World Health Day is a global awareness day celebrated every April 7th and organized by the World Health Organization (WHO). In a continued effort to curb various health issues throughout the entire globe, this organization has been raising awareness for various issues since the 1950’s. These issues include: mental health, active aging, heart health, and this year they’ll be raising awareness for diabetes.

This disease is a collective group of metabolic diseases that results in high blood sugar due to the pancreas not creating enough insulin or the cells of the body not responding correctly to the insulin. As a result, those who suffer this disease can have frequent urination, increased thirst, and increased hunger. However, if left untreated the symptoms become much worse such as kidney failure, foot ulcers, and cardiovascular disease.

Types of Diabetes

As mentioned previously, diabetes is a group of diseases. There are 3 types.

• Type 1 DM – This occurs mostly in children. Unfortunately, there is no means of prevention. The only factors that play into Type 1 are genetics and exposure to specific viruses when young. If someone has Type 1 Diabetes, their pancreas produces little to no insulin, and the body is unable to absorb glucose in the blood, resulting in high blood sugar.
• Type 2 DM – This occurs mostly in people who are overweight and do not receive enough exercise. It makes up about 90% of all cases of diabetes. The body still produces insulin, but the cells do not interact with it efficiently. As a result, the pancreas continues to produce more and more insulin, but it can’t keep up, as sugar builds up in the blood.
• Gestational diabetes – This occurs in pregnant women. It’s a condition where women with no previous history of diabetes exhibit high levels of glucose in their blood during pregnancy. Much like type 2, it’s because of the cells reacting poorly with the insulin produced in their body due to complications during their pregnancy.

Preventing Type 2 Diabetes

The World Health Organization is mainly interested in reducing the amount of Type 2 Diabetes in the world. This type is largely preventable even though people do have predispositions to the disease. If you happen to have a high level of susceptibility to diabetes there are steps you can take to ensure you do not get it later in life.

Stay Physical

Inactivity increases your chances of getting Type 2 Diabetes. However, the more you work your muscles the more they can improve their ability of absorbing glucose. This is good as it places less stress on your insulin making cells. The good news is it doesn’t take extreme amounts of exercising to see results. According to studies, walking briskly for 30 minutes everyday reduces your chances by 30%. And some people view this as the bare minimum amount of activity, so if you’re able to do more, you can reduce your chances by an even higher percentage.

Watch Your Sugars

Sugar is merely a type of carbohydrate. There are 3 types. They are:

1. Sugar
2. Starch
3. Fiber

Unfortunately, sugar is by far the worst type of carbohydrate for you. It is quickly absorbed by the intestine and transported into the bloodstream. As a result, the pancreas reacts quickly and produces the most amount of insulin. In order to curb your sugar intake, make sure to read the label on your food products. Some companies like to add sucrose, dextrose, fructose-enriched corn syrup, or glucose-fructose. If you notice any of these incredibly hard to pronounce ingredients, sugar has been added.

That being said, the other 2 types of carbohydrates are pretty good for you. Starches are digested slower than sugars, however it depends on what type. Potatoes, for example, turn into sugars very quickly, while legumes are much more resistant to being broken down. All in all, fibers are the healthiest for you. These fibers are so complex that your stomach cannot digest them and only the bacteria present in our intestines can extract the small amount of their sugar content.

That doesn’t mean you should only eat fibers and starches. Each carbohydrate is important to our nutrition and health but with moderation. Fibers need to be placed ahead of sugars and starches, which can be difficult because everything has sugar added to it these days.

Nevertheless, if you can remain active, limit the amount of sugar you ingest, and watch more carefully what goes into your body, you can prevent the onset of Type 2 Diabetes as you age!