This week, June 8th to 14th, is Diabetes Week - raising awareness of the condition and what changes people can make to reduce their diabetes risk. Diabetes affects more people in the UK than any other serious health condition - 4.8 million Type 1 sufferers and an estimated 12.3 million people type 2 diabetics. It is a health condition that can have a major impact on your life and, at a more advanced stage, may cause additional health complications. From research, some things can naturally increase the risk of diabetes - from genetics and ethnic background to gender and age. However, some simple lifestyle changes can help us to reduce the risks and, during June’s awareness week, we wanted to highlight 3 of the top risk factors to be aware of, particularly for type 2 diabetes: - Obesity Watching your weight can have an impact and staying active can help to decrease insulin resistance and help bodily insulin to be more effective. According to the NHS, a 5% reduction in body weight followed up by regular moderate exercise could reduce your type 2 diabetes risk by more than 50%. - Diet Following a healthy balanced diet, alongside exercise, can help to reduce the risk. Cutting back on sugars, sodium and refined carbohydrates will help to reduce weight and lower your blood pressure. Increasing potassium can have a double effect, by reducing the salt in your system and blood vessel tension. Foods which help with this include low fat dairy, fish, fruits like bananas, apricots and oranges, vegetables like tomatoes, spinach, beans and poultry. - High Blood Pressure Make sure you get regular blood pressure check ups with your GP. High blood pressure and high cholesterol can be contributing factors to diabetes. There are several treatments and plans available to manage and treat diabetes. Type 1 diabetes usually requires the use of insulin. If you have Type 2 diabetes, insulin or tablets may be required, but it can sometimes be managed by eating well and staying active. If you think you may have diabetes, you should contact your GP, who can help you find the right treatment for you. You can find out more about diabetes and follow the #SeeDiabetesDifferently 2020 campaign online with Diabetes UK.
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