How can diets and exercises play a role in preventing diabetes?

Written by: Kariobeary

How to prevent diabetes?

Regular, active exercises and healthy diets can help prevent most cases of type 2 diabetes.1

What is considered a regular active exercise?

Exercise for half an hour every day.

Studies have shown that a half-an-hour exercise every day reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 30%. 1,2

Why regular active exercise can prevent type 2 diabetes?

First of all, inactivity itself promotes type 2 diabetes.3 Every 2 hours a person spends watching TV instead of pursuing something more active increases the chance of developing diabetes by 20%, the risk of heart disease by 15% and early death by 13%. 4

               In addition, working muscles more often and making them harder can improve the ability of muscle cells to use insulin and absorb glucose. The increased ability of muscle cells to take up glucose puts less stress on the β cells, the insulin-making cells in the pancreas. Therefore, exercises and stronger muscles can prevent insulin insensitivity, thus type 2 diabetes.

What contributes to a healthier diet? 

1)   More whole grains or whole grain products; less refined grains and other highly processed carbohydrates 5,6  

Some examples of whole grains: barley, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, rye, oats, corn                

Some examples of refined grains: white bread, white rice

Some examples of highly processed carbohydrates: donuts, breakfast cereals

2)   Less sugary drinks; choose water, coffee, or tea instead. 7-11

3)   Healthy fats 12-16

4)   Limit red meat (beef, pork, lamb) and processed meat (bacon, hot dogs, ham, and other deli meats); choose nuts, beans, whole grains, poultry, or fish instead 17,18

Why/how do the healthier diets help prevent type 2 diabetes?

1)   Whole grains

Instead of a magical nutrient that fights diabetes and improves health, it is the entire package for whole grains where every intact element work together that reduces the risk of diabetes. For example, the bran and fiber in whole grains make it more difficult for digestive enzymes to break down the starches into glucose. This leads to lower and slower increases in blood sugar and insulin, therefore, a less stressed insulin-making machinery in the body. With less stress for β cells, insulin can be made more efficiently, and the body can better utilize the insulin made by these cells, which lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes.19

In addition, whole grains are also rich in essential vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that help prevent diabetes.19

2)   Less sugary drinks; choose water, coffee, and tea instead

Sugary beverages have a high glycemic index and load. The glycemic index is a measurement to indicate how quickly and how much blood sugar level was raised after eating; while the glycemic load is the total amount of carbohydrates excluding fiber the food delivers. Higher glycemic load and index are associated with an increased risk of diabetes.7

In recent years, studies have shown that people who drink more sugary drinks gained more weight than people who cut back on sugary drinks.7-9 As weight gain is considered one of the risk factors for type 2 diabetes, weight gain by sugary drinks contributes to the explanation of increased diabetes risk in those who drink more sugary drinks.­7-9 In addition, more evidence has suggested that sugary drinks also contribute to chronic inflammation, high triglycerides, decreased “good” (HDL) cholesterol, and increased insulin resistance, all of which are risk factors for diabetes.20

3)   Healthy fats

The type of fats in your diet can also affect the development of diabetes. Healthy fats such as the polyunsaturated fats found in liquid vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds can help ward off type 2 diabetes,12 while trans fats found in margarine, packaged baked goods, and fried foods in fast-food restaurants will do the opposite. 13, 14

If you already have diabetes, eating fish will not help protect against diabetes, but will help protect you against a heart attack or dying from heart diseases. 15,16

4)   Less red meat & processed meat

There is growing evidence that suggests eating red meat and processed red meat increases the risk of diabetes, even among people who consume only small amounts.17 This can be possibly caused by the high iron content of this red meat. High levels of iron can diminish insulin’s effectiveness and damage the β cells that produce insulin, leading to insulin insensitivity or lack of insulin produced in the body. For processed red meats, high levels of sodium and nitrites in preservatives are the ones to blame. 21