Welcome to Exan's Wellness and Life Skills Program

Five tips for helping you to prevent diabetes

  1. Increase physical activity. Numerous studies have shown that regular exercise significantly lowers a person's chances of contracting diabetes. Include at least 30 minutes of exercise in your daily schedule. You don't have to sign up for a gym: walking for half an hour is free, easy to do and equally beneficial.
  2. Eat a regular, balanced diet. Eat three meals a day at regular times, spacing meals no more than six hours apart. Avoid sugars and sweets, such as pop, desserts, candies, jam and honey, which increase blood glucose. Choose foods that are high in fiber, such as whole-grain breads and cereals, lentils, dried beans and peas, brown rice, fruits and vegetables. Limit the amount of high-fat food you eat, such as fried foods, chips and pastries.
  3. Maintain a healthy weight and waist circumference. Regular physical activity and a nutritious diet will help you maintain a healthy weight for your sex, age and height. If you're eating right and exercising, yet still appear to be overweight, don't abandon a healthy diet and exercise: when it comes to diabetes, abdominal fat measured by waist circumference is actually a better indicator of risk than is weight. To find out what a healthy weight is for your body type, refer to Exan's body mass index chart.
  4. Get your blood tested. A simple blood test will tell you where your blood glucose levels are at and if you're diabetic or at elevated risk of becoming diabetic (a condition known as pre-diabetes). Don't let your fear of the unknown stop you from getting tested. If you have this information in hand, you can take steps to avoid developing full-blown diabetes before it's too late. If you'd like to learn more about how to get your blood tested, or how you can even test your blood yourself, contact a health professional.
  5. Learn how to manage your stress. Scientists don't know for certain if stress contributes to the onset of diabetes. But they do know that it elevates blood glucose levels and can thus severely aggravate the disease. By managing your stress, you'll help to balance your physiological functions, providing further insurance against diabetes and other illnesses.