Seven basic tips to prevent type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents

The International Diabetes Federation warns that in 2040 there will surely be 642 million people, 10% of the population, with type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes is a disease by which our metabolism is unable to regulate blood sugar levels, both in excess and in default, which has serious consequences in the short and long term: hyperglycemia toxicity, liver and nephritic problems, badCirculation that can end in extremities amputations -Siege of every ten non -traumatic amputations are due to diabetes-, blindness and of course premature death.

Generally this inability is a consequence of a kind of deafness of the cells before insulin, which is the molecule that carries them glucose (sugar) so that they burn and get energy.It can also be caused by the pancreas, the organ responsible for producing insulin, stops secreting this hormone correctly.In the case of type 1 diabetes, especially due to genetic factors and autoimmune reactions, the glycemic imbalance occurs in childhood.It is a disease already detected in ancient Egypt.

Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, appears frequently from the age of 40, although every time the age of emergence is lower and begins to be a child problem.It has no genetic causes -if there may be a certain predisposition to the pancreas more sensitive -but is a direct consequence of modern forms of food and the most sedentary lifestyle with respect to the past.It is a disease that was very rare in the 70s but today has become dangerously common.

The director of the Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition of the University of Navarra Clinic, Javier Salvador, pointed in the fall of 2016 that the growth of type 2 diabetes at the national level has become a public health problem and therefore demands theAdministration intervention.Between 9,000 and 10,000 people die in Spain every year for this disease and there are 422 million people in the world with diabetes.The International Diabetes Federation warns that by 2040 will surely be 642 million, 10% of the planet's population.

Can type 2 diabetes be prevented?In principle it is possible, since it appears when the pancreas has forced the production of insulin and suffers a block through which it stops secreting it.In turn, this excessive insulin production is due to a resistance of the cells before this hormone, which regulates the presence of blood sugar, and this resistance occurs when l at glucose entrance by food is constant and high.Therefore, type 2 diabertes can be prevented following the following guidelines

1. prohibit completely all kinds of drinks with added sugars

A 2014 study in which doctors from the Severo Ochoa Madrid Hospital participated, evaluated in 25,000 the deaths derived from the consumption of sugary drinks in Spain.Of course, most of them can be attributed to type 2 diabetes, induced by the continuous excess of sugars in the bloodstream, which has grown alarmingly in our country in the last decade.

At the global level, Dr. Robert Lustig considers sugary drinks responsible for more than a third of the new cases of diabetes.As good news, in Catalonia a tax for sweet drinks is already expected that is expected to act in a deterrent, especially between children and adolescents, who consume them compulsively.

Consequently, we must prohibit our children with this type of drinks, or at least explain that the amounts of sugar they contain are demented and totally harmful to their health.This website contains very illustrative examples that can be useful forget them to become aware.

2. Remove cereals, jams and honey from breakfast

All these products contain important rations of added sugars that do nothing but create blood glucose peaks that force pancreas to work more, apart from increasing the amount of insulin that reaches the cells with new glucose, which encouragesIts resistance or deafness, which in turn forces the pancreas to increase insulin secretion to capture the glucose that does not burn.A vicious circle that ends in diabetes.

Therefore, we must eliminate our children's breakfast cereals unless they are integral, although it is preferable to take the habit of not taking them.Jams and honey should also disappear, or at least limit them to very specific occasions.It is always better to overcome a roast of whole wheat bread with sausage or simply olive oil and a pinch of salt.

3. Usses non -refined flours

Although it is really very difficult to find authentic integral bread, there are refined flour breads that contain a good ration of fiber from the bran.And the same goes for pasta: if bread or pasta is consumed, always integral.Vegetable fiber is very important because it decreases and delays blood sugar entry considerably, so glycemic peaks do not occur.

4. Usuit them to eat vegetables and whole fruit

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is essential to maintain a high vegetable fiber level that prevents sugars from being reabsorbed in the intestinal tract.In addition, fiber serves as food for intestinal flora, which is believed to intervene in the prevention of type 2 diabetes regulating insulin production.Several studies have discovered that diabetic flora is different from that of healthy people.

5. No fruit juices

Natural fruit juices contain amounts of high sugar and instead no fiber, which causes glycemic spikes that stress the pancreas.If we refer to industrial juices, the amounts of sugar, added almost everything, are obscene.Therefore, we must discourage them and of course eradicate the breakfast orange juice or change it for a peeled table orange, which at least contains enough fiber.

6. Neither margarines nor industrial pastries

Nor should we let our children get used to industrial pastries, rich in trans fats, palm oil and added sugars.Especially to hydrogenated or trans fats are related to the appearance of type 2 diabetes. If we must opt, we will always give the lower butter and never margarines at breakfast, although in a moderate way.

7. Promote physical exercise in them

Video games are very good, but they should not be the only game that our daughters and sons practice.Promote sport in them is fundamental, either as a team or individual.From bicycle to walk the mountain, through football, basketball, pediment, etc.Young people need to move more than adults and the current tendency to sedentary lifestyle they present is very dangerous.A advice: if we want to pay attention to us, let's take advantage of us to exercise and accompany them.