1ST CITY CLINICAL HOSPITAL

Diabetes is currently an incurable disease. Of course, you can live with a diagnosis of diabetes. But this is an extremely difficult life dictated by illness.

Therefore, it is important to know measures to prevent its development. And even if a person is already sick, complications can be avoided or minimized.

And no one can help you with this except yourself. There is always a choice: live a full life with some restrictions or do nothing and wait until the disease destroys the body, not knowing whether tomorrow will come for you.

The importance of preventive measures is very great, because Diabetes leads to very serious crippling complications. To help you decide, here is a partial list of complications of diabetes.

• Impaired memory and other brain functions, stroke.
• Sexual dysfunction. In men - sexual weakness and impotence, in women - menstrual irregularities and infertility.
• A sharp deterioration in vision up to blindness.
• Diseases of the teeth and oral cavity - periodontal disease, stomatitis, tooth loss.
• Fatty hepatosis with impairment of all liver functions.
• Damage to peripheral nerves with loss of pain and temperature sensitivity.
• Violation of the trophism of the skin and mucous membranes, the formation of neurotrophic ulcers, etc.
• Loss of vascular elasticity with impaired blood supply to all organs.
• From the heart - atherosclerosis, arrhythmias, myocardiopathy, ischemic heart disease.
• Persistent deformation of the joints of the hands and feet.
• Decreased immunity with the development of purulent complications, furunculosis.
• Kidney failure.
• Gangrene may eventually develop, leading to amputation of the limbs.

Unfortunately, there are no preventative measures to prevent type 1 diabetes.

However, type 2 diabetes can be prevented or its onset can be delayed in those who are at increased risk of developing the disease. After all, if you do not take into account the hereditary factor, then the person himself often becomes the culprit for the onset of diabetes. This includes a sedentary lifestyle and the consumption of large amounts of “bad” carbohydrates, which lead to overweight and obesity. And obesity is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, because... body tissues become insensitive to insulin. If you are at risk and have diabetes in your family, then its prevention should begin in childhood. Parents should also remember this.

The list of these events is simple:

1. By all means, lose weight by changing your diet.
2. Increase physical activity.
3. Get rid of bad habits if you have them (smoking, alcohol).

These measures, applied for 5 years, reduce the risk of developing diabetes by almost 70%.

What needs to be changed in diet? Prevention of diabetes

Fat deposition is influenced not so much by excess calories from food as by the nature of these foods. As you know, diabetes prevention starts in the kitchen. Therefore, it is important to follow the following recommendations.

• Limit the consumption of easily digestible carbohydrates with a high glycemic index (see table) - sugar, sweets, white bread, baked goods, honey, sweet drinks, especially carbonated drinks, beer. The glycemic index shows the rate at which carbohydrates enter the bloodstream from food and are converted into glucose. A high GI means a high rate of absorption and, accordingly, these are easily digestible carbohydrates (“bad”). Low GI corresponds to slow absorption - these are complex carbohydrates (“good”).
• If you have a strong desire for sweets, use sweeteners (ideally stevia), replace chocolate candies with marmalade or marshmallows, etc.
• Eat foods with complex carbohydrates. Glucose will slowly enter the blood, and the pancreas will have time to produce insulin. These are products made from wholemeal flour, rice, vegetables, cereals (buckwheat, egg, oatmeal), potatoes, bran and everything that contains a lot of fiber, because. it slows down the absorption of carbohydrates in the digestive tract.
• Eat as many fresh vegetables and fruits as possible, taking into account their glycemic index (for example, bananas, apricots and raisins have a high glycemic index).
• Limit your intake of animal fats and replace them with vegetable fats.
• Give preference to lean meat, and remove the skin from poultry.
• Consume foods boiled or baked. Use vegetable fat for frying.
• There are a number of especially useful foods for diabetes: sauerkraut and blueberries, beans, as they lower blood sugar levels, promote insulin secretion and normalize pancreatic function. It is very useful to use spinach and celery, onions and garlic, and vegetable juices in your diet.
• Coffee is often replaced with chicory, and black tea with green tea.
• It is mandatory to take vitamin C, B vitamins, chromium and zinc.
• Eat at least 5 times a day in small portions so as not to overload the pancreas at the same time.
• Do not fast, as fasting lowers blood sugar.
• Before you eat, think about whether you are hungry. This allows you to control unconscious overeating.
• Eat slowly and never try to finish everything on your plate; there may be more food than necessary.
• Don't eat to cheer yourself up.
• Try to taste food less often when cooking.
• When you feel hungry, it is recommended to first eat something low-calorie, such as a cucumber, an apple, cabbage salad, or drink tea with lemon.
• Don't go to the store when you're hungry.

Sample diet for the prevention of diabetes and obesity.

Breakfast should be a mandatory meal and a complete one, for example:

• Oatmeal cooked in skim milk with apples and cinnamon.
• Low-fat yogurt.
• Low fat cheese.
• Cottage cheese no more than 5% fat.
• Coffee or tea with wholemeal crackers.

Lunch should include

• Vegetable salad seasoned with vegetable oil or 10% sour cream.
• Vegetable broth soup.
• Boiled or baked meat or fish.
• Side dish – barley, oatmeal, buckwheat porridge or boiled potatoes.
• Bread made from wholemeal flour or with bran.
• Fruit drink or compote. It is better to dilute juices by a third with water.

Dinner should be no later than 2 hours before bedtime, and it should provide no more than 20% of the daily calorie intake. For example:

• Vegetable stew or vinaigrette.
• Boiled rice with vegetables.
• Buckwheat with a small piece of fish or meat.
• Toast with diet cheese.
• Green tea with dried fruits (apples, pineapple, pear, prunes).

Intermediate meals - fruits, berries, a glass of milk or vegetable dishes.

When consuming these products, still observe the measure: 1-2 apples, but not 1 kg, 50 g of cheese, and not 200 g, but 50, 150 - 200 g of potatoes, and not 1 kg.

To prevent diabetes, you can use medicinal plants that have a hypoglycemic effect. Unlike synthetic drugs, they not only reduce glucose levels, but also have a healing effect on all cells and tissues of the body, thus allowing the development of diabetes to be delayed and its complications to be minimized. The use of natural remedies has become especially relevant in our time of widespread chemistry.

Garcinia, blueberries, rowan berries, elderberries, burdock, elecampane root, ginseng, walnut leaves, wild strawberries, etc. reduce blood sugar.

Remember that excess weight and obesity are the consequences of consuming large amounts of carbohydrates with a high glycemic index (white sugar, flour, confectionery) at the same time as consuming fat.

However, it is not advisable to reduce the calorie content of the daily diet below 1200 kcal for women and 1500 kcal for men, because in this case, it will be difficult to provide the required amount of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and microelements.

If you need to lose weight, it is important to limit the amount of fat in food, since their calorie content is higher than that of proteins and carbohydrates (1 g contains 9 kcal), and they are more likely to accumulate in the body in the form of subcutaneous fat than calories from proteins and carbohydrates. It is also necessary to limit the consumption of mayonnaise, vegetable and butter, fatty meats and fish, nuts, seeds, and low-fat dairy products.

What needs to be changed in your lifestyle? Lifestyle with diabetes

• You need to quit smoking and drinking alcohol. Alcohol is a high-calorie product that contributes to the accumulation of abdominal fat.
• To live an active lifestyle. In any situation, try to move more. It is better to walk up the stairs than to take the elevator. Good work at a summer cottage, visiting parks, exhibitions, museums.
• Provide regular physical activity to reduce glucose tolerance and lose excess weight, especially visceral (internal) fat. To do this, you need to allocate 30 minutes a day for physical exercise. This could include walking at least 4 km, swimming, playing tennis or cycling. Fast walking is the best cure for obesity.
• Maintain constant monitoring of blood sugar and blood pressure levels.
• Monitor your body mass index (BMI). It is calculated as follows: weight in kg. divided by height in meters squared. For example, weight 84 kg, height 1 m. 64cm.

84/1.642 = 84/2.69 = 31.2

BW less than 18.5 - underweight - possibly type 1 diabetes.

BMI 18.5 - 24.9 is ideal weight.

BMI 25 – 29.9 – overweight.

BMI 30.0 - 34.9 - Obesity I degree

BMI 35.0 - 39.9 - Obesity II degree

BMI more than 40 – III degree obesity

In our case, 31.2 is grade I obesity

• Try to avoid stressful situations as much as possible.
• Find time to relax. It is useful to change the situation by going to health resorts, especially with mineral water.
• In clothing, preference is given to natural cotton.

Latest messages from the world of science.

Israeli scientists have made a statement that consuming enough vitamin D is a good prevention of type 2 diabetes.

Vitamin D is found in milk fats, liver, fatty fish, and egg yolks.

Information material prepared by: endocrinologist 1st City Clinical Hospital Sukhodolova O.I.