Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition that occurs when your pancreas decreases insulin production. This disables your body's absorption of glucose, provided through complex carbohydrate consumption. When this occurs, your blood sugar rises, taking you into dangerous territory, such as higher risk of kidney failure, coma and death. Effective treatment of type 2 diabetes has helped millions of people live longer, healthier lives, but there are also steps you can take to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.
Step 1
Exercise regularly to keep your body working properly. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, for every two hours of inactivity, your risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases by 14 percent. Walking, running and cycling help build lean muscle and allow your body to process glucose normally, which decreases your diabetes risk by 30 percent when performed on a daily basis for 30 minutes per day.
Step 2
Eat a healthy diet consisting of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains. According to the American Diabetes Association, these foods will help you feel fuller longer while providing you with the proper nutrition to fight off diabetes. Lean meats and low-calorie foods will also help prevent this chronic disease.
Step 3
Throw out your cigarettes and lead a smoke free life. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, smoking increases your risk of type 2 diabetes by 50 percent. Higher risks plague heavy smokers who use multiple packs of cigarettes per day.
Step 4
Lose weight and keep it off. Overweight individuals put additional strain on their pancreas, leading to increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Diet and exercise along with lifestyle changes can help you lose weight and greatly reduce your risk of diabetes. Avoiding sugary, high-calorie foods such as chips, sodas and cookies will help while exercising burns fat and increases lean muscle.
Step 5
Drink one glass of alcohol per day if you are female and two glasses per day if you are male. Although this may sound strange, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, moderate alcohol consumption increases your body's natural glucose usage, decreasing risk of type 2 diabetes. Heavy alcohol consumption increases your risk, so these findings are not a license to drink heavily.
