Healthy Lifestyle To Avoid Diabetes Mellitus

Uncontrolled Diabetes Mellitus (DM) can trigger acute complications and cause death.

According to data from the Indonesian Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) (2018), around 10 million Indonesians have to deal with diabetes. Even worse, this figure is predicted to increase to 30 million by 2030. Quite a lot, right?

Still according to the Indonesian Ministry of Health, sufferersdiabetesin our country will continue to grow if lifestyle including eating a lot and smoking is not reduced.

Therefore, the condition must be properly controlled. Namely by adopting a healthy lifestyle and diet.

1. Pay attention to diet

Unhealthy eating patterns, especially food with excessive portions is one of the triggers for diabetes that needs to be watched out for. The opposite is true, a healthy and proper diet helps maintain blood sugar levels. So, what is the right diet to prevent diabetes?

Quoting the RI Ministry of Health, to prevent diabetes, you need to avoid sweet foods, processed drinks, and replace white bread and pasta with whole wheat.

Examples are white flour, white bread, white rice, white pasta, sugary drinks or soda, candy, and breakfast cereals with added sugar. Well, these foods and drinks need to be limited in consumption.

Replacing refined sugar and grains with fruit and whole grains is a way to help control blood sugar levels.

What about the recommended diet to prevent diabetes? Still according to the Indonesian Ministry of Health, the arrangement of healthy foods to prevent diabetes is for example, namely vegetables, fruit, nuts, and wheat.

These include healthy oils, nuts, oily fish rich in omega-3s such as sardines, salmon and mackerel. The thing that must be underlined, it is important to eat on time and stop eating before you are full.

Apart from that, it is more important to pay attention to the portion. As explained earlier, do not eat food with excessive or large portions. For example, if you already eat rice, you should no longer eat fried foods, potatoes, corn or other sources of carbohydrates.

2. Exercising Routine

Apart from adopting a healthy diet, a healthy lifestyle to prevent diabetes also involves some physical activity. The UK National Health Service recommends 2.5 hours of aerobic exercise per week, such as brisk walking or climbing stairs. However, you are also allowed to choose other types of sports.

According to experts, regular physical activity can help the body to use the insulin hormone more effectively. As a result, blood sugar levels can be more controlled. In addition, a healthy weight will make it easier for the body to lower blood sugar levels.

3. Maintain Ideal Body Weight

Already know that obesity is closely related todiabetes? Someone who is obese the longer they become less sensitive to insulin (insulin resistance). Well, this condition can ultimately cause a spike in blood sugar that triggers diabetes.

For those of you who are overweight, it is highly recommended to lose weight. If you have lost weight and reached your ideal body weight, it is important to keep it from gaining it back.

The method is easy, but requires intention and discipline. You can maintain your ideal body weight by exercising regularly and adopting a balanced nutritious diet.

4. Quit Smoking

According to the National Institutes of Health, smoking can cause insulin resistance, which can lead to type 2 diabetes. If you already smoke, try to quit to prevent diabetes.

Also, talk to your doctor to see if there's anything else you can do to delay, or to prevent, type 2 diabetes. If you're at high risk of developing diabetes, your doctor may recommend that you take one of several diabetes medications.