Living with diabetes can be very frightening and feel like there is no way out. This guide can help you understand how diabetes is affecting you and what you can do to better cope with its symptoms. You will experience better results when you follow these simple instructions.
If you’re working to lose weight and keep your Diabetes in check but can’t find any healthy breakfast options with protein that you enjoy, try a smoothie. You can buy protein powder at a health food store (make sure to ask if it has any sugar or artificial sweeteners) and you can put a scoop in to up the nutritional punch!
It is possible to lower your blood sugar with exercise, so give it a try and see what it does for you. Make sure to test yourself immediately after you exercise to make sure your blood sugar has gone down to a level that is tolerable, otherwise you’ll have to take your insulin.
A good night’s sleep is a great way to lower blood sugar. Studies show that uninterrupted sleep aids the body’s ability to regulate the production of insulin. Maintaining a normal blood glucose level is important to a diabetic’s overall health, so work on setting a consistent bed time each night.
Try making a salad with walnuts. Walnuts are full of monosaturated fats. This makes your cells become more receptive to the insulin. Walnuts also have omega-3 and other essential minerals and vitamins that give you extra energy, and they taste wonderful.
Find out what your blood glucose target levels should be and ensure that you’re meeting them. Diabetes control means knowing what you’re up against, so keep a journal with your goal numbers listed so you can easily see how well you’re doing every day. Once you have your blood glucose under control you’ll feel immensely healthier!
Be sure to call and schedule a doctor’s appointment if you are having issues with your eyesight. Glaucoma, cataracts, and other eye conditions, such as retinopathy, can be caused by diabetes. Be sure to have your vision checked as soon as possible to prevent further damage, which can include blindness.
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 have Gestational Diabetes then the concept of “eating for two” needs to be forgotten. You’ll need to reduce your food intake to small amounts every few hours to keep your blood glucose levels in check over the long term of a day. Don’t forget to have a snack before bed to control overnight blood sugar!
Understand that there is no single “magic number” when it comes to your A1C levels. However, you should aim to keep this number as low as possible in order to reduce your chances of developing complications from diabetes. Even slightly high A1C levels put you at considerable risk for stroke and cardiovascular problems.
Cut down on simple carbohydrates. These foods, such as pasta and bread, cause your blood sugar levels to spike which may cause hyperglycemia and a need for more insulin; that may result in a hypoglycemic episode. Stick to complex carbohydrates such as whole grains in order to keep your blood sugar stable.
While some people view vacation as a chance to get away from all of their most pressing obligations, the same cannot be said of blood-glucose testing. Instead of entirely shirking your duties, you may be able to follow a more relaxed approach. You may be able to splurge on your eating habits, delay waking up for an early-morning glucose check, or testing as frequently.
Watch out for liquid sugars. It is just as important for diabetics to watch what they drink as it is to watch what they eat. High-fructose corn syrup found in soft drinks is especially harmful to diabetics, and while fruit juices can be healthy, they can also cause a dangerous spike in blood sugar and should be consumed in moderation. Water is the best choice when you are thirsty, followed by unsweetened beverages.
The food you eat is not the only thing that affects your blood glucose level. To help decrease your glucose level, you should make sure you spend a little bit of time each day doing some exercise. When you exercise, your body uses glucose and it could burn the glucose even if you exercised 24 hours ago.
If you skip meals, the glucose in your blood will go up because your liver starts creating glucose for your body because you aren’t nourishing yourself adequately. Regular meals and snacks that contain carbohydrates will keep extra glucose from being released.
If you suffer from diabetes be sure to follow your doctors orders the best you can. Diabetes is a debilitating disease if you do not make the proper changes to your life style, but if you make those changes it can prevent you from having the worst of symptoms like eye sight loss and losing limbs.
Make sure that you wear socks when you are going to go for a walk if you have diabetes. Wearing socks help to protect against blisters, which can have many negative side effects for a person with diabetes. Try not to wear white socks, they retain too much sweat.
With diabetes, if you can sleep all the time yet never feel rested, talk this over with your doctor. Tired feelings can be pinpointed to certain medications, high blood sugars, or even depression. When you can understand where your tired feeling is stemming from, it will be easier to accept it as a side- effect or take proper measures to help tackle the causes.
There are many great tips out there to help make living with diabetes easier, and hopefully you have found these tips useful in learning to better manage your condition. You can most likely think of ways to use this information now. Give them a try, and see how your condition benefits and how great you feel.
