Can You "Catch" Diabetes?

Is your wife diabetic? If you answered yes, your risk for the disease just jumped 26 percent, according to new research from Canada’s McGill University. 

A lot of factors determine your diabetes risk—including genetics. But lifestyle choices like how much you sleep, what you eat, and how much you exercise can seriously shrink or swell your chances of developing the disease, explains study coauthor Kaberi Dasgupta, M.D.

Dasgupta says it may be that people who share the same unhealthy lifestyles tend to end up together. Or maybe you adopted her couch-potato ways after you hooked up. In either case, these shared health habits—or lack thereof—are at the root of the spouse-diabetes link, Dasgupta says. 

Slash your risk by trying to walk for at least 30 minutes a day, she says. It doesn’t have to be all at once either: Taking public transport, avoiding elevators, and parking the car further away from the shopping mall all add up. And swap processed snacks—muffins, bagels, or chips—for dark produce like blueberries and purple grapes. They are especially potent diabetes fighters, as they’re rich with anthocyanins and resveratrol—two polyphenols that may help improve glucose metabolism and sensitivity.

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Article source: http://www.menshealth.com/health/can-you-catch-diabetes