While it is true that we cannot control our genetic make-up, age, or family history of diabetes, there is much that we can control that impacts our development of type 2 diabetes and the prevention of any worsening effects of the disease. If you are a diabetic or have a genetic predisposition for diabetes, you can take steps to maximize your health potential, add years to your life, and improve your quality of life during those added years.

Steps to take in staying at your healthiest as a diabetic include:

• Living a healthier lifestyle through a low-glycemic and well-balanced diet, proper exercise, and quitting smoking if you are currently a smoker.

• Keep track of your blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight. These numbers tell you how well your diabetes is being managed.

• Don't miss your doctor's appointments. Also be sure to follow your doctor's orders. With diabetes, several aspects of health may be affected, such as your vision, your feet and legs, and your heart. For this reason, you may have several different healthcare professionals observing and treating you for your condition.

If you're like most diabetics, you may be constantly asking yourself, 'What can I eat?' or, 'What all must I cut out of my diet?' Fortunately, living with diabetes doesn't mean you have to feel deprived.

While you should avoid sugars and starchy carbohydrates as much as you can, there are many food choices that may satisfy your sweet tooth without significantly impacting your blood sugar.

Most of the healthiest, most anti-oxidant loaded fruits are actually quite low on the glycemic index and will not substantially raise your blood sugar. These include blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries. Berries are low in sugar content relative to their fiber content, keeping the glycemic load down, in comparison to other fruits. Apples and oranges are also low GI and are good food choices in the fruit category.

You should, however, stay away from high sugar, low fiber fruits such as melons, grapes, and pineapple, as the glycemic index value of these fruits are so high, they will impact your blood sugar levels as much as eating pure table sugar.

Sweet potatoes are considered low on the glycemic index and are a good choice as a low-impact carbohydrate food. Have this in place of regular potatoes as a lower GI alternative.

Whole grains are a great low GI food. This is because of the germ and the bran in it. Germ and bran contains all the nutrients a grain product has to offer. When you eat processed grains like bread made from enriched wheat flour, you don’t get the germ and bran. With the absence of these important parts, you lose the fiber, and therefore you will raise your blood sugar levels with consumption of processed grains.

There are also lots of foods that are great at satisfying your appetite and can help you avoid over-eating. Low-calorie and high-fiber veggies, nuts, and Omega-3 rich fish all are great choices for this.

Nuts are great choices for diabetics because there is very little sugar in them, in addition to having protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals that are important for your body. The healthy fats in them also help with satiety.

Dark green leafy vegetables, such as kale, spinach, and collards, are the most anti-oxidant rich foods on the planet. There is also practically no impact on your blood sugar when you eat them. Eat all you want of these, the more the better.

Salmon is the most popular of the fish that are high in Omega-3 fatty acids. The health benefits from this essential fatty acid, along with the high fat content (healthy fat) that is in salmon, make this fish a great food choice for diabetics, as well as anyone else, for both nutrition and satiety purposes.

Detoxification cleanses have been around for centuries, practiced for the same reason they are practiced today – to remove impurities from the body. To detoxify your body, you must focus on resting, cleaning, and nourishing your body from within. Such cleanses for removing toxins can help you to have more energy, boost your immune system, clear up certain digestive problems, decrease muscle and joint aches and pains, allow for more healthy looking skin and hair, among other benefits for a healthier body. If you have any of the following, you should strongly consider a detox cleanse:

 

• bloating

• sluggishness or unexplained fatigue

• unexplained muscle and joint aches

• irritated skin

• mental confusion

• menstrual problems

• having low-grade infections often

• puffiness or dark shadiness under eyes

   

Detox cleanses may help with your body's aches and pains, digestive problems, skin problems, and may also help you lose weight as well. When you are detoxing, you are essentially cleaning the blood by removing impurities from the blood in the liver, which is where toxins are primarily processed for elimination. Other organs of the body involved in toxin elimination are the kidneys, intestines, lungs, lymph, and skin. When your system for elimination of toxins is compromised, impurities are no longer properly filtered, causing your body's organs and tissues to be negatively affected.

 

Detox programs address the body's toxins at the cellular level. Naturopathic physician Peter Bennett, co-author of 7-Day Detox Miracle, explains, "Detoxification works because it addresses the needs of individual cells, the smallest units of human life.” Purifying the body at this level will set your body's organs up for much better function.

 

A detox program will naturally help cleanse the body in a few ways. First, by allowing organs to have a 'break', where they are not working extra-hard due to the toxin build-up in the cells. Another benefit is by stimulating the liver to pull more toxins from the body, while also promoting toxin elimination through the intestines, kidneys, and skin. Also, a detox program will allow for the re-fueling of healthy nutrients for the cells of the body after the 'dumping' of so much of your cells' toxins.

 

There are many detox cleanses out there, but some of the most popular are the juice cleanse, sugar detox, the hypoallergenic detox. They all have different benefits and fit the needs of each person differently. Many cleanse programs span for seven to ten days, due to the time needed in cleaning the blood. I personally recommend a seven-day juice fast, where you are to only drink water and fresh fruit and vegetable juices for an entire week. I have tried this before by taking in only purified water, organic kale, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries for seven days. I can say that my energy levels soared after the cleanse, as did my clarity of thinking.

 

So a detoxification program is important and should be considered by anyone, as we all have toxins floating around in our bodies and stuck inside our body tissues' cells. But another thing we should recognize is the need to properly nourish our bodies in order to cleanse and sustain a low level of toxins in our bodies. The following are practices you should take to cleanse your body:

 

• Drink at least one gallon of water a day.

• Take in lots of vitamin C – up to 2000 mg, preferably spread out about the day. This helps the body produce glutathione, which is a liver compound that helps rid the body of toxins.

• Reduce negative stresses in your life as much as you can. For instance, worrying about things that are out of your control accomplishes nothing, other than negatively impacting your health.

• Go to the sauna regularly, as you can eliminate toxins through your sweat.

• Exercise in some way every day. One hour of some exhilarating activity, such as walking, jogging, swimming, weight training, yoga, palates, among so many others – regular exercise has a positive impact on the body in so many ways.

 

Changing up aspects of the way you go about your day everyday can be quite challenging, no doubt. It may also seem to you that the older you are, the more 'set in your ways' you become, and making drastic changes in your diet, exercise regimen (if one is in place at all), and other realms of your life that much more difficult. After all, you are facing a change in the way you live, or at least part of it.

So often you see others who have tried and failed on making what you may view as the simplest alterations in their daily regimens. With this, you wonder if making a change for the long-term is really practical. The truth is, where most people fail is due to the fact that most people have no idea what they are getting into when they make such commitments to themselves.

What you must realize before jumping into a resolution for a lifestyle alteration is that you are going up against a lifetime of habits and behavior. You must also recognize the need for the change, what is in it for you both in the short- and long-term, and ultimately, accept that you have some work to do in accomplishing such changes for a better you.

Once you actually make a decision to change a certain aspect of your lifesyle, attaining your goal is already much more within reach. Just keep in mind that you must keep the goal for your change or changes at high priority, with solid commitment and awareness in mind for the long-term. Devise a strategy and stick to it. If you do these things, making a healthy lifestyle change will become much easier to deal with for both now and throughout the rest of your life.

Now, for changes you need to consider making, let's hit the points of most importance in developing a healthier you.

First of all, if you smoke, then quit. Easier said than done - yes, I know. If you have trouble quitting, start smoking less right away. Try this immediately by smoking only half a cigarette, and skip as many of your usual smokes as you can. Also, you would be best advised to get help as soon as you can to end the nasty habit. Proper guidance as to why it is you smoke to figure out how best to stop doing it is most effective. Smoking cessation groups may be very helpful and supportive, and certain medications may be of benefit in decreasing the cravings.

Next, look at your diet and make some changes. If you are overweight or have health problems such as high cholesterol, diabetes, or anything else that may be linked to poor dietary choices, this is of primary importance to you.

Look to focusing on eating, not dieting. What I mean by this is that you must focus on eating small amounts at a time, and not a limited number of meals. When hungry, you are more likely to overeat, especially in the evening. Rather than omitting your food consumption all day and gorging down a large meal later, it's far healthier to eat enough during the day to avoid hunger pangs and uncontrolled eating at the end of the day. Eat every three to four hours, including three small meals and a small, healthy snack such as nuts and fruit in between meals. If you do this, you will not only shed unwanted pounds off your body and improve your overall health, but you will also notice a lot more energy throughout the day.

Drink more water. Drinking more water will not only flush out toxins in your body and keep you hydrated for better body organ functions, but will also aid significantly in satiety – causing you to ultimately eat less. Drink 16 ounces of water just prior to a meal and notice how quickly you feel full.

Engage in some type of resistance training regimen. Yes, cardiorespiratory exercise is very important and should be included for at least 20 minutes at three days a week, but resistance training is commonly omitted from people's exercise regimens. Too many people neglect resistance exercise, particularly women. Resistance training, such as weight training, is crucial for preventing muscle and bone loss with age. You should lift weights for at least 20 minutes, two to three times per week. Resistance training also helps with diabetes and long-term lowering of blood sugar, more so than cardio exercise.

Make these changes and you will soon notice a healthier, more energetic you. Just keep in mind your long-term goals, stay committed, and consistently remind yourself of why you want these changes, and you will accomplish the lifestyle changes you so desire.

Elevated blood sugar levels are problematic for many diabetics and people with insulin resistance. Aside from the need to seek assessment and treatment from your primary care physician for these condiitons, it is important to be aware of the lifestyle changes you should consider for natually lowering your blood sugar.

Reduce your stress level. Stress triggers the release of certain hormones that will raise your blood sugar. I advise researching and trying various stress-relieving techniques, such as yoga, meditation, walks or hikes out on nature trails, among many others.

Eat a well-balanced diet. You should strive to have a diet high in protein (nuts, meats), high in fiber (green leafy veggies, prunes), and low in starchy carbohydrates like breads and potatoes, and of course low in sugars such as candy, sodas, and dessert items.

You should also eat small meals throughout the day, as opposed to a couple large meals that will spike your insulin after bringing your body into a semi-starvation mode. Try eating a small-portioned, well-balanced meal every three hours, to keep your blood sugar level from spiking or dipping.

Workout. There have been hundreds of studies in the past twenty-or-so years concluding positive effects of blood sugar levels, both short- and long-term, from exercise - particularly resistance exercise (weight training).

Sleep for eight hours a night. Do you think most people do this these days? Nope. However, it has been shown in several studies that less than six hours of sleep a night will cause increased blood glucose levels. Eight hours has been shown to be the requirement for most individuals, but most people never give themselves the pleasure.

As the holiday season is now offically in full swing, you find yourself amongst a great many shoppers with family and friends - all seem to be relishing in the season festivities. As you walk outside each day, you see all the colorful lights and decorations, hear the gleeful christmas carols, and feel the cool, crisp air of the season. All the world seems well. These are the holidays, a time for cheer, right?

For many of us, this season for cheer, joy, and happiness may be a bit more difficult to embrace than others. There are many reasons for this. For many, it is the added stresses and demands of the season that bring us down. For others, people may feel depresssed around the winter holidays due to a condition known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). This tends to occur as the days grow shorter during the late fall and early winter. The decreasing amounts of sunlight and the colder temperatures often result in feelings of depression. Others may find the holidays depressing due to the fact that it may remind them of close family members or friends who are either deceased or not near.

For most of us, finding ways to reduce the stresses of the holidays will prove effective at avoiding such gloom feelings. This may be accomplished by limiting commitments, making arrangements to share family responsibilities such as gift shopping and meal preparation, setting a budget and spending limits on gift purchases, and finding extra time to rest.

Find time to attend as many social gatherings as you can, such as charity events, holiday parties, or meet-up group gatherings, to lessen any feelings of loniness or self-doubt that typically increases in many induviduals at this time of the year.

Avoid indulgence of food and desserts at social gatherings and dinners. It only worsens the mood once guilt sets in from over-eating or eating lots of not-so-healthy food items.

Exercise will also be of great help in keeping your spirits high during the holidays. Make sure you fit in at least three days a week of some type of exercise regimen to naturally raise your endorphines, which will improve your mood.

What are you planning on having for your Thanksgiving dinner? With the holidays quickly coming upon us, the difficulty in maintaining a clean, well-balanced diet will become a challenge for most. From turkey to stuffing, cranberry sauce to pumpkin pie, there will be so many choices for you to fill your plate with. Not to worry, you can easily make wise choices for healthy eating during the holidays.

The first rule to remember before grabbing your plate for food picking is this: Watch your portions. Do not load your plate up, I don't care if it's what you may consider to be "healthy" food on that plate, keep the portions small. What you place on your dish is likely to be devoured; the less you add to your plate, the less you will end up eating.

The next rule to remember is to watch what food choices you are making as you walk down the line, placing all of the delicious grub on your dish. You see turkey? Go for it, but watch how much you're getting. A meat or protein choice the size of your fist will do, but no more. You see some green veggies? Please, by all means, throw it on the saucer. And then you come upon the pecan pie. Now I'm not saying avoid this entirely, it is the holidays after all. But watch the portion, once again. If it's a few small bites of pie, it will not hurt you, but don't go for a large piece. Any amount larger than half the size of your wrist for a dessert is going too far.

The third rule to remember while kicking it with your family and friends is to not drink too much while being merry. I'm not saying this from the standpoint of becoming intoxicated. In this instance, I speak on the fact that alcohol will basically tell your body to place those calories you're taking in to fat stores. Nothing shuttles calories to body fat quicker then combining high-calorie eating with alcohol consumption. Without going into the science behind why this is the case, just remember to keep the alcohol consumption to just one or two small glasses of wine.

Just remember these three tips and you'll make it through the holidays without noticing the extra snug fit of your clothes a week later.

Happy, Healthy, and Safe Holidays!