Nearly 25% of Americans are thought to have prediabetesa condition of slightly elevated

blood sugar levels that often develops into diabetes within 10 yearsbut only 4% of people
know it. What's worse, of those who are aware, less than half really tried to reduce their risk by
losing weight, eating less, and exercising more.
These are just a few of the good-for-you habits that can reverse prediabetes and ensure you never
get the real thing, which can mean a lifetime of drugs and blood sugar monitoring, an increased
risk of heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, and other scary health threats. Read on for 10 healthy
lifestyle habits everyone can start today.
Pick up the right appetizer
May we recommend the salad? Eating greens with a vinaigrette before a starchy entre may help
control your blood sugar levels. In an Arizona State University study, people with type 2 diabetes
or a precursor condition called insulin resistance had lower blood sugar levels if they consumed
about 2 tablespoons of vinegar just before a high-carb meal. "Vinegar contains acetic acid, which
may inactivate certain starch-digesting enzymes, slowing carbohydrate digestion," says lead
researcher Carol Johnston, PhD.
In fact, vinegars effects may be similar to those of the blood sugarlowering medication
acarbose (Precose). Before you eat that fettuccine, enjoy a salad with this dressing: Whisk 3
tablespoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons flaxseed oil, 1 clove garlic (crushed), 1/4 teaspoon honey, 3
tablespoons yogurt, and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. (Makes four 2-tablespoon
servings.)
Ditch Your Car
Walk as much as you can every day. You'll be healthiereven if you don't lose any weight
People in a Finnish study who exercised the mostup to 4 hours a week, or about 35 minutes a
daydropped their risk of diabetes by 80%, even if they didnt lose any weight. This pattern
holds up in study after study: The famed Nurses' Health Study, for example, found that women
who worked up a sweat more than once a week reduced their risk of developing diabetes by
30%. And Chinese researchers determined that people with high blood sugar who engaged in
moderate exercise (and made other lifestyle changes) were 40% less likely to develop full-blown
diabetes.
Why is walking so wonderful? Studies show that exercise helps your body utilize the hormone
insulin more efficiently by increasing the number of insulin receptors on your cells. Insulin helps
blood sugar move into cells, where it needs to go to provide energy and nutrition. Otherwise it
just sloshes around in your bloodstream, gumming up blood vessel walls and eventually causing
serious health problems.

Be a Cereal Connoisseur
Selecting the right cereal can help you slim down and steady blood sugar. A higher whole grain
intake is also linked to lower rates of breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and
strokeand cereal is one of the best sources of these lifesaving grains, if you know what to shop
for.
Some tips: Look for the words high fiber on the box; that ensures at least 5 g per serving. But
don't stop there. Check the label; in some brands, the benefits of fiber are overshadowed by the
addition of refined grains, added sugar, or cholesterol-raising fats.
Decode the grains: Where that fiber comes from matters too, so check the ingredient list to find
out exactly what those flakes or squares are made from. Millet, amaranth, quinoa, and oats are
always whole grain, but if you dont see whole in front of wheat, corn, barley, or rice, these
grains have been refined and arent as healthy.
Watch for hidden sugar: The "total sugars" listing doesnt distinguish between added and
naturally occurring sugars; the best way to tell is scan the ingredients again.
The following terms represent added sugars: brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup,
dextrose, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, invert sugar, maltose, malt syrup, molasses, sugar,
and sucrose. Skip cereals that list any of these within the first three ingredients (which are listed
by weight).

Indulge Your Coffee Cravings

If you're a coffee fan, keep on sipping. The beverage may keep diabetes at bay. After they
studied 126,210 women and men, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that
big-time coffee drinkersthose who downed more than 6 daily cupshad a 29 to 54% lower
risk of developing type 2 diabetes during the 18-year study. Sipping 4 to 5 cups cut risk about
29%; 1 to 3 cups per day had little effect. Decaf coffee offered no protection. Caffeine in other
formstea, soda, chocolatedid.
Researchers suspect that caffeine may help by boosting metabolism. And coffee, the major
caffeine source in the study, also contains potassium, magnesium, and antioxidants that help cells
absorb sugar. But before you become a VIP at Dunkin Donuts, remember that a medium chainstore cuppa is about 14 to 16 ouncesright there, that's 2 "cups" by standard measures.
Ditch the Drive-Thru
You might get away with an occasional fast-food splurge, but become a regular "fast feeder" and
your risk of diabetes skyrockets. That's what University of Minnesota scientists found after they
studied 3,000 people, ages 18 to 30, for 15 years. At the start, everyone was at a normal weight.
But those who ate fast food more than twice a week gained 10 more pounds and developed twice
the rate of insulin resistancethe two major risk factors for type 2 diabetescompared with
those who indulged less than once a week.
In addition to the jumbo portions, many fast food meals are loaded with unhealthy trans fats and
refined carbohydrates, which may raise diabetes risk even if your weight remains stable. A better
bet: Keep a baggie of DIY trail mix in your purse at all times in case hunger pangs come on.
Nuts are known blood sugarlowerers.

Go Veggie More Often

Consider red meat a treatnot something to eat every day. Women who ate red meat at least 5
times a week had a 29% higher risk of type 2 diabetes than those who ate it less than once a
week, found a 37,000-woman study at Brigham and Women's Hospital. And eating processed
meats such as bacon and hot dogs at least 5 times a week raised type 2 diabetes risk by 43%,
compared with eating them less than once a week.
Spice Up Your Life
Cinnamon may help rein in high blood sugar. German researchers studied 65 adults with type 2
diabetes who then took a capsule containing the equivalent of 1 g of cinnamon powder or a
placebo 3 times a day for 4 months. By the end, cinnamon reduced blood sugar by about 10%;
the placebo users improved by only 4%. Why? Compounds in cinnamon may activate enzymes
that stimulate insulin receptors. The sweet spice has also been shown to help lower cholesterol
and triglycerides, blood fats that may contribute to diabetes risk.
Unwind Every Day
Chronic stress can send blood sugar levels soaring. When you're stressed, your body is primed
to take action. This gearing up causes your heart to beat faster, your breath to quicken, and your
stomach to knot. But it also triggers your blood sugar levels to skyrocket.
"Under stress, your body goes into fight-or-flight mode, raising blood sugar levels to prepare you
for action," says Richard Surwit, PhD, author of The Mind-Body Diabetes Revolutionand chief
of medical psychology at Duke University. If your cells are insulin resistant, the sugar builds up
in your blood, with nowhere to goleading to chronically high levels. The good news is, simple
relaxation exercises and other stress management moves can help you gain control over blood
sugar levels, according to a study conducted at Duke University.
Try these proven relaxers:
Start your day with yoga, meditation, or a walk.
Take three deep, slow breaths before answering the phone, starting the car, serving the kids
lunch, or any other activity.
Reclaim your Sundays as a day of rest or fun with your family, relaxing, worship, etc. Try to
avoid spending the whole day on obligatory errands such as mowing the lawn, grocery shopping,
or catching up on work.
Get a Perfect Night's Rest
There's a sleep sweet spot when it comes to preventing diabetes.
A Yale University study of 1,709 men found that those who regularly got less than 6 hours of
shut-eye doubled their diabetes risk; those who slept more than 8 hours tripled their odds.
Previous studies have turned up similar findings in women. "When you sleep too littleor too
long because of sleep apneayour nervous system stays on alert," says lead researcher Klar
Yaggi, MD, an assistant professor of pulmonary medicine at Yale.
This interferes with hormones that regulate blood sugar. A Columbia University study found that
sleeping less than 5 hours also doubled the risk of high blood pressure. For a good nights rest,
avoid caffeine after noon, leave work at the office, and skip late-night TV. Oversleeping may be a
sign of depression or a treatable sleep disorder, so talk with your doctor.

Keep Good Company

Diabetes is more likely to strike women who live alone.
Women who live alone are 2.5 times more likely to develop diabetes than women who live with
a partner, other adults, or children, according to a study published in Diabetes Care. Researchers
examined what role household status played in the progression of impaired glucose tolerance to
diabetes among 461 women, ages 50 to 64, and found higher risk among women living alone.
But don't freak out if you live solo: Lifestyle factors could explain this finding. Women who
lived alone were also more likely to smoke and less likely to have healthy dietary habits or
consume alcohol.
Have a Blood Test
Many diabetes symptoms are silent. A simple blood test can reveal whether sugar levels put
you at risk for the condition. People with prediabetesslightly elevated blood sugar levels,
between 100 and 125 mg/dloften develop a full-blown case within 10 years. Knowing your
blood sugar levels are a little high can put you on a track to steadying themwith simple diet
and exercise changesbefore diabetes sets in and medications may be necessary

Health and fitness

10 ways to never get diabetes
Pick up the right appetizer
- Eating greens with a vinaigrette before a starchy entre may help control your blood
-

sugar levels.
Vinegar contains acetic acid, which may inactivate certain starch-digesting enzymes,

slowing carbohydrate digestion

Ditch Your Car
- The person who exercised the mostup to 4 hours a week, or about 35 minutes a
-

daydropped their risk of diabetes even if they didnt lose any weight.
Studies show that exercise helps your body utilize the hormone insulin more

efficiently by increasing the number of insulin receptors on your cells.

Indulge Your Coffee Cravings
- Big-time coffee drinkers those who downed more than 6 daily cupshad a 29 to
54% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes during the 18-year study.
- Researchers suspect that caffeine may help by boosting metabolism.
Ditch drive-thru
- You might get away with an occasional fast-food splurge, but become a regular "fast
-

feeder" and your risk of diabetes skyrockets.

The jumbo portions, many fast food meals are loaded with unhealthy trans fats and
refined carbohydrates, which may raise diabetes risk even if your weight remains

stable.
Spice up your life
- Compounds in cinnamon may activate enzymes that stimulate insulin receptors.
The sweet spice has shown to help lower cholesterol and triglycerides, blood fats
that may contribute to diabetes risk.
Unwind Every Day
- Chronic stress can send blood sugar levels soaring.
- Simple relaxation exercises and other stress management moves can help you gain
control over blood sugar levels
Keep good company
- Researchers examined what role household status played in the progression of
impaired glucose tolerance to diabetes among 461 women, ages 50 to 64, and found
-

higher risk among women living alone.

Women who lived alone were also more likely to smoke and less likely to have

healthy dietary habits or consume alcohol.

Have a Blood Test
- A simple blood test can reveal whether sugar levels put you at risk for the condition.
- Knowing your blood sugar levels are a little high can put you on a track to steadying
themwith simple diet and exercise changesbefore diabetes sets in and
medications may be necessary

There are 10 ways for us to get away from diabetes. Firstly, we should pick up the right
appetizer. We can ditch our car by walk to everywhere. Besides, we can Indulge coffee cravings
because caffein can boost our metabolism. We must ditch drive-thru because fast food brings a
lot of effect to our health. We can eat some sweet spice daily to help lower cholesterol and
triglycerides, blood fats that may contribute to diabetes risk. Furthermore, we should unwind
ourself everyday. It is because stress might increase the blood sugar levels. To get away from
diabetes, we must keep good company and avoid alone. We also must do the blood test
regularly to ensure that our sugar level is on normal.

The reason that i have selected in this article 2 because the news about the diabetes
among teenagers have increased. Through this article, it can show to them how to get
away from the diabetes. If all of us do the step above, we sure can defend the diabetes
and live in life peacefully. The teenagers always think that earn more money or get the
good result is the main point in their future life. Therefore, they have already forgotten
the importance of healthy lifestyle. Some of them keep on burning night oil and it caused
them to eat some dessert or fast food to maintain energy. As long as possible, it caused
them get diabetes.
Another reason that i chose this article because i want to encourage all the teens
to be more concern on their health. It is not a joke. The diabetes can caused someone
death if we do not take action.