Did you know that frequent urination, slow healing wounds, and tingling hands and feet can all be signs of early diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which cells cannot use blood sugar (glucose) efficiently for energy. This happens when blood sugar levels get too high over time , and the cells become insensitive or resistant to insulin. Adding insult to injury, the majority of men with type 2 diabetes also have low testosterone levels.
One of the biggest contributors to type 2 diabetes is food choice. Recent studies have clearly pointed to the fact that the biggest cause of obesity and type 2 diabetes is the excessive intake of carbohydrates and sugar. Your cells can’t use glucose without insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas. Insulin helps the cells take in glucose and convert it to energy. When your diet is high in carbohydrates and sugar, over time you begin to dull the body’s sensitivity to insulin – a condition called insulin resistance. And it’s the first step towards full-blown diabetes.
Insulin Resistance
If you have insulin resistance, your muscle, fat, and liver cells don’t respond to insulin properly and can’t correctly absorb and use glucose from the bloodstream. This created a demand for higher and higher amounts of insulin to literally shove glucose into the resistant cells. The pancreas tries to keep up with the demand by producing more insulin, but with less effect. The result is that glucose levels go up in the bloodstream. Many people with insulin resistance have high levels of both blood glucose and insulin circulating in their blood at the same time. This dynamic has a highly damaging effect on all tissues and organs in the body.
Even if you have insulin resistance, you don’t have to resign yourself to a future that includes diabetes. In 2001, the National Institute of Health completed the Diabetes Prevention program, a clinical trial designed to find the most effective ways of preventing type 2 diabetes in overweight people with insulin resistance. The researchers found that simple lifestyle changes reduced the risk of diabetes by 58 percent.
Live a Low-Glucose Lifestyle
What you eat plays a critical role in preventing, managing, or even reversing diabetes. The most important thing to know is that diets high in starchy or sugary foods, and drinks with added sugars promotes high fasting blood sugar and lead to insulin resistance. Opt instead of whole foods and if possible, follow a Mediterranean type diet.
Exercise can also help you to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. When we engage in physical activity, our muscles require more energy in the form of blood sugar. This lowers the amount of glucose circulating in your blood. Monitor your steps and take up an activity or group class – it can do wonders for your stress levels as well as your blood glucose.
While diet and exercise can go a long way towards keeping your blood sugar levels in a healthy range, adding a blood sugar balancing supplement to your routine is also beneficial. Look for a supplement containing nutrients like niacin, chromium, salacia and bitter melon, which can help to naturally support blood sugar balance, weight control, and more. Click here for more blood sugar balancing tips.
Let’s get heart-smart and take control of our cardiovascular health!
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