While part one dwelt on the symptoms and complications of Type 2 Diabetes, it finished by assuring the condition can be controlled with some simple steps.
We’ll look at these more closely in this article.
Starting where a doctor will, the first thing to look at is lifestyle. It is known that being overweight and sedentary is a significant risk vector for developing Type 2 Diabetes. Some studies suggest increased body fat is itself a trigger to fat being released into the bloodstream, which affects insulin production and the body’s response to insulin.
If that is the case then working to reduce body fat is a simple way to alleviate the risk of developing the condition or, if it is already developed, then controlling it.
There are two simple ways to reduce body fat. The first is to do more exercise, the second is to eat less. A perfect combination is increasing the exercise and eating less.
Both can feel like insurmountable obstacles especially for someone whose mind jumps to a desired objective and perceives a chasm between their start and finish points, instead of thinking about the huge number of small, incremental, steps between the two.
There are some simple tricks to get going. Park at the far end of the car park at work, or when shopping. Get off the bus or train a stop earlier and walk the remaining distance. Actions such as these will swiftly and easily increase the exercise being done. The only other extra effort required is allowing an extra five or ten minutes to the commute to work, or shopping trip.
For reducing food intake a fantastically simple thing to do is using a smaller plate, and don’t cram it full. It will take a little while for the body to acclimatise to the lesser portions, but taking time to chew the food, and having a glass off water before eating are things which can help with the adjustment period.
We’ll discuss diet in more detail later on.
Focusing on exercise it is worth finding a form of exercise you enjoy doing. If you hate walking or running, try cycling or swimming. Ensuring you enjoy how you exercise is also important. Being surrounded by other folks in a gym doesn’t work for everyone, while for some solo exercise is tedious even if it’s an activity they enjoy doing.
If affordable then working with a personal trainer, either one-to-one or as part of a group, may help keep focus on the aim.
The final thing to say on this is to remember that while there may be weight loss goals, the aim is to lose body fat. There will come a point where the fat lost is being replaced by muscle gained. This can lead to weight increase and can be a cause of concern unless it is remembered that muscle weighs more than fat. Though, if you reach this point you are likely to be feeling in a much better place health wise if you came from a sedentary start point.
Having advised developing an active lifestyle, and sensible diet, a doctor will likely prescribe medication. The first-line product is metformin, though may have differing specific trade names in different areas depending on manufacturers and local regulations.
Metformin works by decreasing glucose production but the liver, and increasing insulin sensitivity in the body’s tissue. Combined with lifestyle changes this can be an extremely effective tool in controlling Type 2 Diabetes.
From there it may be necessary to add different supplementary medication. These will be prescribed based on factors such as cardiovascular risk, including atherosclerosis - where fatty plaques build on artery walls, constricting blood flow.
Around the world healthcare and medication are available at differing levels. In countries where good levels of both exist there may be issues of affordability which means accessing suitable healthcare is difficult for some folk.
This makes controlling the things within personal control all the more important. Above we looked at exercise and mentioned diet. Let’s look at diet in more detail.
The main difficulty for Type 2 Diabetes sufferers is sugar in the blood. It may seem that the obvious thing to do is cut sugar out of the diet. Doing so will certainly help. Most folks know that it isn’t just the sugar from cane or beets which needs to be worried about, but also honey, syrups, nectars, and unsweetened vegetable and fruit juices. Some of these may be healthier options, but still add unnecessarily high levels of sugar to our body.
So, cutting out sugar in our tea or coffee, eating fewer biscuits/cookies, and sweets/candies are all going to help. Not replacing them with honey, maple syrup taffy, and glasses of apple or orange juice will ensure we don’t replace one sugar with another.
But these aren’t the only forms of sugar we take in. Most forms of food provide sugars in some way and this is measured by a Glycemic Index. Foods with a higher index number are broken down into more sugar in the body, creating a higher risk for Type 2 Diabetes development, and creating more issues for those already suffering from the condition.
Foods with a lower Glycemic Index number have been shown to be beneficial in controlling blood sugar levels so it’s worth looking at your diet and seeing what changes can be made. Switching out bread for corn tortilla is a good way of making a lunchtime sandwich a little better. Changing rice for lentils to go with a curry or chilli is another great substitution.
In general breads, pasta, rice, and potato are all heavy in converting to sugar in the body. This is great for folks who are doing physical, manual work, who require large levels of energy being released into the body through the day. For those with jobs requiring little physical activity it is an excess of sugar. By far the majority of people today do not do work requiring huge amounts of carbohydrates, and the sugars they produce in the body.
When looking at meals consider ways to increase vegetable and non-meat protein intake. Pulses and leafy green vegetables are great sources of vitamins, minerals, and generally low on the Glycemic Index.
Like the addition of exercise, changing dietary habits is going to require extra time. That being said, there’s tricks to making things simpler. In many parts of the world you can by pulses and legumes tinned and ready to cook, so no soaking or pre-boiling is required. Where they aren’t available, or where you prefer to not rely on tinned products, then soaking things overnight, and setting a timer for them to boil while you watch some TV, or do some exercise, or study can allow for an efficient use of time, and give you ingredients which can be used over several days.
There’s also an added benefit of adding in activity which makes you less likely to be snacking. People who are sedentary are more liable to snack than those who are active.
Most of the above dietary advise has focused on removing sugar from the diet, with the intention of removing fat from the body. Should the removal of fat from the diet not also be considered? While consumption of huge slabs of seared fat appeal to some, most folks aren’t consuming that much. While lowering the amount of animal produce as a whole - which would naturally include the fat - there is some research indicating marine and dairy fats can have a beneficial effect in relation to Type 2 Diabetes. That’s not to suggest eating pounds of cheddar or jack.
There is one final sugar source to consider, alcohol. Now, to be fair, alcohol does not turn to sugar in the body. But the body will prioritise dealing with alcohol because it is a toxin, and the body wants rid of it. That means any food consumed while the liver is busy breaking down the alcohol will be more readily turned into sugar and stored in the body as, fat. A beer belly isn’t from the beer, it’s from the burgers and fries, or kebabs, or chicken wings, which are eaten at the same time, but the body is to busy getting rid of the alcohol to deal with the other calories received.
Judicious alcohol intake is a an important part of mitigating the effects of Type 2 Diabetes.
Finally we can consider natural remedies. A quick search of the internet will reveal such things as cinnamon, bitter cucumber, and the ‘Insulin plant’ to be miracle cures for Type 2 Diabetes.
There is little strictly controlled research to demonstrate general efficacy for these, though there is plenty of anecdotal evidence. If you can add such things into your diet, either in natural form or as supplements, then they can be worth considering. If you have to decide on spending money on regular medication or miracle cures, take time to make a wise decision.
A general rubric that no one thing will achieve everything is worth remembering. Adding natural supplements can be an efficient way of boosting the overall efforts made to control the condition, but are unlikely to be a miracle cure.
As Part One said, Type 2 Diabetes has some very unpleasant complications if not controlled. Here, in Part Two, there are some of the ways that control can be exerted. Exercise and diet are things everyone can look at, medication may be more reliant on our local or financial circumstances.
One thing which is required is effort. Here's the thing, the effort to walk a little further, to change diet so we eat a little less, each healthier, and have more control of our body is one which is well worth it when the alternative is loss of sight, of limbs, of life.
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NB* The above is general information and it is recommended you consult with a qualified medical practitioner for personal medical advice