When forest fires sweep California, the risk of breathlessness increases. In the summer and fall of 2018, the smoky air in San Francisco was as toxic as smoking half a pack of cigarettes a day.
If wildfire hits your body in the form of chronic inflammation, it is also a serious health risk. If you have prediabetes or full-blown type 2 diabetes, it means that your body is inflamed and that inflammation is disrupting a variety of body functions.
How exactly does it work? Adding sugar and processed carbohydrates to your diet increases your inflammation-related glucose levels. That in turn causes hormonal dysregulation and damages your DNA – never a good thing. It also damages neural functions and blood vessels in your brain.
For this reason, people with prediabetes at the age of 70 have a 40% increased risk of brain dysfunction and people with type 2 diabetes have a 2.5-fold increased risk of cancer – especially of the liver, pancreas, endometrium, colon and rectum, breast and bubble. In England, cancer has now replaced heart disease as the leading cause of death for people with diabetes.
Fortunately, you can erase the inflammation that fuels your prediabetes and diabetes, and reduce your risk of cancer, dementia, heart disease, and other complications of diabetes. Remove all added sugars, syrups, and processed carbohydrates from your diet. Say no to red and processed meat. eat a plant-based diet; do not smoke or drink excessively; and 150 to 300 minutes of exercise per week. That’ll cool it down!
Mehmet Oz, MD, is the host of the “Dr. Oz Show, ”and Mike Roizen, MD, is the chief wellness officer and chairman of the Cleveland Clinic’s Wellness Institute. To live the healthiest life, switch to “The Dr. Oz Show ”or visit www.sharecare.com.
© 2021 Michael Roizen, MD and Mehmet Oz, MD
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.