The recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is certainly alarming: It says that the number of Americans with diabetes will double or triple in the next 40 years. If they're right, we'll see up to one in three of all Americans affected. The vast majority of these new cases will be Type 2 diabetes: people whose bodies continue to make insulin for regulating their blood sugars, but their bodies don't use it properly.

Those who are already at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes include people who are older and with a family history of the disease, as well as being African American or Hispanic. Even so, Type 2 diabetes most commonly develops in those who are overweight or obese. read more