5 THINGS FOR A LONGER AND HEALTHIER LIFE

These small changes can help you fend off diabetes, or shield you from its worst effects.

1.       Have a side salad:

When eating high-carb foods (pasta, potatoes, rice), serve salad, too – and make sure the dressing contains vinegar. A recent small study found that just 1½  tbsp of vinegar can lower your blood sugar by 42%.

2.       Treat your pasta right:

Keeping cells responsive to insulin is key to warding off diabetes, as it’s insulin that sweeps sugar out of the blood. Here’s an effective, tasty way to do that: recent research found sautéing pasta (or any carb-rich food) in extra-virgin olive oil substantially increased insulin sensitivity.

3.       Move a little:

Just one session of moderate exercise improves your body’s blood-sugar control, new research shows, with mini-bursts deemed as effective as continuous exercise. In fact, sitting for hours at a time boosts your risk of a variety of diseases, even if you’re otherwise active. Aim to move at least 30-45 minutes a day. Make that goal less daunting by racking up minutes during TV commercials or other bits of downtime.

4.       Enforce a blackout:

If you don’t sleep seven or eight hours most nights, your risk of developing diabetes – or having it get worse – rises by 37-88%, says a recent study. To sleep longer and better, go dark: even a small amount of light during bedtime hours slows melanin production, the hormone that makes you sleepy. Reading lights or glowing screens can rev the body, so if you want to read in bed, try amber sunglasses – they block blue lights waves that are particularly disruptive for melanin. For computer use, try free blue-filtering software such as Flux.

5.       Ditch Potatoes for nuts:

Potatoes deliver a dietary double whammy: they make your blood sugar rise, and over the years are particularly likely to make you gain weight, a recent long-term study showed. Nuts may be high in fat, but snacking on a handful instead of chips will help you lose kilos. And recent studies have shown that pistachios, almonds and peanuts have surprising power to keep blood sugar even.