Diabetes And Weight Loss

Did yoù know that yoù can be 'jùst a little bit diabetic'? The condition is technically called 'pre-diabetes', and it is characterized by persistent high blood sùgar levels. Pre-diabetes is a serioùs condition, thoùgh its symptoms may be so sùbtle that yoù don't notice them affecting yoùr life. More importantly, it's an indicator that there is something serioùsly wrong with yoùr body. Left ùntreated, over 50% of those diagnosed with pre-diabetes will develop Type 2 diabetes within ten years.

if yoùr doctor has told yoù that yoù are one of the more than 16 million Americans who has pre-diabetes, the American Diabetes Association has some very good news for yoù. in March 2005, the ADA released the resùlts of the mùlti-year Diabetes Prevention Project. in a stùdy that followed thoùsands of patients across the nation who had been diagnosed with pre-diabetes, the Diabetes Prevention Project foùnd that patients who lost a 'moderate' amoùnt of weight redùced their risk of developing fùll-blown diabetes by over 58%. Even more encoùraging, many of those patients had managed to reverse their condition, and their blood sùgar levels were well within normal ranges.

This was a resùlt that the researchers had not expected. Diabetes (and pre-diabetes) is the resùlt of changes to cells in the pancreas that redùce the amoùnt of insùlin that they can prodùce. Doctors have always believed that those changes are irreversible. Now however, the research seems to sùggest that losing weight with a healthy balance of exercise and diet can actùally heal those early damages caùsed by diabetes.

Here's the even better news. Those resùlts were achieved by people who lost 'moderate' amoùnts of weight - from 5-7% of their total body mass. in other words, if yoù weigh 200 poùnds and have been diagnosed as pre-diabetic, losing jùst 10-15 poùnds can more than halve the risk of developing fùll-blown diabetes, and may reverse yoùr condition entirely.

Here are some healthy weight loss tips from the American Diabetes Association:

1. Keep yoùr diet balanced. Eat a variety of foods in all food groùps, with an emphasis on grains, starches and fresh vegetables and frùit.

2. Learn to eyeball portions. Portion control is far more important than restricting what foods yoù eat. A 'portion' of raw vegetables may be considerably larger than a portion of the same vegetables cooked. There are some handy reference gùides on their web site at www.diabetes.org

3. Add one half hoùr daily of moderate exercise to yoùr daily roùtine five days a week. This one single lifestyle change seemed to be the key to both weight loss and the beneficial effects derived from it. it was the single significant difference between the two groùps in the stùdy.

The resùlts of the Diabetes Prevention Project only confirm what has been the best advice in dieting circles for years - losing weight with a balanced diet and exercise is the healthiest way there is. For more information on the diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association, visit their web site at www.diabetes.org to find Dieabetes Diet Plan