Type 2 Diabetes is also called Adult Onset Diabetes and affects an estimated 15 million Americans. It is more common in adults ages 45 and over and more common in people with other endocrine disorders, including thyroid diseases. There are steps that can be taken to reduce your risk of experiencing the onset of this disease that causes a dysfunction in the way your body metabolizes your blood sugar (glucose), as outlined below.

STEP ONE: Avoid weight gain and excessively high blood glucose, by being faithful to a diet low in refined sugars. Refined sugars, are those that do not come naturally but are processed sugars used to manufacture junk foods, such as cakes, cookies, candies, pies and soft drinks. Consuming too much refined sugar not only causes excess weight gain but over time, can also cause the body to lose its ability to regulate that sugar via the hormone called insulin. This hormone that is released by the pancreas, helps metabolize (convert) the sugar we consume, into energy for the body and helps carry that energy to every cell in the body. Without adequate glucose in the blood, our organs do not function properly and one major organ that is highly dependent upon glucose is the brain. There is however a limit to how much glucose the body is able to metabolize and when there is a continual excess of it, it is converted into fat and carbohydrates as well and stored in the body. Over time, this causes weight gain and an inability of the body to continue converting the excess amounts of glucose being consumed and at this point, a person may develop a condition called “insulin resistance”, a pre-diabetic condition that over time has the potential to become full blown diabetes.

STEP TWO: Incorporate adequate exercise into your weekly schedule, which helps to keep your weight down and helps the body to metabolize glucose. Exercise is essential in helping to burn calories and fat in the body, so that less of it is stored. Exercise also helps the body to build muscle tissue from the things we eat, rather than inactivity, which contributes to the body storing more fat. It also helps the body by circulating the hormones that are active in the blood stream and that contribute to our health, energy and metabolism, including insulin,which regulates our blood glucose levels. Even mild exercise such as walking for 20 minutes, three or more times a week, can help the body with metabolism and prevention of weight gain and can contribute to weight loss.

STEP THREE: Get regular check ups by your Doctor and monitor your glucose levels regularly, especially if diabetes runs in your family. It is a good idea for everyone to get yearly check ups by their Doctor but if one or both of your parents or one of your siblings has diabetes, this becomes even more important. Diabetes, like other endocrine diseases (glandular), can run in families and so if a close relative has diabetes, you are at significantly increased risk for developing the disease yourself. Early prevention is the key to avoiding this potentially serious disease, which upon experiencing the onset of, also puts a person at higher risk for heart disease, kidney failure and glaucoma, which is an eye disorder that can eventually lead to diminished eyesight and even blindness.
There are also home glucose monitors available, that allow a person to check their own blood glucose levels regularly, in the convenience of their home. A person at risk for diabetes can check their glucose level at different times of the day and keep a record of their readings, so that they can detect any pattern or change in their glucose regulation and report these changes to their Doctor.

STEP FOUR: Avoid alcohol or only consume it in cautious moderation. People at risk for diabetes or who actually have diabetes are cautioned to avoid alcohol if possible or to at least drink it in moderation. Alcohol reacts very quickly in the body and your body depends on your liver to clear the alcohol from your system because it is recognized by the body as a toxin. When you drink alcohol, the liver will not function in converting glucose into carbohydrates and fat because it is busy clearing the body of alcohol and this, results in a spike or increase in glucose levels in the blood. People who are on insulin shots to treat their diabetes or on an oral medication can seriously hinder the effectiveness of their medication, through alcohol consumption and this is especially true when they consume alcohol on an empty stomach or in excessive amounts.
The liver and the hormone insulin, both work in the body to regulate glucose, the liver being the organ that converts it into fat and carbohydrates or “stored energy” and insulin being the hormone that converts it into “immediate energy” for the cells of the body.