But seriously, if you're fairly sedentary and not watching your diet especially saturated fat and carbs, you should definitely get an annual blood glucose and/or A1c check. Type 2 diabetes can wreck your quality of life with eyesight issues, numbness, muscle issues, etc. on top of the increased risk of heart attack or stroke. I have two friends that have had strokes due to unmanaged, undiagnosed type 2 diabetes. One is luckily well enough to return to work but the other will likely never work again, can't drive, can barely hold a conversation, etc.

Type 2 diabetes, however, is almost always preventable, often treatable, and sometimes even reversible through diet and lifestyle changes. Like other leading killers—especially heart disease and high blood pressure—type 2 diabetes may be an unfortunate consequence of dietary choices. There is hope, though, even if you already have diabetes. Through lifestyle changes, you may be able to achieve a complete remission of type 2 diabetes, even if you’ve been suffering with the disease for decades.

People who eat a plant-based diet have been found to have just a small fraction of the diabetes rate seen in those who regularly eat meat. As diets become increasingly plant-based, there appears to be a stepwise drop in diabetes rates. Based on a study of 89,000 Californians, flexitarians (who eat meat maybe once weekly rather than daily) appear to cut their rate of diabetes by 28 percent, and those who cut out all meat except fish appear to cut their rates in half. What about those eliminating all meat, including fish? They appear to eliminate 61 percent of their risk. And those who go a step farther and drop eggs and dairy, too? They may drop their diabetes rates 78 percent compared with people who eat meat on a daily basis.