Prevent Type 2 diabetes
Screening for diabetes using Fasting Plasma Glucose test should be performed every 3 years in individuals more than or equal to 40 
years of age in order to prevent type 2 diabetes. Canadian Diabetes Association states that screening should especially be considered in people with risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Risk factors include the following:
- Age more than 40 years
- First degree relative with DM
- Member of high risk population (e.g Hispanic, South Asian, Asian or African descent)
- Vascular disease, hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Schizophrenia
- History of gestational diabetes or delivery of macrosomic infant.
We can prevent Type 2 diabetes by making changes in our lifestyle. Losing 5 to 7 percent of the total body weight by following a healthy 
diet can help, accorinding to a recent study eating salba seeds decreases stress levels, if a person is overweight. Losing weight will also lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Exercise of any kind that includes 30 minutes of moderate physical activity at least 5 times a week can prevent Type 2 diabetes. Certain drugs like metformin (glucophage) and acarbose (glucobay) have been shown to prevent the progression from impaired glucose tolerance to type 2 diabetes. Its important to note that prevention trials used structured, comprehensive, and sustained lifestyle programs to achieve weight loss and increased physical activity.
Diet that contains less than 30 percent of total daily calories from fat, 50-60% of total daily calories from carbohydrates, and at least 20 grams of fiber per day is ideal diet that can help prevent type 2 diabetes.
The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), a research study, aimed at discovering whether diet and exercise or the oral diabetes drug metformin (Glucophage) could prevent type 2 diabetes in people with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). DPP found that over the 3 years of the study, diet and exercise reduced the chances that a person with IGT would develop diabetes by 58%. Metformin also reduced risk of developing diabetes by 31% over 3 years. (research published in February 7, 2002, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine)
It has been found that lifestyle intervention works well in men as well as women and in all the ethnic groups in order to prevent Type 2 diabetes. As people with diabetes can face devastating complications from diabetes especially heart attack and stroke, it is very important to adopt a healthy lifestyle to prevent type 2 diabetes.
