a shock to many people in the US. There’s a good chance you’ve met a person with diabetes, and there’s a decent chance that your family has such a disease.
Before discussing how to prevent such a disease, we must examine its nature and how it works.
Diabetes
Diabetes is a complex disease that affects all parts of our body because it affects how we use the food we consume. Moreover, it’s a chronic disease, which means that it’s long-lasting, and in some situations, it can stay with you for a lifetime.
This disease concerns how your body produces insulin or how it consumes it. When your body can’t consume insulin properly, there’s a great chance that your bloodstream contains too much blood sugar. This is the most common form of diabetes, known as type-2 diabetes. A much rarer form of diabetes (type-1) is those who can’t produce insulin. This can happen much earlier than type-2 diabetes, and it’s considered to be much fatal.
Diabetes is comorbid with all sorts of diseases such as heart and kidney disease. Prevention of such a condition is essential. Interestingly enough, there is a much earlier form of diabetes known as prediabetes.
Prediabetes
As stated earlier, prediabetes is the most common form of diabetes, with more than eighty million Americans having it. The problem is that most of these Americans don’t know they have it. These people with prediabetes have higher blood sugar than average, but they haven’t reached a point to be diagnosed with type-2 diabetes.
An Expensive Disease
Diabetes is a costly disease. One reason why it’s so expensive is that it’s a lifetime. If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, there’s a good chance you’ll have it for the rest of your life. Another reason why it’s so expensive is the American healthcare system.
The American healthcare system still has no universal healthcare that can help people in the low and medium socioeconomic bracket. Furthermore, because of the privatization of healthcare, insulin prices are much higher in the US, costing people more than a thousand dollars every year.
For people with type-1 diabetes, their lives rely on these insulin shots, and if they don’t have enough money to cover for it, it’s either they have to go to the hospital (which is even more expensive) or die. By the end of the day, prevention is better than cure for diabetes. Here are ways you can prevent it.
Cut Down on Both Sugary and Salty Food
Diabetes starts from our diet. If you’ve been feeling quite lethargic lately, even though you’ve consumed more than enough food, it’s time for you to change your diet—the nutrients found in your diet matter more than the amount you consume. Sugar and salt are your worse enemies if your family is prone to diabetes, and it’s time to cut down on them.
Try to eat more food with omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon. Moreover, try alternatives to sugar such as Stevia and Xylitol. These alternatives can help you consume sugar without putting more weight into your body.
Have Frequent Checkups
Frequent checkups are a good prevention technique because they will help you know whether if you have diabetes or not. If you’re reaching that point, you can make necessary changes in your life to steer away from such a disease.
Visit The Dental Professionals
Prediabetes is pretty hard to identify. However, interestingly enough, one way to determine if you have prediabetes is to visit a reputable dentist. People with prediabetes are likely to have all sorts of oral-related diseases. So if you usually have tooth diseases, there’s a good chance you have prediabetes.
Exercise Frequently
Fifteen-minute exercises per day can make a huge difference. You can choose to increase that amount when you can. Play sports if you want to lose some weight while having fun. Ensure that you are well below the obesity mark.
These are some simple ways you can prevent diabetes. Remember, it’s much better to prevent such a disease than try and cure it. So keep away from obesity, and live a much healthier lifestyle.