Does the word ‘diabetes’ scare you? Yes, it does, to most of us and we all wish to keep diabetes at bay! It may certainly not be a very easily acceptable health condition but the fact remains that as per International Diabetes Federation, 1 in 11 adults have diabetes currently. 1 in 6 people across the world having diabetes is from our own country. 1 in 2 individuals is not even aware that they are diabetic and hence are at a greater risk of complications. In South-East Asia, India ranks first in numbers of diabetic population (77 million) and Mauritius ranks last (with 0.2 million people affected). In India, it is seen that the urban population has more diabetics as compared to the rural population (maybe due to raised awareness and easily available testing facilities). It is projected that by 2045, India may have 134 million individuals affected with diabetes. Isn’t that really scary?
So, can we really help ourselves, given the fact that much of this is attributable to our genes? Yes, we can! Simply by changing our lifestyle and eating habits. Education definitely plays a key role and let us use this platform to educate ourselves. Herewith are a few tips to keep diabetes at bay:
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Maintain a healthy weight:
As we age, our fat mass increases (due to extra calorie intake) and lean mass decreases (due to lack of exercise). This leads to weight gain which left unattended, can lead to overweight and obesity. Hence, it is important to maintain a healthy weight. How do you calculate a healthy weight? There are many formulas but the simplest is your height (in cm) minus 100 for men and minus 105 for women.
Hence, if you are a male and your height is 178 cm, your weight should be 78 kgs (178-100). This is one of the most important tips to keep diabetes at bay. However, this is not the only key point. Also, one should not take it as if one remains at a healthy weight, one may not get diabetes. One must remember that diabetes is also attributable to our genes; however, the point here is that being overweight or obese can increase our chances of becoming a diabetic. Hence, the need to maintain a healthy weight.
2. Exercise regularly:
It really helps in the long run if we choose to stay active. But staying active cannot replace exercise. Exercise is something that should be well-structured, planned and performed regularly. Results may or may not be visible, but they certainly are happening.
One can also invest into good smart watches that can calculate daily steps. Indulging into walking is an excellent form of exercise and one of the most healthy habits that can be performed at any time of the day. A sedentary lifestyle can give rise to insulin resistance (insulin present in our body is not able to do its function of lowering blood sugar) and hence opting for healthy activities like walking, dancing, jogging, etc can help in lowering this resistance.
3. Place the right things on the plate:
How can you do this? AVOID junk food and packed foods. This is one of the most relevant tips to keep diabetes at bay in todays fast paced world. If we include only biscuits/ breads/ packed cereals in our morning breakfast, we are inviting trouble.
Our meals need adequate amount of fiber and these food items made up of maida are devoid of fiber, hence they provide us calories but make us hungry again very soon. On the other hand, when we prefer items rich in fiber like vegetable parathas or chick peas wrap or corn and chana salad, they keep us full for a longer time.
4. Prefer frequent mini-meals rather than few large meals:
We Indians are used to having large meals and usually, they are eaten during dinner as the entire family has the chance to enjoy the dinner together.
Simply by replacing large meals (chapati, subji, dal, rice, etc) with mini-meals like we can avoid random spikes in blood sugar. One can include mini-meals in diet like oats with veggie idli/ ragi idli stuffed with paneer/ whole wheat momos stuffed with veggies and tofu/ quinoa and boiled egg fried rice, etc
These are most common general tips to keep diabetes at bay. In order to know more about micro-meals for people with newly detected diabetes, click here.
