Type 2 Diabetes Risk Factors

Knowing the type 2 diabetes risk factors may prevent you from ever developing this devastating disease!

Type 2 diabetes is now so common in this country, that you probably know several people with this condition. The type 2 diabetes risk factors come down to two basic categories: genetic disposition and diet. Knowing what these risk factors are can prevent you or other family members from ever developing this disease. Once diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, it’s far more difficult to manage and avoid the many complications of this progressive and painful disease.

It’s irrefutable that there is a genetic factor involved. Native Americans, Eskimos and African Americans have the highest rate of type 2 diabetes. This is probably due to the fact that both these ethnic groups have adopted a Westernized diet in a relatively short period of time. Their native diets did not include the highly refined and sugar laden diets most Americans eat today. While other ethnic groups may have a genetic advantage of centuries of the Western diet, gradually adapting over hundreds of years, no one is exempt. It may just take longer to develop.

Obesity is no longer confined to older folks. Due to poor dietary habits, we now find children who are both obese and afflicted with diabetes. This makes the connection to the effects of poor food choices and diabetes clear. It’s the food you eat, as well as the amount, that made you overweight in the first place. No matter what your age, if you’re overweight, lose it!

Genetics and obesity are clearly two important type 2 diabetes risk factors.

With poor dietary habits, you’re a sitting duck! It’s time to change your diet to more healthful foods. Knowledge is power. Knowing the specific type 2 diabetes risk factors in food choices can literally save your life.

Insulin resistance develops when you overload your pancreas with large meals of refined, high carb foods and lots of sugar, leading to compromised pancreatic function, reducing your body’s ability to metabolize sugar. Pancreatic exhaustion is unequivocally, a type 2 diabetes risk factor. If, instead of eating the traditional three squares a day, you divide your food intake into several smaller meals a day, reduces the load on your pancreas, keeping it in good shape.

In addition to eating several small meals, make sure they are low in refined sugar, high in fiber and include complex carbohydrates, which slowly break down into sugars your pancreas can deal with at a moderate pace. A can of soda provides an instant rush of sugar into your bloodstream, whereas a plate of fruits or veggies is broken down over time.

Most fruits and veggies are also high in fiber, which flushes toxins from your body and keeps your digestive system healthy. People with type 2 diabetes are always told to include plenty of fiber in their diet, as one way to manage their condition and avoid complications. It stands to reason that a lack of fiber is another type 2 diabetes risk factor.

You’ve heard it said that drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day is essential to a healthy diet. Water flushes a variety of toxins from your kidneys, keeping them fit and healthy. Patients with type 2 diabetes usually suffer a deterioration of the kidneys, so help yours stay healthy with a daily intake of as much water as possible.

To top off your healthy eating program, stay active and get sufficient exercise. Your heart will thank you. A lack of exercise is also a type 2 diabetes risk factor, as cardiovascular problems go hand in hand with diabetes.

Understanding these risk factors and implementing a good anti-diabetic lifestyle puts you ahead of the curve!

Prevention of Obesity and How To Stay Motivated

Gaining weight? Make prevention of obesity your target! Get motivated now!

Obesity is now epidemic in the U.S. While there are some medical conditions which can cause uncontrolled weight gain, the vast majority of overweight and obese people simply eat too much, with poor food choices making up the majority of their diet. No one would say obesity is attractive, nor healthy. Prevention of obesity is really a straightforward proposition. If you’ll forgive the pun, prevention of obesity is truly worth many pounds of cure.

People of normal, stable weight may gain a few pounds over the holidays, partaking of all that holiday cheer. Cookies, fudge, delicious gravies and a few glasses of eggnog are all it takes to get you there. However, most people shed those pounds within a couple of months, once they return to normal eating habits. It all comes down to a reduction of calories.

Prevention of obesity should become your target when you find you’ve gained ten pounds or more and it doesn’t come off. An alarm should sound off in your head when weight starts creeping on and you seem unable to lose weight. Now is the time to take action! It’s far easier to lose ten or twenty pounds than a hundred!

Other signals that indicate a prevention program is necessary include finding that your clothes are too snug. Many people have sections in their closet, one their ‘fat’ clothes, with another for their ‘skinny’ clothes. Not only is this an unnecessary expense, but a psychological trick you’re playing on yourself. It goes something like this. “Well, I guess I just have to accept it – people do tend to gain weight as they get older. What’s one dress size anyway? I still look OK.”

The trouble with this attitude is that you’re putting yourself in denial. This means you’ll not be motivated to prevent obesity, because you don’t think it’s possible. You might make a token attempt to diet, but you won’t stick with the program. This is how that weight eventually balloons to an unmanageable problem.

So, the real core issue in the prevention of obesity begins in your mind. You must be motivated. Do you want to wait until the day when some little child in the grocery tells her Mom, “Look how fat that woman is!”? That’s when it’s useless to deny the fact. Prevention of obesity involves an early start.

If you need help in getting motivated, here are a few tips. Go online and calculate your BMI. Read up on the many health problems you may well face. Heart disease, poor circulation, diabetes and joint stress damage are just a few. Dig through old photo albums to find pictures of you when you were of normal weight. Tape that photo on the frig, at eye level, along with a picture of you now. Try on one of your ‘skinny’ clothes.

OK. Now you’ve got the motivation. You should first check with your doctor to be sure you don’t have a medical condition, like a thyroid imbalance. If that’s not the case, get ready to diet. Don’t cut yourself any slack. Remember, prevention of obesity is your goal.

Losing weight always boils down to calories. How do you know how many calories you normally eat? Keep a food journal for one week. Write down every last cracker and soda that passes your lips. Get a calorie counter book. Ask your doctor to help plan a diet that’s healthy and right for you.

Motivation is the key to prevention of obesity. With a radical dose of motivation, you’ll lose that extra weight for good!