I am just wondering how I can prevent developing diabetes, if it's possible.I am a 46 year old female.

The best way to prevent diabetes is the same as the basic (non medication) treatment for diabetes - diet and exercise.

Control your carb intake. You don't have to cut out carbs, but limit them and make smart carb choices...choose whole grain over white...choose al dente over over-cooked pasta, choose old-fashioned oatmeal over quick oatmeal. The less processed a carb is, the harder the body has to work to turn it into glucose and helps reduce glucose spikes. Not everyone is a proponent of this, but I am...look into the "Glycemic Index". One book I have that's very good is "The Good Carb Cookbook, Secrets to Eating Low on the Glycemic Index" by Sandra Woodruff.

Exercise. Try to exercise 1/2 hour plus everyday. Your muscles are a major user of glucose, by exercising your blood sugar will go down as will any "insulin resistance" (a major component to Type 2 diabetes) you may have. The muscle cells have their own little glucose stores. After exercising it will take hours for those stores to build back up again.

Good luck!

Have you had blood tests that indicate you are at risk? Are members of your family diabetic? Testing is the first thing you need to do. Then if you are overweight, lose that excess weight.

While high sugar content, a sedentary life, and obesity are the primary causes of diabetes in most people, some have a pre-genetic disposition for diabetes and are born with it, and still others acquired diabetes by various other means.

I had a sudden onset of adult diabetes right before my 50th birthday; my blood sugar level shot up to 900, and I was in good shape, thin with a rather active lifestyle, exercised, etc. It was determined that my diabetes came from a defoliant used in the former Republic of South Vietnam known as “Agent Orange,“ where I served with the U.S. Army back in the 1960’s. The chemical name for agent orange is dioxin and allot of U.S. veterans from both the Korea War and Vietnam War got diabetes from going into areas which were sprayed by this chemical. Dioxin is still used in many areas here in the U.S. today and the Department of Veterans Affairs says that it can stay in a person’s cellular structure for decades before bringing on a host of disorders, including diabetes.

Another source of diabetes is alcoholism, which can cause pancreatitis, and the slow down or stoppage of insulin production, although in many cases pancreatitis is reversible.

My point is that diabetes can come from many sources, but I do agree that it is most commonly obesity and a sedentary life which inspires diabetes.

.... Testing is the first thing you need to do. Then if you are overweight, lose that excess weight.
Following on from what JacquelineL said, an Insulin level test will show how "at risk" you are. Even if your blood sugars are normal, high insulin levels mean that you are insulin resistant. And insulin resistance leads to Type 2 Diabetes.

You should be able to reduce insulin levels by cutting back on carbohydrates. And I mean ALL carbohydrates, both high and low GI. Carbohydrates cause you pancreas to produce insulin. And the more insulin your pancreas produces, the more insulin resistant you are likely to become.

Cheers,

Mark