How To Prevent Diabetes Naturally: 11 Easy Ways To Lower Your Blood Sugar After 50
Good news: Getting your glucose under control also reduces your risk of heart disease and dementia
Reducing your risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) has always been a smart move, since it also protects against health problems like heart disease and memory loss in the long term. You already know the basics when it comes to keeping your blood glucose levels steady: Eat a balanced diet that limits added sugar, get at least 20 to 30 minutes of physical activity a day and lose weight if your healthcare provider advises it. But those aren’t the only strategies that work. Here’s how to prevent diabetes using simple tips backed by science.
The importance of diabetes prevention
Good news: British research reveals that when your blood sugar levels stay balanced, your risk of heart disease drops by 67 percent. Plus, preventing diabetes also ensures that brain cells function and form new connections efficiently, say experts reporting in the World Journal of Diabetes. The result: Your odds of memory problems and dementia decrease by as much as 47 percent. (Check out the insulin resistance symptoms women over 50 should watch for.)
How to prevent diabetes: 11 smart tips
In addition to following your doctor’s advice and minimizing any risk factors, give these home remedies that help prevent diabetes a try.
Woman's World Answers
Enjoy avocado toast
In a Mexican study, women who ate 30 grams of avocado daily (about 1/5 of a medium Hass avocado) were 29 percent less likely to develop diabetes than women who avoided the fruit. Beneficial fats and fiber found in avocados keep blood sugar levels from climbing. Plus, the fruit is high in polyphenol compounds that enhance cells’ sensitivity to blood sugar-balancing insulin.
Sip pu-erh tea
A fermented black tea known as pu-erh has been valued in Eastern medicine for 5,000 years. And modern science bears out its antidiabetic benefits: Australian researchers found that people who drank at least one cup of pu-erh tea daily lowered their diabetes risk by up to 47 percent. The tea blunts reabsorption of glucose in the kidneys so that it’s excreted from the body rather than building up in the bloodstream.
Spend time in the garden
Sure, activities like brisk walking, cycling and lifting weights combat the blood sugar spikes that lead to diabetes. But a report in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics reveals the workout you get from gardening helps prevent diabetes too.
Scientists found that diabetes risk was 49 percent lower in people who gardened on a regular basis than it was in their non-exercising counterparts. And in a welcome bonus, the gardeners’ odds of dying prematurely from heart disease, stroke and other causes dropped significantly.
Take a midday dance break
We all know exercise helps manage blood sugar levels, but when you get moving could boost the benefit, according to a study in Diabetes Care. Researchers found that engaging in moderate exercise, such as dancing to your favorite tunes, for more than 10 minutes in the afternoon spurred a greater decrease in blood sugar levels than similar activity in the morning or evening.
Eat a larger lunch
NYU researchers found that eating most of your calories within eight hours of waking can reduce blood sugar fluctuations, lower glucose spikes and even help you lose weight. Study participants who ate 80 percent of their calories prior to 1 pm and ate a lighter dinner saw blood sugar reductions in as little as one week.
Soak up the sun
Take a 15-minute midday break to pop outside and sit or stroll in the sun. A study in PLOS ONE found that people with healthy blood levels of vitamin D, the “sunshine vitamin,” were three times less likely to develop diabetes than those deficient in D. Scientists suspect it enhances insulin sensitivity. And since sun is the best way to boost D levels, a lunchtime jaunt outdoors is ideal as rays are highest between 10 am and 3 pm.
Cloudy day? No problem. Tufts University research reveals that supplementing with 4,000 IU of D3 daily can shore up your vitamin D stores to slash diabetes risk by as much as 82 percent. Tip: Take your supplement at dinner, a meal typically higher in fat, to boost absorption. (Discover how much vitamin D women over 50 need.)
Snack on an apple
Apples and cranberries are packed with compounds called flavonoids that may help prevent diabetes. A study in Nutrition & Diabetes found that people whose diets included two daily servings of flavonoid-rich fare were significantly less likely to develop diabetes than those who ate lower amounts. Flavonoids enhance secretion and signaling of blood sugar–balancing insulin. Other flavonoid-rich foods to include in your healthy eating plan: blueberries, strawberries, pomegranates and dark chocolate.
In fact, an analysis in the journal BMJ found that people eating five 1 oz.-servings of dark chocolate per week reduced their type 2 diabetes risk by 21 percent.
Sip golden milk
The curcumin that gives turmeric its yellow hue brims with compounds that help prevent diabetes by enhancing the function of cells in the pancreas. Research in Diabetes Care found that curcumin prevented prediabetes from progressing to full-blown disease in 100 percent of participants. Simply stir 1tsp. of turmeric into 1 cup of warm milk or almond milk, then mix in honey—such as Local Hive Honey—ginger and cinnamon to taste.
Spend time in nature
The sights and sounds of nature slash stress in as little as 10 minutes. And that’s a benefit that can reduce diabetes risk by 56 percent, research in the journal PLOS ONE found. Combatting spikes in the stress hormone cortisol improves cells’ sensitivity to insulin.
Make a cooking oil swap
Using sunflower oil in place of other oils or butter is a smart addition to your diabetes prevention program. According to research in Nature Medicine, eating a diet high in polyunsaturated fatty acids—which sunflower oil contains—helps prevent type 2 diabetes even if you don’t experience weight loss. Other good sources of these healthy fats include fish, nuts and flaxseeds.
Declare ‘lights out’ at midnight
Turning off lights and closing your bedroom curtains at night helps prevent diabetes, according to a study in The Lancet Regional Health Europe. In fact, study authors estimated that people who limited their exposure to light between 12:30 and 6 am were up to 40 percent less likely to develop the disease than those who spent overnight hours in brighter environments. Nighttime darkness keeps the body’s internal clock on track, which ensures the proper timing of insulin secretion.
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