Strategies to avoid diabetes

Thilaka had developed diabetes during her pregnancy. She had been advised to be on a special diabetic diet. She kept her blood sugar levels under control with her diet. She had a healthy baby and is at present busy with the exciting, sometimes exasperating, task of taking care of her little one. A small worry keeps nagging at her though. Will she develop diabetes in a few years?

Thilaka is at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Fortunately, there are strategies she can follow to postpone the onset of diabetes or even avoid it completely. Interesting new studies have shown that there are easy stratagems which can help us avoid the onset of type 2 diabetes.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a disorder that affects the way the body uses digested food for growth and energy. Normally, the food you eat is broken down into glucose. The glucose then passes into the bloodstream, where it is used by the cells for growth and energy. For glucose to reach the cells, however, insulin must be present. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas, a hand-sized gland behind the stomach.

What is type 2 diabetes?

Ninety to 95 percent of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. Most people with type 2 diabetes have two problems: the pancreas may not produce enough insulin, and secondly, fat, muscle, and liver cells cannot use it effectively (insulin resistance). This means that glucose builds up in the blood, overflows into the urine, and passes out of the body without fulfilling its role as the body's main source of fuel.

Why the fuss?

It is important to know that uncontrolled diabetes is one of the leading causes of kidney failure, limb amputation, and new-onset blindness. People with diabetes are also two to four times more likely than people without diabetes to develop heart disease.