HomeTopicalHow to Manage Diabetes (A Complete Guide)

How to Manage Diabetes (A Complete Guide)

It is a difficult task trying to manage diabetes, but it is not an impossible ailment to live with.

There are a number of things to look out for and it can be stressful knowing the best ways to live with them. The main goal is to keep it under control when the diagnosis comes out.

How to Manage Diabetes (A Complete Guide)

These are steps to be taken on how to manage diabetes, and help you live well and healthily.

What is Diabetes

Normally, Peoples’ lives should not be put on hold. or that one can not go about his/her daily activities normally. From advice about things to eat and treatments, to passionate support and everyday guidance. This article has you covered.

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Ways to Manage Diabetes

Here are ways to help you manage diabetes which we will discuss:

  1. Exercise
  2. Stress Reduction
  3. Quit Smoking
  4. Eat a Balanced Diet
  5. Alcohol Reduction

i. Exercise

Putting your body to work helps with Diabetes, constant bodily activity helps you feel better also. It increases your understanding of insulin, which means it functions better in your body. Your blood levels can be steadier with exercise.

Exercise can help relieve stress, and if one is in action now, start slow. Then over time, boost up how much is done.

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Endeavor to make each period last for at least 30 minutes, and you don’t have to go to the gym to work out for you to be active.

Take a walk to places that are within walking distance instead of taking your car. Use stairs instead of an elevator.

Make a feasible plan and have a realistic goal. The exercise type to be done, and when you want to get them done. For example, discharge for 4 to 7 periods of hobby every week, or during your lunch break, you might plan to walk for 30 minutes.

If you are the type that gets bored quickly, change your activities often to combat that. You can do less strenuous activities like jogging, walking, or having a kick about with the ball on the field.

Resistance exercises like weight lifting also provide another option. Whatever you do, stretching before and after each workout session is advisable.

It is important to note that exercise reduces your sugar level. Have a chat with your doctor if you need to adjust your medication to keep your levels on the high side. Because exercise can lower your blood sugar below what is expected.

ii. Stress Reduction

Stress can raise your sugar level and make you less sensitive to insulin. Therefore if you are stressed, diabetes might not be watched closely, while exercising less and drinking more.

When you are stressed, your body adopts a fighting system, ensuring enough sugar is available for energy.

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Studies show that people with type 1 Diabetes discover sugar levels go up for most people under mental stress and it goes down for others.

Feeling the pressure with type 2 Diabetes makes your glucose go up. Therefore, if you are stressed out, try to make adjustments that can help you relax.

Try to spend time with friends, exercise, meditate, or replace negative thinking with a positive one.

Do whatever works to your advantage, therapy, counseling, and support groups are good options too. Overthinking can cause stress or overload of too much work which can be sometimes overwhelming.

iii. Stop smoking

Making the effort to quit smoking will give you better control of your blood sugar level. Smoking can lead to serious health risks, and leave you open to complications from Diabetes. These are:

  1. Hearth disease
  2. Kidney disease
  3. Lung cancer
  4. An eye disease that leads to blindness, called Retinopathy
  5. Poor flow of blood to the legs and feet, which could lead to the amputation of the leg or feet, infections, and ulcers.

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All smoking does is to just leave you open to a higher risk of Diabetes, and leaves you vulnerable to all sorts of health risks and damage to major parts of your system. Cutting out the habit of smoking, goes a long way in managing Diabetes.

iv. A Well-Balanced Diet

Having Diabetes shouldn’t relegate you to not eating well, in fact, you can still enjoy good meals whilst watching out for a balanced diet in your meal. Try to fill yourself up as much as possible with non-starchy vegetables such as:

. Tomato

. Green salad

. Carrot

. Cucumber

Make sure to also get some of these:

. Nuts

. Low-fat products

. Beans

. Sweet potatoes

. Fish or poultry

Whole grain foods are also important as well. Be sure to check the ingredients it was made of If you eat cereal, make sure whole grain foods are top of the list. Examples of whole-grain foods are:

. Oats meal

. Brown rice

. Whole wheat

. Popcorn

Make sure to eat three times a day, and try to space them out evenly. Foods that are less processed are better.

The reason for that is that it has a lower glycemic index, which means it affects your blood sugar less. A type 2 Diabetes patient that follows a healthy diet and exercises well, could lose weight and improve their chances of Diabetes.

v. Alcohol Reduction

For a Diabetic patient on insulin or oral Diabetes medication, drinking alcohol is prohibited because it can drop blood sugar to dangerous levels.

Your liver has to try to remove the alcohol from your blood when you drink instead of regulating your blood sugar.

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Low blood sugar and alcohol intoxication can also lead to dizziness. A woman should not have more than one drink in a day.

As for men, the limit is two intakes per day. A drink is equal to 12 ounces of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, or an ounce and a half of drinks like vodka.

Alcohol can reduce your willpower to combat too much eating, so you can eat better if you reduce how much you drink.

Take Notes

Owning a daily log can help you check the stuff that affects your glucose level, they are:

. Stress

. Physical activity

. Illness

. Insulin and other medication

. Food that contains, especially carbs

These are some of the ways that you can manage Diabetes and live your normal life. writing down everything you eat or drink is a good way to go if you are trying to lose weight for a week or two.

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