Avoiding diabetes

Diabetes runs in my family (father, uncle, grandmother all have diabetes). What can I do to avoid getting it. Also, my wife's family also has a history of diabetes and what should I be doing for my children so that they can lower their risk of getting it?
Thank you

[WaveRider]

This article by the Mayo Clinic may answer some of your questions
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diabetes/DA00037
Do consult with your doctor and if do consult with a dietician at your local hospital.

My transplant medication turned me into a type II diabetic. I am considered borderline but by carefully watching and monitoring my diet I have it under control. I don't eat anything with sugar or excessive carb sugars. This means no dairy (ice cream, milk, etc), no deserts, etc. If you need a sweetener use Splenda (succralose(sp)). The body does not absorb it and passes it through. You can use Maltose for baking. Splenda does not bake well. However, Maltitose is absorbed but is released slowly so your glucose doesn't spike. Use it in moderation. Basically turn off the sweets wagon.

[hardcoreback]

diabetes in the family i think cant be stopped its hereditary by nature.  ive known frineds who had a history of it and one had cut a small wound on her pinky, and guess, the pinky was cut..

well, enough of scaring you.. exercise in order touse those excess fats or glucoes in the blody.. and avoid eating sweets at one setting.. i mean, u can still endulge in a sweet icecream but just one cone not the whole pint. :)

[lilsstr]

Our American diet is rampant with carbs!  Anything sweet or starchy is loaded with them.  Diabetic education now tend to focus on lowering carbs.  I'm not sure how many they suggest now, but most local hospitals offer diabetic teaching.  It would be worth it to find one and ask how to care for yourself to aviod, or at least abate, diabetes.  It's a lifetime management issue.

[hbp702]

Get your doctor to run a full GTT with insulin levels.

You'll see if you:

Have insulin resistance
IGT
IFG
(the above raise your risk for T2 dramatically, in fact, you almost certainly can't get T2 without going through the above stages at some point)
or full blown T2 (normal fasting sugar and a 2hr PP of 200 or more is full blown diabetes)

If you have none great. Stay healthy, keep watching. Exercise! (you need it for health in any event). You can check your sugars even if you are normal. Fasting over 90 or 2hr PP over 120 means you might not still be normal (see IR/IGT/IFG if it isn't diabetes yet but not normal). Perhaps look into suppliments.
If you have IR/IGT/IFG you need to do something different. Exercise!!! (or do it more). Ask your doctor for help. Perhaps go on Avandia/Metformin. Watch closely for signs of progression to/regression from T2. Act accordingly. Look into suppliments. You can still walk barefoot, cut your own nails, eat a Christmas dinner and crash on the sofa and not get acutely ill or do long-term damage (*) (unless you progress to T2). You can fight this for years. You can go back to NGT (don't know if IR will ever completely revert but it can get less) or become T2, or neither. (*) As in diabetes-specific (*pathies damage - you are at risk for heart disease).
If you have T2, ask your doctor for help. Limit the damage. No barefoot!!! Get nails cut by a pro or ask your doctor for advice. Ask your  doctor about exercise. Ask your doctor about diet, pills, and yes, insulin (don't say I'll only take it if I need it to survive - sometimes insulin is needed to reduce complications and save your remaining beta cells). No barefoot!!! (repeating myself so you don't lose a foot or two). Make sure your doctor checks for foot sores, checks for neuropathy (poke your foot with the filament), retinopathy (eye damage - have an eye exam at least yearly) and nephropathy (kidney damage - check for microalbuminuria). Heart disease risk is very high. Limiting complications is key to quality of life.