Latest News

  • Home
  • Food & Health
  • Reversing diabetes: 3 habits that can help control your sugar levels
Reversing diabetes: 3 habits that can help control your sugar levels
Monday, September 13, 2021 IST
Reversing diabetes: 3 habits that can help control your sugar levels

Sedentary lifestyle coupled with rising stress and faulty dietary choices have increased the risk of diabetes in people. An expert suggests ways to reverse it.

 
 

Diabetes one of the fastest growing diseases worldwide is rising rapidly in people of all age groups including adolescents and children. The condition occurs when the body doesn't produce enough insulin or can't use it effectively. From heart diseases, kidney problems, stroke to lower limb amputation, the chronic disease poses many health risks to people affected by it.
 
Sedentary lifestyle coupled with rising stress and faulty dietary choices have increased the risk of people getting the disease. People who have diabetes in their family history have more chances of developing it.
 
"The inactive lifestyle leads to loss of muscle mass that may cause insulin resistance because our bodies are meant to be physically active. For thousands of years we led an active lifestyle, and it is only for the past 100 years or so we have got somewhat sedentary, explains Dr Arbinder Singal, a renowned super specialist doctor and co-founder & CEO of Fitterfly, a health tech start-up.
 
Dr Singal also adds how our reliance on wheat and rice as staple food has been contributing to the carbohydrate load in our diet that could be putting us at risk of diabetes. He says our body breaks down carbohydrates easily which raises the level of glucose very quickly.
 
Another factor that may be increasing our diabetes risk is stress. It is thanks to the complexities of our modern lifestyle, which are increasing by the day as we work from home and hardly get space to relax or communicate with people. Stress affects our metabolic activity and stimulates the release of various hormones, which can result in increase in blood sugar level.
 
"Our faulty lifestyle is also affecting children whose physical activity is limited as they are not going to schools or playgrounds like before. Children do what their parents do and when they do not follow healthy habits themselves, it increases chances of the kids developing diabetes in future too," says Dr Singal.
 
How to reverse prediabetes, diabetes or reduce chances of getting diabetes
 
While it is possible to reverse diabetes at early stages and reverse prediabetes, people often are not aware how to do it considering there is so much information available on internet and they may end up not working on themselves at all and rely on their medication for bringing down their sugar levels.
 
Dr. Singal suggests three extremely simple lifestyle changes that if followed for 90 days can reverse early stages of diabetes, prediabetes or reduce your chances of getting it.
 
1. Reduce your carbs intake
 
People often lack awareness of how healthy they are. The first thing they should do is to invest time and energy to assess it. People should assess how much carbohydrates and calories they are having in their everyday diet. The first thing that is done in reversal of diabetes is to bring down the carbohydrate intake to 50%. Most of the Indians consume 60-70% of carbs. The moment we cut down carbs by even 10%, you start to see the change. Technology can also come to rescue as there are various apps that are available these days to help track carbs and calories in diet.
 
2. Work on your core strength
 
While walking is extremely important, exercises to build upper body mass, back, leg, core go a long way in reversing your diabetes. People who have better core strength have 33% lower risk of strokes, heart diseases and diabetes, according to studies.
 
3. Sleep and stress management
 
People should not hurry to go to their beds and take out an hour before they sleep to just reflect and relax. In the morning, the first one hour should be dedicated to ourselves. Sleeping is equally important and at least 7-8 hours of sleep is recommended for body's cleansing mechanism to work properly. There should be a 2-hours gap before last meal and sleep.

 
 

How to assess risk of getting diabetes
 
Before you develop diabetes, you have prediabetes which is an asymptomatic condition. People who have family history of diabetes and a BMI of more than 23 and are above 30 years of age can get online prediabetes risk assessment test. You have to answer 10 questions and if your score is more than 5, you should get fasting blood glucose test done. One should continue to do this test every year.
 
70% of prediabetics, if they do not work on themselves, would progress to diabetes within 5-7 years, on the other hand, making the required lifestyle changes would cut your chance of diabetes by 70-80%.
 
Workout for diabetics
 
What works best for the people with diabetes if they don't have joint issues, back pain, or neck pain is 15-20 minutes of exercise. Doing jumping jacks, lunges, crunches, pushups, three times a week for 20 minutes can help fight insulin resistance.

 
 
 
 
 

Related Topics

 
 
 

Trending News & Articles

 Article
12 Early Signs Of Lung Cancer To Never Ignore

Lung cancer is usually not noticeable during the early stages. Most people are diagnosed when the disease is at an advanced stage. According to Cancer.org, it is ...

Recently posted . 8K views . 2 min read
 

 Article
11 Surprising Benefits Of Wood Apple Or Bael Fruit

The health benefits of wood apple include [1] relief from constipation, indigestion, peptic ulcer, piles, respiratory problems, diarrhea, and dysentery. It also b...

Recently posted . 5K views . 2 min read
 

 Article
10 Amazing Benefits Of Bael (Kaitha)

Bael, also known as the “Wood Apple”, is a species native to India. The bael tree is considered to be sacred to the Hindus. A famous drink known as sh...

Recently posted . 5K views . 2 min read
 

 Article
These 7 Remedies Can Remove The Milia (Milk Spots) From Your Face

Do you know what milia are? Milia is a skin condition which causes the appearance of small white hard bumps on the skin which usually appear on the face, neck or ch...

Recently posted . 5K views . 2 min read
 

 
 

More in Food & Health

 Article
How Pineapple Affects Your Blood Sugar

People who suffer from diabetes are aware how important it is to keep track of the food they eat in order to regulate their blood sugar levels. They should also pay...

Recently posted. 981 views . 2 min read
 

 Article
7 Things About Artificial Hearts That You Should Know

From 1969 to September 5, 2014, 1,413 artificial hearts of 13 different designs have been implanted in heart failure patients. Here’s an update on the state o...

Recently posted. 861 views . 1 min read
 

 Article
14 Vegetables Contain More Iron Than Meat

Popeye knew it well, iron is an indispensable ally for our body. In general, a balanced diet should cover our needs, but how to provide us with iron? In foods such ...

Recently posted. 1K views . 1 min read
 

 Video
LEMON BUTTER CHICKEN THIGHS



Recently posted . 1K views
 

 Reviews
17 Ultimate Dhabas In Delhi: EatTreat Bucket List



Recently posted . 1K views . 221 min read
 

 Article
Want to Sleep Better, Feel Better, Save Money? Try Out 'Dry January': Study

Cutting back on booze also brought a large number of other health benefits including improved overall health, better sleep, more energy, weight loss, better conce...

Recently posted. 710 views . 1 min read
 

 Article
Stop smoking and decrease heftiness to cut dementia risk

Research shows that 35% of dementia cases can be prevented if people increase early life education, reduce mid-life hearing loss, obesity and high blood pressure, a...

Recently posted. 1K views . 18 min read
 

 
 
 

   Prashnavali

  Thought of the Day

When you find an idea that you just can’t stop thinking about, that’s probably a good one to pursue.
Anonymous

Be the first one to comment on this story

Close
Post Comment
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST


ads
Back To Top