Diabetes can cause heart disease, stroke, amputations, kidney failure, blindness etc and it can remain undetected for years.

There are two types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2.

Type 1 diabetes develops due to a diminished production of insulin.

Type 2 diabetes develops due to resistance to insulin effects and is mostly associated with obesity.

However the good news is that Type 2 diabetes which is associated with obesity and makes up around 90% of all diabetes can be controlled.

When Halle Berry was diagnosed with diabetes she went through dramatic diet change. She started to eat fresh vegetables, fresh fish, pasta and cut out red meat.

Halle also tries to lead a stress-free lifestyle and became a regular yoga practitioner. She practices yoga daily which helps her to release stress and brings the feeling of tranquillity.

By taking up yoga the quality of life can remarkably improve. Daily practice of yoga can help to reduce the stress hormones, bring

feeling of relaxation and at the same time can also help in case of diabetes, especially type 2.

Research has shown that regular yoga practice can result in significant changes in most of the parameters of the metabolic syndrome including; waist circumference reduction, lowering in systolic blood pressure, reduction in fasting blood glucose level and HDL ?good? cholesterol increased.

The major reasons for the lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, cancer etc in the western world is the unhealthy food such as the non-vegetarian fast food and sedentary life style.

Britain's diabetes population has reached almost 2.5 million. Diabetes UK chief executive Douglas Smallwood said the figures were 'truly alarming'.

Human beings are designed to stay healthy and not to die by lifestyle disease such as cancer, heart attack and diabetes.

Diabetes is certainly one of the biggest health challenges facing the world today. Surprisingly the whole medical system is focussed on curing the diseases rather than in the prevention.

Though we need the medicines for cure in case the diseases go out of control but if we focus our attention on prevention at the first place then we can certainly stay healthy during our life time with least dependence on medicine.

Maintaining a healthy body is not a rocket science. Our body is made up of food and if we eat healthy vegetarian food and do exercise regularly to keep our stress level under control, we can certainly stay healthy forever.

Halle Berry announced in October 2007 that she was no longer insulin dependent.

Healthy lifestyle which includes vegetarian diet and regular yoga practice can go a long way in preventing and controlling the lifestyle diseases such as diabetes.

Issued in public interest by Subodh Gupta a holistic health consultant and also the author of the book ?7 food habits for weight loss forever?.

Subodh Gupta is a celebrity yoga trainer based in London and conducts Yoga, Nutrition, Stress Management and Weight loss sessions.