Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas cannot produce insulin (type 1 diabetes, cannot be prevented, is an autoimmune disease), or when the body cannot use the insulin that is produced (type 2 diabetes, can be prevented by having a healthy lifestyle).

The consequence of this is the appearance of an excess of glucose in the blood, and over time, the excess of glucose in the blood can cause serious health problems, such as cardiovascular diseases, damage to organs such as the eyes, kidneys and nerves, among others.

This disease is a major public health problem, affecting more than 463 million people worldwide, and is increasing along with obesity. In Argentina, 12.7% of the population has diabetes or high blood sugar.

The most alarming thing about these figures is that approximately 90% of people who have diabetes suffer from type 2, that is, a disease that can be prevented or at least delayed.

How to prevent it?

Adding healthy habits such as:

• Maintain a healthy weight, avoiding excessive overweight and obesity
• Increase consumption of fruits and vegetables of all varieties and colors throughout the day
• Respect the four main meals (breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner
• Decrease the consumption of saturated fats and increase the consumption of healthy fats found in nuts,  fish, avocado, seeds and raw oils
• Avoid eating processed and ultra-processed foods with high amounts of sodium and sugar
• Reduce the consumption of soft drinks and alcoholic beverages, always preferring the consumption of water (at least 8 glasses per day)
• Realizar actividad física (como mínimo 150 minutos de actividad física por semana) y mantenerse activo la mayor cantidad de tiempo posible evitando el uso excesivo de pantallas (televisión, celular, computadora, etc.)
• Mantener un nivel de vida con el menos estrés posible

Es importe realizarse los chequeos anuales con médicos y nutricionistas para detectar a tiempo la enfermedad, sobre todo aquellos que se encuentran dentro de los grupos de riesgo., tales como personas mayores de 45 años, presencia de sobrepeso u obesidad,  personas con antecedentes de enfermedades cardiovasculares, dislipidemia e hipertrigliceridemia, y mujeres con síndrome de ovarios poliquísticos.

Lic. Danila Alonso – M.P.:4079

Nutrition Area

La Posada del Qenti