November is Diabetes Awareness Month!
Instead of waiting until the problem starts, let’s discuss prevention tips now. The National Diabetes Education Program through the NIH recommends that every American over the age of 45 have their blood sugar checked yearly and individuals under the age of 45 if they have a risk factor. Risk factors include family history, overweight or obesity, little or no physical activity, having had gestational diabetes and high blood pressure. The American Diabetes Association slogan for diabetes awareness month is America Gets Cooking℠ TO STOP DIABETES® , check out their website for great resources and recipes.
Prevention Tips 101: 
1. Get moving. Exercise 30 minutes a day, five times a week. Exercise increases the number of insulin receptors on cells, so the body uses insulin more effectively. Activity can include swimming, yoga, walking, running, playing a sport, even gardening or dancing.
2. Drop a few pounds. If you are overweight, loosing as little as 5-10% of your weight can help significantly decrease the risk of diabetes. If you are 200 pounds, that means losing just 10-20 pounds which can result in health benefits.
3. Increase fruits and vegetable intake. Fruit and non-starchy vegetables don’t spike your blood sugar. Here are a couple of ideas from the American Heart Association on how you can incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet. Check out fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org for more tips on increasing fruits and vegetables in your diet as well as recipes. 
4. Fiber allows the body to control blood sugar. It also helps the digestive system to absorb the good foods and decrease absorption of bad fats. Increase your intake of fiber through whole fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds. See my October blog on Healthy Halloween Treats for ideas on roasting pumpkin seeds. You’re looking for foods with more than 5 grams of fiber in them when reading the sides of boxes and packages. 
5. Include whole grains. These foods help maintain blood sugar. They are foods like quinoa, whole wheat products, and oats. Make sure you see the word “whole” in the ingredients list. Check out the whole grains council for more information and whole grain recipes.
6. Reduce Portion Control. When putting food on your plate, use half the plate for vegetables, a ¼ of the plate for meats/protein products, and ¼ of the plate for starches/carbohydrates. The American Diabetes Association has created a campaign they call, Create Your Plate, check it out for more ideas.
For more information on your risk of Diabetes, take this questionnaire.
There is also more information on Diabetes Prevention through the CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program. Eat Fit Health offers services for diabetes prevention, prediabetes, and diabetes, check out our diabetes page for more information!
Here’s to staying healthy today to live a better tomorrow, awareness is the first step! 
By Megan Carrier
Eat Fit Health Intern
Graduate Student, Drexel University
MS in Human Nutrition