6 Tips to prevent diabetes risk in families & bull; hello healthy

Diabetes prevention can be started from the adoption of a healthy lifestyle and from your closest family members. A healthy lifestyle can be done simply, starting from a healthy diet, physical activity, and maintaining mental health.

As the protector of the family at home, Mother plays an important role in reminding and educating family members to live a healthy lifestyle, especially children. Maintaining a healthy quality of life is an effort to prevent and control the risk of diabetes. So, first identify the causes and symptoms of diabetes, as well as steps to prevent diabetes in the family.

Causes and risk factors for diabetes

Diabetes is a condition when the level of sugar or glucose in the blood is high. Glucose is the main source of energy that comes from food. When it enters the body, the hormone insulin, which is produced by the pancreas, helps convert glucose into energy. For diabetics, insulin production is inhibited or the body is unable to use the insulin hormone. So that the sugar circulating in the blood is high.

The cause of diabetes can be identified through each type:

Causes of type 1 diabetes

Until now, the exact cause of type 1 diabetes is not known. However, it is known that type 1 diabetes occurs because the immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. The immune system recognizes insulin as a foreign substance that needs to be eradicated. As a result, the body accumulates a lot of sugar in the blood, because insulin is circulating in small amounts. Usually type 1 diabetes is triggered by family history factors.

Causes of type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body is resistant or does not respond to insulin, which converts glucose in the blood into energy. This results in a buildup of sugar in the blood. Typically, type 2 diabetes is accompanied by risk factors for obesity and an unhealthy lifestyle.

It would be nice for you to understand what the risks of diabetes are in your family. The following are risk factors for diabetes that must be known.

1. Family history

A family history of diabetes can increase your chances of diabetes risk. For example, a child is very likely to develop diabetes if the father, mother, or siblings have diabetes. It is important to know whether you or your family have these risk factors or not. By knowing a family history at risk of diabetes, of course you and your family can be responsive in the prevention and management of diabetes. 2

2. Lack of physical activity

Adopting a sedentary lifestyle or minimal physical activity also contributes to diabetes risk. Routine physical activity plays an important role in regulating blood sugar circulation, thereby triggering insulin action in converting blood sugar into energy. If the body lacks physical activity, there is a risk for the body to experience an increase in glucose levels. 2

In addition, the insulin hormone cannot be stimulated to work optimally in attracting glucose into energy. So, it is important for mothers to invite family members to do physical activity together to reduce these risk factors.

3. Obesity

Being overweight or obese is often associated with a variety of diseases, including diabetes. Generally, obesity occurs when a person does not manage body weight by doing regular physical activity and following a healthy diet. A person categorized as diabetes is when their body mass index is above a scale of 30. Every now and then, monitor the body mass index of family members, especially children with this calculator.

Body cells in obese people become less sensitive to insulin action. This insensitivity causes insulin resistance, resulting in higher insulin levels than blood sugar levels. This means that insulin is not effective at lowering blood sugar levels. 4

4. Unhealthy diet

Foods high in sugar or fat can increase your risk of diabetes. The impact was indirect. However, if the consumption is not controlled plus minimal physical activity can lead to obesity. Previously mentioned, obesity can increase the risk of diabetes, because the body is resistant to the hormone insulin.

Starting from an unhealthy diet can lead to diabetes. So that this does not happen, you can encourage your family to adopt a healthy diet and take other steps to prevent diabetes.

Symptoms of diabetes that need to be watched out for

It can be difficult to know how long a risk factor takes to trigger diabetes symptoms. According to the page Harvard Medical School, the development of diabetes can occur in about three to five years. Before reaching diabetes, a person will enter the prediabetes phase, which is when blood sugar is above normal limits.

The following are normal fasting blood sugar levels, prediabetes, and diabetes in general

Normal blood sugar: less than 140 mg / dL
Prediabetes: 140 to 199 mg / dL
Diabetes: above 200 mg / dL

In addition to monitoring blood sugar, mothers also need to be alert to know the symptoms of diabetes in the family that are also experienced by children.

Frequent thirst and urination. Excess sugar can build up in the bloodstream, thereby absorbing fluid in the surrounding tissue. The body needs replacement fluids, so thirst often arises. As a result, he drank more frequently and urinated more than usual.
FatigueThis is because the sugar in the body is not optimally produced for energy.
Weight loss, without sufficient energy from sugar, muscle tissue and body fat will shrink to obtain reserve energy. This is what causes extra weight loss to occur.
Blurred vision, because the sugar in the blood absorbs fluids in body tissues. Including absorbing fluid in the eye lens, thus making vision blurry.
Breath smells like fruit, because the excess production of ketones in the liver to break down fat into energy, because the body cannot convert glucose into energy. Excess ketone production can be toxic because it makes the blood acidic. This condition is known as diabetic ketoacidosis.
Extreme hunger, because the body does not get energy from glucose in the blood. Lack of energy, makes a person with diabetes feel hungry all the time.
Loss of appetite, on the one hand, a child or adult with diabetes may lose their appetite. If he has diabetic ketoacidosis, it is very possible for him to develop infections such as fever, cough and sore throat because his immunity is decreased.

Prevent and control diabetes in families from an early age

After knowing the causes, risk factors, and symptoms of diabetes, now is the time to prevent and control diabetes in the family from an early age. Especially for children, of course, they need to be accustomed to living a healthy lifestyle. However, the health of your little one needs to be protected, because he has a long way to go.

The way that can be done is by adopting a healthy lifestyle. Based on the journal Diabetes Care, healthy lifestyle interventions, such as physical activity, maintaining body weight, and choosing a healthy diet, can effectively help maintain blood sugar levels.

Here are some ways to prevent and control diabetes in your beloved family:

1. Routine physical activity

If you and your family usually enjoy television shows together during your spare time, start now to set aside 30 minutes for physical activity. Sports that you do with your family will definitely feel more fun and excited. There are various physical activities that can be chosen, for example, walking in the morning, cycling around the complex, following aerobic movements in group videos, or yoga. 2

Keeps the body active every day, helps the body's cells support insulin work in converting glucose into energy. This is a simple effort that can be done to prevent obesity and maintain weight, so that families can avoid the risk of diabetes.

2. Monitor blood sugar regularly

When was the last time you and your family checked your blood sugar? Checking blood sugar regularly is a step to prevent diabetes in the family.

Quoting Harvard Medical School, according to David M. Nathan, Harvard Medical School Professor and Director Diabetes Center and Clinical Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, monitoring blood sugar needs to be checked every three years in the laboratory. However, if you or a family member has prediabetes, it's a good idea to check your blood sugar levels every year. Come on, routinely check the blood sugar of the family.

3. Implement a healthy and balanced diet

Implementing a healthy diet can keep families from diabetes. A healthy diet with the right selection of nutrients helps the body stabilize blood sugar and avoid high blood sugar spikes. Make sure you serve healthy food with balanced nutrition, namely:

Staple foods: brown rice, potatoes, corn
Animal protein: fish, lean chicken, lean meat
Vegetable protein: nuts, tofu, tempeh
Vegetables: broccoli, carrots, spinach, kale, green beans and more
Fruits: apples, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, melons, honey

Make sure the types of food above are always included in the daily family menu. For the type of carbohydrates, you can choose simple carbohydrates so that sugar can be processed quickly into energy in the body. Simple carbohydrates are easily found in a variety of fruits and vegetables.

In addition, don't forget to limit your sugar intake. Maybe your little one prefers snacking on french fries, cake sweet, or drinks with added sugar. Well, you need to limit this. For example, by serving healthy snacks, such as fruit salads, oat-based cakes, nuts, fruit smoothies, yogurt, and so on.

4. Learn to recognize nutritional needs

Always arrange for an adequate and not excessive portion of the meal. Excessive portions of food can have an impact on increasing body weight to obesity. Therefore, it is better for you to calculate the number of portions of nutrition for the family.

The need for food portions, including daily intake of carbohydrates, protein, and fat can be differentiated by sex and age range. You can see the nutritional adequacy table from the Indonesian Ministry of Health as a reference.

For example, suppose you have a 10 year old daughter. When looking at the table of nutritional adequacy guidelines, your little one needs:

5 grams of total fat
55 grams of protein
280 grams of carbohydrates

In addition, in supplementing the family's balanced nutrition, you can serve milk that maintains blood sugar stability with a low glycemic index (below 55). Choose milk that has been enriched with complete nutrition, ranging from protein, omega 3 and 6, calcium, complex carbohydrates, MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acids), as well as 30 other vitamins and minerals. Don't forget to serve milk, it needs to be adjusted to the recommendations listed on the packaging.

By recognizing nutritional needs, mothers and their families help prevent obesity which can have an impact on diabetes in the family. If you want more detailed recommendations, don't hesitate to consult a nutritionist.

5. Avoid stress

Stress is not the only factor directly related to diabetes. However, stress can increase the risk of a natural rise in the body's blood sugar levels. When the body is stressed the adrenal glands trigger the release of glucose which is stored in various organs of the body. This can lead to an increase in high glucose levels in the blood.

Besides, some people take their stress out by eating a lot of food. If this impingement becomes a habit, it is very possible for him to develop diabetes risk. Therefore, it is important to manage the mood in the family.

It can be started by listening to each other if a family member has a problem. You can also ask the child, how was his day at school or if there are things that need help. Giving each other space to talk and helping them with solutions can be a great way to prevent stress.

6. Immediately check with the doctor if there are complaints

If at any time a family member experiences various complaints that are close to symptoms of diabetes, immediately consult a doctor. Early checks to identify diabetes symptoms are steps to manage and prevent diabetes. The doctor will carry out a series of examinations related to the complaints that are felt. So, don't ignore it if you or a family member have a complaint or health condition.

Come on, do the six ways above to maintain family health to reduce the risk of diabetes. Primarily, make sure to manage a healthy lifestyle starting from routine physical activities, adopting a healthy diet, and checking blood sugar regularly. May you and your family always be protected by health!