The risk of developing type 2 diabetes is largely influenced by diet and lifestyle. While there are other genetic and lifestyle factors at play, making simple changes to your diet can significantly reduce the risk of developing this disorder. And Diabetes UK has made a somewhat surprising suggestion.
The charity advises swapping fruit juices for tea or coffee. Ideally, if you can enjoy these hot drinks without adding extra sugar, it could help lower your risk of type 2 diabetes. Fruit juices may seem like a healthier option than a cup of coffee, but many popular brands contain high levels of free sugars added by manufacturers.
Even natural fruit juices without added sugars can still contain significant amounts of free sugars due to the fructose in the fruit. The diabetes experts still recommend consuming whole fruits like apples, grapes and berries, while avoiding their juiced counterparts.
Consuming whole fruits provides fibre, which slows down the body’s absorption of fructose, thus preventing the sugar spikes caused by fruit juices.
The link between sugar-laden fizzy and energy drinks and chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes is well-documented, but weaning off the caffeine fix is rarely easy.
For those who find unsweetened tea or coffee lacking as a replacement can try opting for low calorie or no added sugar variants of your beloved beverages to satisfy the craving without increasing your diabetes risk.
Diabetes UK has chimed in with some helpful advice, noting: “Any amount of weight loss can help, research shows losing even 1kg can help to reduce your risk.”
Keeping an eye on your waist size is crucial for gauging the risk of type 2 diabetes, as it indicates how much fat you’re packing around your pancreas and its potential impact on insulin function.
Helpfully, Diabetes UK provides benchmarks for healthy waist measurements. But let’s not forget that some risk elements are out of our hands.
People of African Caribbean, Black African, or South Asian descent, and those with relatives who have type 2 diabetes are statistically at a greater disadvantage.
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