Type 2 diabetes and heart disease are, unfortunately, growing more and more common. Both diseases are quite closely associated with lifestyle factors such as a sedentary lifestyle and not eating as well as we could.
Whether you’re looking for a full assessment, or just some lifestyle advice, here are some tips to keep both heart disease and diabetes at bay. However, what is the definition of dis-ease? What does having a disease actually mean?
Disease Definition
The definition of dis-ease is simply, an abnormal condition that impairs normal function. A disease is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms.
In simpler terms, it means lacking ease of some kind of ability. However, these days it is also referred to in sickness and impaired bodily functions.
What Is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a collection of conditions whereby the body doesn’t use the sugars we get from digesting food as energy very well.
The pancreas makes insulin, which is what the body uses to move these sugars, also known as glucose, into our cells. Without this glucose, our cells have little energy to continue their vital work in keeping us healthy and alive.
In diabetes, the pancreas either doesn’t make enough insulin, or it isn’t the right quality. Either way, our cells suffer because they don’t get enough fuel. The worst affected areas are usually muscle tissue, the liver, and fat cells.
The brain is also heavily reliant on glucose as fuel. When it doesn’t get enough, it can affect how everything else in the body works.
What Is Heart Disease?
Heart disease is also a common name for a collection of issues that affect the heart. It might mean conditions that narrow or block veins, strokes, and high blood pressure. It can also apply to conditions affecting the actual muscle of the heart, like arrhythmia.
All of these conditions raise the chances of having a cardiac event, or a heart attack.
What Causes These Diabetes & Heart Disease?
There are a lot of factors contributing to developing both Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Some may be genetic, some might be related to viruses or other environmental factors. These factors are out of our control, and can only really be detected by medical testing.
However, we know that a lot of causes of these diseases come from our lifestyles.
Smoking, drinking too much alcohol, living a sedentary life, and not eating a balanced diet can all have a big impact on developing these conditions.
Can I Stop Myself Getting Diabetes & Heart Disease?
The good news is, we can manage our risk of developing both type 2 diabetes and heart disease with lifestyle changes. We can also manage the conditions themselves, and in some cases, reverse them, by eating a balanced diet and staying active.
Top Tips
- Maintain a healthy weight for your height
- If you smoke, quit or cut down
- Stay well within the NHS guidelines for alcohol consumption
- Eat a balanced diet
- Stay or get active- at least 150 minutes a week of moderate activity.
- Reduce your stress and anxiety levels where possible
In essence, get and stay healthy!
Sounds easy, right? Well most of us find it tricky to change our habits – I know I do!
Smoking and alcohol cessation help can be found on the NHS website. It is really important for all aspects of health that drinking is done in moderation, and smoking is not done at all. It can be hard, but there is a lot of support out there to quit or cut down.
Increase Your Activity Levels
This is the one most of us find really hard to do these days. After a long day sitting at a desk, do many people really want to go to the gym or go out for a run? Does the thought of it overwhelm you before you even pack your gym bag?
Good news – it’s really not necessary to pack in hours at the gym to start work on your fitness.
If you find yourself falling far short of the 150 minutes a week (no shame- we start where we start) just start by taking a brisk walk, maybe part of the way home, into work in the morning, at lunchtime, or even all three if you can manage it!
Walking is surprisingly efficient as keeping us healthy and managing weight, in conjunction with diet changes. We are, after all, built to walk, so any time you see an opportunity for a saunter, grab it.
Make sure you aren’t overexerting yourself to begin with- there’s nothing like tiring yourself out or injuring yourself for putting your progress back a few weeks.
Work your way up gently to the next level of activity that feels right for you- maybe a swim, maybe a jog, maybe table tennis, but make sure it’s something you either enjoy now or will grow to enjoy as you get fitter. If you don’t enjoy it, you probably won’t stick to it that long. And the goal is to be fit for life!
A great spin off of being more active is that your sleep quality should improve- and good sleep is the foundation of a healthy and fit life. Plus, exercise is a great way to keep your stress levels down – heart disease loves stress, so don’t let it hang around!
Eat A Health Diet
Number one tip for people aiming to manage their weight: eat regularly. Somehow, it is still popular to skip meals as a method of crash dieting. There is some evidence to suggest that intermittent fasting is good for us when our bodies are good at burning body fat as fuel, but most of us rely on the easy to find glucose from food. As our main energy source
If you are in the latter category, skipping a meal is most likely to make you tired, cranky, weak and not thrilled with life. So don’t do it.
If anything, you need to eat more. More of the good stuff that is!
The Mediterranean diet has been touted as the ideal for some years now, and for good reason. A true Mediterranean diet relies heavily on vegetables, fruits, pulses, whole grains, nuts and healthy oils. There is some fish and occasional lean meat, very little sugar or processed foods.
It isn’t, however, having pastries at breakfast, pasta salad at lunch and lasagne with garlic bread at dinner, washed down with half a bottle of red wine! That’s holiday food, not what people in the Mediterranean eat every day.
Instead, consider the food from all the Mediterranean countries – try baked falafels, grilled sardines, ratatouille, salads with many leaves, plenty of olive oil and lemon juice as dressing, bean soups, and as much hummus with crudites as you can fit in.
Summary
If you can make a collection of changes to your lifestyle – add in a fresh salad lightly dressed with good oil, eat beans twice a week, take a few long walks, slowly work to ditch the sugary treats, booze and processed food – you’re en-route to a healthier life and thus are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Human bodies love vegetables and pulses and healthy fats, they love to move and feel their full range of motion. And the more a human body has this fuel and movement, the healthier they will be for longer.
FAQ’s
What Is Involved In A Cardiovascular Assessment?
A cardiovascular assessment involves looking into, assessing and inspecting the heart as a whole. From listening out for any palpations, and the sounds of the heart, to ensuring the heart rate and rhythm are normal. However, all cardiovascular assessments are slightly different depending on where you go for your assessment.
What Are The First Signs Of Being A Diabetic?
There are a few signs to look out for when it comes to diabetes – Frequent urination, an increased thirst, always feeling hungry, feeling tired, blurred vision, dark patches of skin and tingling or numbness.
How Can A Person Get Diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease that occurs when the body is unable to use blood sugar (glucose) properly. This mainly happens through genetics, obesity, high cholesterol, or other environmental factors.
What Does Dis-ease Mean?
Many years ago it literally meant – lacking ease. However, these days it can also be referred to problems with bodily functions.
What Are The Most Common Diseases?
Heart disease, Stroke, Influenza, Pneumonia, Bronchitis, Tuberculosis, Pulmonary disease, Cancer, Alzheimer’s, Cirrhosis.
What’s The Most Infectious Disease?
The most infectious diseases are smallpox and the bubonic and pneumonic plagues. Combined it’s said they have killed over 550 million people worldwide.
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