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Home  Family Health Prevent—or Undo—Pre-Diabetes
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Prevent—or Undo—Pre-Diabetes |
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Wednesday, 31 May 2006 |
If you’ve been diagnosed as pre-diabetic, you may be able to reverse the condition by making changes in your lifestyle—most notably, by improving your diet and increasing your physical activity. In fact, it’s been shown that just 30 minutes a day of moderate physical activity, along with a 5-10% reduction in body weight, can reduce diabetes risk by 58%.
Work up a meal plan that fits your schedule and eating habits. The right one will help improve your blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol numbers while keeping your weight on track. Your doctor and/or a registered dietitian (RD) can help create a meal plan that works for you.
The rule of thumb, of course, is to choose foods rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber rather than processed foods. Eat a wide variety of vegetables, whole grains, fruits, non-fat dairy products and beans. You can include some lean meats, poultry and fish.
Keep in mind that there’s no one perfect food. Choose a variety of
different foods and watch your portion sizes.
Regular physical exercise can do many good things for you, such as lowering your blood glucose level and cholesterol while increasing
your circulation and flexibility. Aim for 30 minutes each day of a physical activity you enjoy—walking, gardening, dancing, playing sports or weightlifting. It’s never too late to start!
Check out the ADA website—www.diabetes.org—for details on the Diabetes Pyramid, suggested recipes, a list of education programs and the names of dieticians specializing in diabetes and pre-diabetes. There’s also advice on exercise programs and how to get started.
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