It is well-known that being overweight, inactive, having poor dietary habits, and family history are risk factors for developing diabetes. What you may not know is there is another suspect emerging as a major contributor to that risk – Inflammation.
Inflammation is part of the body’s immune response. It is how the body reacts to anything it sees as foreign. When the body recognizes an invader, it sends white blood cells to the area and a chemical process takes place which causes an inflammatory response. When you have a cut or bruise; blood flow to the area increases, the body sends white blood cells to the area, and you experience redness, warmth, swelling and pain. This chemical process also occurs internally in response to a number of things such as harmful bacteria, cigarette toxins, chemicals in processed foods, etc., and causes the release of toxic chemicals called cytokines. Cytokines are also released by internal fat (fat that accumulates on the inside of the body, or visceral fat, when we are overweight – particularly the fat in the abdomen and that surrounds major organs). Research studies conclude that these chemicals interfere with insulin levels and our body’s ability to use insulin, or insulin sensitivity, making us insulin resistant. Insulin resistance itself also increases inflammation in the body, and this creates a cycle which leads to the body’s inability to regulate blood sugar normally, which often leads to diabetes. This is why the most important thing you can do to decrease inflammation in your body is to lose weight. Some of the other main factors that are known to increase inflammation are smoking, inflammatory diet, stress, and lack of sleep.
What you can do:
- Lose weight
- Quit smoking
- Exercise – decreases inflammation in the body even without weight loss. When we exercise, anti-inflammatory chemicals are released in the body, and it increases insulin sensitivity (helps our body to use insulin better). Aim for 30 minutes of exercise on most days of the week. Talk to your healthcare provider about what type of exercise is right for you.
- Diet:
- Decrease consumption of inflammatory foods
- Saturated and trans fats
- Shortening, margarine
- Red meat
- Fried food
- Full-fat dairy
- Refined sugar and carbohydrates
- Processed foods, pre-packaged meals
- Baked goods
- Increase consumption of anti-inflammatory foods
- Healthy fats/omega 3 fatty acids (found in salmon, nuts, flaxseed, canola oil, avocado)
- Nuts
- Fruits and vegetables
- Fiber
- Green and black tea
- Curcumin
- Mung bean
- Micronutrients (magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin E, zinc, selenium). Ask your healthcare provider which supplements are right for you.
- Sesame lignans (found in sesame oil or in supplement form)
- Decrease consumption of inflammatory foods
- Get more sleep (7-9 hours per night): The body restores, rebuilds, and heals itself during sleep.
- Manage stress: Stress stimulates the inflammatory response and dysregulates the immune system and our normal defenses. Some effective forms of stress management are yoga, meditation, talk therapy, getting into nature, and exercise.
- Decrease use of antibiotics and NSAIDS when possible, as they disrupt the gut biome and the immune system, our natural response system.
If you decrease the risk factors for inflammation, you decrease their stimulus on the inflammatory pathways which can lead to diabetes, as well as other diseases. Inflammation is silent, but is now considered the #1 cause of most chronic diseases.
References:
Are Diabetes and Inflammation Connected? (webmd.com)
Chronic Inflammation – StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf (nih.gov)
The Role of Inflammation in Diabetes: Current Concepts and Future Perspectives – PMC (nih.gov)
All Blogs are written by Professionals in the fields of Nutrition, Human Development and Diabetes.