World Diabetes Day 2024: Introduction
May 14th is World Diabetes Day 2024.
In recognition of this ever rising global disease, let me share with you some evidence-based improvements to your nutrition and exercise that will significantly reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Currently, over 4 million people in the UK have been diagnosed with diabetes, with an estimated 850,000 living undiagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes costs the NHS £14 billion annually – over 10% of its budget. Have you heard about the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme?
If you want to lower your blood sugars, become more insulin sensitive and prevent diabetes, please read on. You may also like to browse my page “Metabolic Health” – all about how I help women age healthily by improving their metabolisms.
World Diabetes Day 2024
Understanding diabetes
Diabetes is a chronic, metabolic disease characterised by elevated levels of blood glucose, a.k.a. blood sugar.
When sugar levels in the bloodstream remain high, the body produces more insulin to try and lower it. Over time, the body’s cells become less responsive to this high level of insulin, leading to insulin resistance – the first step toward becoming diabetic.
Type 2 diabetes develops later, when the body can’t produce enough insulin. and you have high fasting blood glucose as a consequence.
When blood sugar levels remain high over a long time this can cause severe complications. For example, nerve damage, kidney damage, vision problems, circulation problems in the lower limbs, skin condition and cognitive decline. People with diabetes are 2-3 times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease.
Here are the ranges for diabetic versus non-diabetic blood sugar, before and after meals. Do you know your fasting and post-meal numbers?
Condition | Timing | Blood Glucose Range (mmol/L) |
People without diabetes | Before meals | 4.0 – 5.5 |
2 hours after a meal | Less than 7.8 | |
People with diabetes | Before meals | 4.4 – 7.2 |
2 hours after a meal | Less than 10.0 |
Blood test for metabolic testing
Common risk factors for type 2 diabetes
Factors that increase the likelihood of Type 2 diabetes include:
- 📈 Excess body weight and a sedentary lifestyle
- ⚠️ Metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance, high blood sugar, high blood fat, high triglycerides, high belly fat, high blood pressure)
- 🍟 A low-fibre, high glycaemic index (GI) diet (i.e., lots of processed foods)
- 👨👩👧👦 Family history of diabetes and other medical risk factors
- 💊 Drug treatments – Statins, corticosteroids, thiazide diuretic with a beta-blocker
PRO-TIP : Consider carefully your personal risk factors. Get medical testing done.
Understanding insulin resistance
Insulin resistance occurs when the body’s cells become less responsive to insulin, the hormone responsible for managing blood sugar levels.
This process often starts with a high-carb diet – rich in foods like bread, pasta, rice, ultra processed foods, sugar added to processed foods & sauces, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, soda drinks often coupled with a lack of exercise or sedentary lifestyle.
These foods raise blood sugar too high, triggering the pancreas to make and release a lot of insulin to lower the blood sugar back down again.
Over many years these elevated insulin levels cause the cells to become insulin resistant.
Take a look at the diagram…
In a healthy cell (left side) you can see how glucose passes from the bloodstream through the cell membrane (via the glucose channel) into the cell.
In an insulin resistant cell (right side), the glucose builds up in the bloodstream, because the cell has become resistant to insulin and the glucose channel is closed.
An analogy could be the courier ringing your doorbell and you respond normally by opening the door and receiving the parcel. But, in insulin resistance you can’t hear the doorbell and you don’t open the door, so the parcel stays outside.
The left side of the diagram shows a hormal healthy call, while the right side shows an unhealthy cell with insulin resistance.
As an online nutritional therapist, I like to help people at an early stage, when fluctuating blood sugars and signs of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) and hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar) are starting to appear.
By making tailored diet and lifestyle changes, we can lower and stabilise blood sugar levels, improve insulin sensitivity, and prevent the progression to pre-diabetes and diabetes.
For people with these types of risk factors, we start with my “Healthy Ageing Programme” – a plan designed to improve metabolism – to lose weight, improve blood sugar regulation, lower blood fats, blood pressure and improve energy.
We start with baseline testing, at home or in-clinic, and a blood test.
I’ve made a free guide to help you assess your metabolism – Metabolism Testing. You can download it by scanning the QR code below or downloading it here.
And to compliment this, you may like to read my blog on “How to improve metabolism: 9 ways to boost health and lose weight”.
PRO-TIP : Start by knowing your fasting blood sugars – get them tested.
Some warning symptoms of high blood sugar
Please note that these effects often appear only after many years of high blood sugar. You can feel symptom-free for years while insulin resistance quietly develops without your awareness.
- Frequent urination 🚽
- Increased thirst 💧
- Increased hunger 🍽️
- Fatigue 💤
- Blurry vision 👓
- Slow healing wounds ⏳
- Tingling, numbness, or pain in the hands or feet ✋🦶
- Patches of darker skin (neck & armpit) 🖤
- Itching & yeast infections 🧴🍞
- Headaches 🤕
- Skin tags 🔖
PRO-TIP : Remember, you may not be experiencing any of these symptoms, yet still have rising blood sugars and increasing insulin insensitivity.
The role of nutrition in a diabetes prevention programme
Start by cutting out ultraprocessed foods, products made with refined flours (bread, pasta, cakes, biscuits, pastries, etc), sugar and other processed carbohydrates. In their place, substitute more proteins, healthy fats and lots of colourful vegetables.
Research supports the Mediterranean diet, rich in healthy fats like olive oil, nuts, vegetables and fish, as one of the best dietary patterns for a diabetes prevention programme.
A clinical trial in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil reduced the risk of Type 2 diabetes by 52% compared to a low-fat diet .
Research from the DiRECT trial in the UK showed that a weight management programme could achieve remission of Type 2 diabetes in 46% of participants after one year.
I use a specially designed cardio-metabolic food plan from the Institute of Functional Medicine to help my clients improve their metabolic health and lose weight.
The PREDIMED Study, a large-scale clinical trial in Spain found that participants who followed a Mediterranean diet enriched with extra-virgin olive oil & nuts had a 40% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those on a low-fat diet.
Foods on a low-carb diet
The focus shifts away from carbohydrates (bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, flour-based foods) and processed grains as the main bulk of the meal and instead focuses on incorporating more plant and animal proteins, healthy fats and lots of fibre from a variety of both green leafy vegetables and colourful vegetables.
You may like to read my blog “Healthy Eating Week”, which describes the main food groups to enjoy, examples of foods in each group, and why they are so beneficial for us.
Use the pyramid below to help you put the foods together in the right proportions – to make a low carb meal.
Start by putting lots of non-starchy green vegetables onto the plate – like a bed of cabbage or spinach, then add a good handful of healthy protein and a serving of healthy fat. After that, include a variety of more colourful starchy vegetables/fruit – filling half your plate. Then add a small portion of non-gluten grains & legumes, if you are exercising daily and feel hungry. And of course, season with herbs and spices.
Diabetic breakfast ideas
Be brave, start your day with a savoury breakfast, high in protein and fibre. Avoid typical sugar-laiden breakfast cereals, toast, croissants, bagels, pre-made porridge and the like.
Try live Greek yoghurt with nuts, seeds, berries and/or stewed apple.
How about an omelette made with left-over veggies, some feta cheese, spinach and herbs?
Or, smashed avocado & chilli flakes on toasted seed bread with warmed tomato and baby mushrooms. I add a tin of plain mackerel, sloshed with lemon juice, to add more protein, after my morning workout.

Low carb diet snacks
If you need to snack (I often do) try things like a handful of nuts; sliced veggies dipped into guacamole or humous; a few squares of dark chocolate; apple slices & almond nut butter; flaxseed crackers & cottage cheese.
Avoid sugary drinks, fruit juices and snacks high in refined sugars at all costs! Read the labels carefully, sugar is hidden in many guises on the ingredients label.
Check the nutrition facts labels on premade foods carefully. Foods labelled as “low fat” often have high levels of sugar. Bottled sauces are typically high. Check your Granola, protein bars and pre-made soups.
Note that if the label says the food contains 5g of sugar, then you can visualise that as one teaspoon of sugar.
PRO-TIP : Look out for these names on food labels – they are all sugar in different guises!
Exercise: A Powerful Tool for a Diabetes Prevention Programme
Physical activity is one of the best ways to improve insulin sensitivity and prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes.
Why? Exercise helps the body use insulin more effectively, taking the sugar from the bloodstream and getting it into the hungry cells. Exercise supports weight management, and can reduce the risk of complications like cardiovascular disease and kidney failure.
Recommended types of exercise
- Exercise improves all five markers of metabolic health: triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, waist circumference, blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose.
- Exercise changes body composition by reducing visceral fat and increasing muscle mass, both of which improve insulin sensitivity.
- According to the Diabetes Prevention Programme study, 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week, combined with a 7% weight loss, can reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 58%.
- Both aerobic exercise and strength training are effective.
- Aerobic zone 2 exercise – done 3-4 times a week, like brisk walking, cycling, rowing, stepping machines and swimming are great options to improve your metabolism.
- Resistance exercises – using gym machines, resistance bands, free weights or bodyweight exercise, can further improve insulin sensitivity by building more lean muscle. More muscle burns more glucose.
PRO-TIP : Don;t u nderestimate the value of consistent daily exercise in preventing insulin resistance and pre-diabetes.
Additional Lifestyle Factors For Diabetes Prevention
Beyond diet and exercise, other factors like sleep, stress management, and mental health can also influence diabetes risk.
A meta-analysis published in Diabetes Care found that both short and long sleep durations were linked to an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Another study showed that mindfulness-based stress techniques improved blood sugar control.
Diabetes Prevention Programme
The NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, also known as the Healthier You programme, identifies people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes and refers them onto a nine-month, evidence-based lifestyle change programme. You can find details of a programme near you by clicking this link.
The role of Continuous Glucose Monitoring systems
Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is a wearable technology that tracks your glucose levels around the clock by measuring glucose in the fluid just under the skin.
In my experience, CGMs are incredibly useful for clients, providing real-time feedback on how specific foods, meals, stress, sleep, and exercise impact blood sugar levels.
This detailed information allows us to tailor daily routines more effectively to maintain stable blood sugar, helping avoid those glucose spikes and dips, sugar cravings, afternoon energy lows and overall fatigue.
PRO-TIP : I use a CGM “Freestyle Libra” . Wear the monitor for 2 weeks and track everything you possibly can about how your diet and lifestyle affects your blood sugars.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Key Takeaways for Preventing Type 2 Diabetes
- Eat Well 🥗: A diet rich in whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats is ideal for managing blood sugar.
- Move Regularly 🏃♀️: Aim for at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week to maintain a healthy weight and improve insulin sensitivity.
- Stay Mindful 🧘: Limit sugary drinks and high-carb snacks, monitor portion sizes, and focus on sleep 🛌 and stress management 🧘♂️.
- Get Tested 🩺: Triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, fasting insulin, HbA1C, waist circumference, blood pressure, muscle ratios, fasting blood sugar. Let me help you – give me a call.😊
- Get Support 🤝: Talk to a healthcare provider about the best preventive strategies for you.
Conclusion
Diabetes is not only a personal health challenge but also a global health issue. Over the past 20 years, the number of diagnosed cases in the UK has more than doubled, making diabetes prevention a priority for public health.
By taking simple steps like choosing healthy foods, engaging in regular exercise, and reducing stress levels – you can dramatically decrease your diabetes risk and support your overall health.
If you’d like support in checking your metabolism, testing blood sugars early, or having in-clinic testing to stabilise blood sugars, please contact me. Together, we can create a proactive plan for lasting metabolic health.
On World Diabetes Day 2024, let’s all commit to small, impactful changes for a healthier future.
Contact me today for a free 15 minute chat, and let’s start your journey toward better metabolic health.
References
https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/diabetes-type-2/background-information/risk-factors/
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/professionals/position-statements-reports/statistics
https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2024/research/diabetes-cost-to-uk/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7468821/
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa012512
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)33102-1/abstract
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25715415/

Dawn Rowland, BSc(Hons), BSc(OST), Dip ION
Osteopath & Nutritional Therapist
Dawn is founder of New Dawn Health. She guides and motivates women to improve current symptoms through diet and exercise, and ultimately enjoy a longer health span warding off the chronic diseases of modern living.
Caring and practical, Dawn will find a way to take you from where you are now to where you want to be.