Manage your Diabetes to Avoid Health Complications
To properly manage your diabetes, you need to know what makes your blood sugar spike and fall. Knowing how to monitor the day-to-day activities and food intake provides you with the foundation for managing your diabetes.
Improperly managed diabetes (high blood sugar) can lead to serious medical complications including: irreversible damage to internal organs, blindness and more. Proper diabetes management is a task that all diabetics must learn and take seriously.
As your doctor will tell you, diabetes management including keeping blood sugar regulated and at proper levels are the cornerstones to good health. Diabetics need to understand how their body reacts to the foods they eat, medications they take and the exercise program they develop to keep healthy. Track your blood sugar levels as they relate to your daily activities and talk with your doctor for ways to effectively manage your diabetes through your daily routine.
For both Type I and Type II diabetes , proper management requires you to familiarize yourself with the glycemic index; a measurement of how the foods you eat cause your blood sugar levels to rise. Some foods cause spikes faster than others. Refined carbohydrates such as white bread, white rice or pasta top the list of foods with high glycemic index counts. These foods should be avoided. Foods on the lower end of the glycemic index count include whole grains, complex carbohydrates and proteins. Once you learn where the foods you love are ranked on the glycemic index, you gain more control over the management of your blood sugar levels and, ultimately, your diabetes. You can’t shy away from learning about nutrition and how to cook for yourself property when you’re diabetic, although there is now the option of having a diabetic meal plan delivered to your door if you’d rather. Either way, planning in advance is the answer to feeling overwhelmed.
Proper diabetes management also includes regular exercise, as physical activity plays a crucial part in your long-term diabetes management and overall health. As with any individual, diabetics might find it easier to have anat-home weight training regimen rather than committing to a gym membership.
When you consider that the onset of Type II diabetes has been connected to being overweight, undertaking a weight loss routine could be a way to stave it off. If your doctor diagnoses you early enough, and if your Type II diabetes is a mild case, you may find that a combination of diet and exercise could make your symptoms disappear. There is a chance that your Type II diabetes can come back later in life, but if you can add a few good years of healthy living, you can lessen the impact.
Here’s a list of items that can make your blood sugar levels ebb and flow and ways to address them:
- Level out the number of carbohydrates you ingest. If you eat the same amount of carbs at your meals it could help keep blood sugar levels regulated.
- Your blood sugar is at its highest a couple of hours after you eat. Eating the same amount of food at similar times throughout the day can control your levels.
- Before you start an exercise routine, talk with your doctor to get his or her approval. Adjustments in your insulin dosages and time of injections might need to be adjusted once you start an exercise routine.
- Meals and medication should work hand-in-hand. If you don’t eat enough food compared to the amount of insulin you’ve taken, you can have a dangerous drop in blood sugar. Conversely eating too much can lead to spiked blood levels.
- Make certain your insulin is properly stored
- Talk to your doctor if you decide to take an over-the-counter medication or if you have more than one physician. Your medical team should coordinate medications as new medicines could impact your diabetes and insulin needs.
- It’s best to stay away from alcohol as it can worsen diabetic complications. If, however, your diabetes is under control, your physician may allow you to have a drink on occasion.
With proper care and monitoring, diabetics can live full, active lives. Many diabetics find that monitoring their blood sugar levels, food intake and exercise programs becomes a natural part of their lifestyles.
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