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Happiness Is . . . Better Blood Sugar
This Week's Tips
Take time to find -- and do -- things that make you happy. It could mean better blood sugar.
It's true. A study shows that depressed people may be 42 percent more likely to develop diabetes. And the stronger the sad symptoms, the greater the odds.
The Culprit: Unhealthy Habits
Sad feelings, researchers suspect, can make you wanna do some pretty unhealthy things -- like pig out before bed, sack out on the couch all day, or maybe even smoke or drink. And those are all things that could put you on the road to diabetes. But bad habits are only part of the picture, experts note. Even in the absence of bad habits, depressed people are still more likely to develop diabetes. (Find out more about all the things that can raise your risk.)
Beating the Blues
Battling depression isn't easy and may require counseling or other treatments if it's severe or hangs around. But if you've got just the occasional blue mood, don't let it linger. Bust out of it. Read this article for some surefire ways to go from "blue" to "new you."
RealAge Benefit:
Reducing your risk of diabetes by losing excess weight can make your RealAge half a year younger for each year you have tight control of blood sugar and blood pressure.
Examining a bidirectional association between depressive symptoms and diabetes. Golden, S. H. et al., Journal of the American Medical Association 2008 Jun 18;299(23):2751-2759.
