Unlike type 1 diabetes, you can manage type 2 diabetes through changes in your lifestyle in medication, weight loss, healthy diet, physical activity. Although you cannot cure diabetes, you can better manage your blood glucose levels with medication, a healthier diet, and physical activity.
While type 2 diabetes is greatly affected by obesity, it is not the sole underlying cause of diabetes. Causes and risk factors for type 2 diabetes include genetics, obesity, metabolic syndrome, excess glucose from your liver, prediabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, and gestational diabetes.
The most effective way to manage your blood glucose levels would be to use a blood glucose monitoring meter. Using a blood glucose meter can be useful in comparing your blood glucose levels before and after food intake/physical activity.
According to CDC, more than 34 million Americans have diabetes (about 1 in 10), and approximately 90-95% of them have type 2 diabetes. Despite its prevalence, type 2 diabetes can go unnoticed for a long time until its symptoms develop over the years (CDC, 2019).
With diabetes being one of the most prevalent diseases in the world, there are also a lot of support groups for those with diabetes like American Diabetes Association (ADA), Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists (ADCES), and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF).
