You’ll hear a lot about deadly diseases out there like cancer, and even some types of influenza, but diabetes has taken a back seat in terms of importance. If you’re one of the many people who have diabetes, then you know this disease takes a back seat for no one. Read this article and use these tips to help manage your lifestyle.
Did you know that it is recommended that diabetics have a diet high in dairy? Studies show that dairy can help keep blood sugar levels from spiking, so having as much low-fat dairy as possible, can be a huge help to a diabetic. Have a tall glass of skim milk at breakfast and some cheese at lunch. It’s healthy and tasty!
Don’t sweat the small stuff! Being a diabetic is hard, and you’re going to make mistakes. If you eat unhealthily or forget to exercise, don’t beat yourself up over it because sometimes that’s life! Do some deep breathing and forgive yourself for your lapse, then watch what you eat for the rest of the day and move on tomorrow.
Check you cholesterol level as well as blood pressure! If you have Diabetes, blood sugar is not the only thing you need to keep and eye on. Diabetes can increase the likelihood of bad cholesterol being high in your blood, so you need to keep track of that – even if you’re not eating – fatty fried foods. Blood pressure can also be increased, leading to headaches, faintness, and even strokes.
It can be hard to get enough exercise in when you’re traveling, so plan for some hiking or walks to explore your new environment. Go swimming in the hotel pool, or even take an hour at the gym. Walking through the mall or a museum can even serve as some extra movement.
Skip the sauces and go for spices to lose weight and keep your Diabetes under control. Spices add a ton of flavor to any food without adding sugar, carbohydrates, or fat, so call on them when you’re cooking. Even a salad can be made zippier with simple vinegar, oil, and a handful of rosemary and oregano!
Buckwheat is an excellent choice to include in a Diabetic diet. It can lower your blood glucose levels after a meal, keeping you from having a spike. You can eat buckwheat instead of rice, or enjoy soba noodles with your dinner. It’s available at almost any grocery store and is sometimes known as kasha.
It is important that you know how to use your insulin pump. Many people do not get the proper amount of insulin because they are not using their pump correctly. If you do not know what you are doing, do not feel ashamed to ask your doctor or another health professional, for help.
Check to see if your grocery store puts out items that are close to their due date for clearance. Often, you can use things like ripe bananas for muffins or banana bread and you can find awesome sugar-free and low-carb recipes for both foods online. This can make for tasty and healthy treats, at a low cost, that any diabetic can enjoy!
It is important to control pre-diabetes with proper diet and exercise as well as keeping weight at normal levels. Studies show that even pre-diabetics are at risk of developing dangerous long-term damage from even mildly elevated blood sugar levels. These effects can be damaging even to the heart and circulatory system.
Eat a well-balanced diet. Since there is no official diabetes diet, it’s important that you handle your condition by eating a healthy diet that is high in fruits, vegetables and lean meats and low in fat, sugar and simple carbohydrates. If you eat everything in moderation and are controlling your diabetes through medication, you should have fairly stable blood glucose levels.
If you’re having trouble keeping yourself to a healthy Diabetic diet, don’t change things up. Have a chicken night, a fish night, a lentil burger night, etc. so that you know what’s supposed to happen on Thursday and can prepare for it. If you have something different every night you’ll still have variation, but having a schedule will make you feel much less stress and you won’t cave into temptation.
Even though salads are a healthy option for people with Diabetes, you should be careful about the salad dressing. Dressing can contain a large amount of sodium and fat, which may cause your blood sugar to fluctuate outside of the normal range. Oil and vinegar based dressings tend to be healthier. As a suggestion, ask for the dressing to be served on the side, so that you can control how much you eat.
If you develop an itchy rash, be sure to go to your doctor or the emergency room right away. This could be a sign of Pruritis, a common sign in people who suffer from diabetes. By going to a doctor or emergency room, doctors can give you treatment for your hypoglycemia that could save your life.
To lessen the symptoms of gestational diabetes, use a blood monitoring device. A blood monitoring device will let you keep track of your sugar levels and will help you keep them from rising or falling dramatically. Doing this will significantly decrease the effects gestational diabetes has on your body and will help keep you and your baby healthy.
Drinking alcohol is something you need to be very careful with when you are diabetic. You need to talk to your doctor to see if alcohol will affect your blood-glucose levels. If you are really not much of a drinker, it is best that you refrain from drinking at all.
As you read in the opening, diabetes isn’t one of the more important diseases out there in the mainstream. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be incredibly important to you, especially if you have the disease. Just getting by isn’t enough. You can thrive with this disease if you use tips like the ones you just read.