3 surprising ways to lower your diabetes risk

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes: it accounts for approximately 90% of cases. 

This type of diabetes generally occurs in adults aged 40 and over. But it is also appearing in younger people, often due to increasing obesity.

The good news, according to Diabetes Quebec, is that changing your lifestyle habits can help. 

Positive lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by almost 60% — or at least delay its onset and complications. 

You’re already monitoring your weight and your diet, but want to do more? Here are three effective tools.

According to the Canada’s Food Guide, people with type 2 diabetes should avoid carbohydrates that can cause a rapid increase in blood sugar.

Limit or avoid the following carbohydrates:

• Sugary drinks: soft drinks, fruit-flavoured drinks, energy drinks and sports drinks.
• Sweet foods: cakes, pastries, doughnuts, muffins, granola bars, cookies, jams, jellies and spreads.
• Refined grains: white bread, white rice, non-whole-grain pasta and other white flour products.

Choose the following instead:

• Whole-grain foods
• Vegetables and some fruit
• Legumes such as beans, peas and lentils

Regular physical activity is an excellent way to prevent type 2 diabetes. 

Here are recommendations from the Montreal Heart Institute’s Diabetes Prevention Clinic:

Get moving every day. Exercise daily for at least 30 minutes. Everything counts, even the first minute!

Do high-intensity activities. The physical activity you choose may vary in intensity, but it should stimulate the body. Brisk walking, swimming and cycling are good examples.

Strengthen your muscles. Include muscle-strengthening exercises at least twice a week.

Physical activity improves the body’s use of insulin. Combined with a healthy diet, it is the first line of treatment for type 2 diabetes.

Rest and relaxation play an important role in preventing diabetes.

Poor sleep and chronic stress can affect a person’s glycemic balance. This can aggravate existing diabetes. It also increases the risk of developing diabetes in individuals who are predisposed to it.

These relaxation techniques help reduce stress and improve glycemic management:

• meditation
• yoga
• deep breathing

Stress influences diabetes management in three main ways:

• It can affect your glycemic balance. Hormones can cause blood sugar levels to increase, to provide energy to the body in response to stress. In people who are living with diabetes, this increase can last longer if there is a lack of insulin.
• Stress can negatively influence diabetes management. It can lead to harmful behaviours, such as poor eating habits.
• The relationship between stress and alcohol consumption is like a vicious circle. In stressful situations, it may be tempting to consume alcohol to reduce the effects. Yet drinking alcohol can actually increase your stress level.

Relaxation does not replace diabetes treatment, but it is part of an overall management plan. Studies have shown that reducing stress can decrease fasting glucose levels.

To find out if you’re at risk of developing prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, complete the Canadian Diabetes Risk Questionnaire. 

If you’re at risk, your doctor can recommend a personalized lifestyle plan that will work for you and your family.