Dodging the Diabetes Bullet

By Janis Jibrin, M.S., R.D.

Seven percent of the population has diabetes--that's 21.6 million people! The number jumps to 9.6 percent for people age 20 years old and up, and it strikes a whopping 21 percent of Americans age 60 and above. As we get older, more of us will succumb to the disease. Fortunately, most cases of diabetes can be prevented by good diet and exercise habits. That means that right now is the perfect time to adopt the healthy habits, such as the ones below, that can reduce your diabetes risk.

Get moving. Exercise (both cardio and strength training) makes your muscles' cells more sensitive to insulin, the hormone that removes sugar from the blood. Plus, it helps you lose weight and maintain your weight loss. To lose weight, work up to 60 minutes of cardio six days a week. To reap the benefits from strength training, do at least 12 reps of at least six different exercises two or three times a week.

Switch to whole grains. Whole wheat, corn and wheat bran have been strongly linked to diabetes prevention. But oats and barley also appear to reduce diabetes risk. The less refined the grain, the better (think steel cut oats versus rolled oats) because it takes your body a lot longer to convert coarsely ground grain into blood sugar than it does for refined grains.

Reach/maintain a healthy body mass index. Body mass index, or BMI, is a measurement of height to weight. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered healthy; 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight; and 30 and above is obese. To find out your BMI, use the National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute's BMI calculator.