Diabetes is a very common disease and we all probably know at least one person who is currently dealing with this disease. If you receive the news that you have diabetes, you will need to know how to fight back against it. Check out these useful tips to fight the disease.
Diabetics should increase the amount of fiber in their diet to help lose weight and keep regular. Fiber also has been shown to not raise blood sugar after a meal, so it can fill you up without giving you a sugar spike. There are many fruit and vegetables which have high fiber, so try to include them in your regular meals.
If your child is diagnosed with Diabetes, make keeping track of their blood sugar fun. Have a contest where they get a reward for doing their blood sugar on time every day for a certain number of days, like a trip to the toy store or an hour at the park.
Do you know what your A1C is? If you’re Diabetic, you should know it along with your weight. This number indicates how well you’ve been controlling your blood sugar over the long-term, which will tell you if you need to be checking your fasting blood glucose levels more often to see what’s going on.
Green tea is an excellent tool for the Diabetic who is attempting to lose weight. Studies show it helps your heart to stay healthy, and it’s so tasty that you won’t want to add any sweeteners to it. You can also use powdered matcha in cooking, and it’s great with cocoa!
Learning to read the nutrition data on food labels is key to eating the right diet for your Diabetes. Keep track of how much carbohydrates, sodium, sugar, fat, protein, and fiber are in each food you eat and try to only choose those which will keep your weight in check.
If your doctor tells you that your Diabetes pills aren’t doing enough to keep your blood glucose levels in check, don’t panic. You won’t necessarily have to use needles as insulin pens are now available that give you the dose you need without being painful. If you can’t afford these pens, some pharmaceuticals have programs to assist you like Needy Meds.
Ask your Physician if they have any supply samples of your Diabetes medication or syringes. It is unlikely they will have monitors to give you, or test strips or lancets for that matter, but you can get those from your pharmacist instead. They often have monitors for free, so make sure to ask!
When buying your Diabetes medicines, ask for as much as possible at one time. The fee that is added when the pharmacist dispenses your prescription is the same whether you buy 30 days or 90. Therefore, spreading that cost out over multiple days will also reduce the per-dose cost of your medications.
If you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed by your diabetes, seek out a support group. Being able to talk to people who understand the issues you’re going through can be a great source of comfort. People may also be able to suggest ways to manage your disease that you’d never thought of before.
If you have been diagnosed as a diabetic it would behoove you to get a medical bracelet indicating as such. You never want to end up in a situation where you are unresponsive, and god forbid, those caring for you don’t know you are diabetic and do something, like give you a dextrose IV that can make you even worse.
If you have diabetes, wear an I.D. bracelet at all times. Although it may trivial, wearing an I.D. bracelet can save your life if you were to pass out as paramedics will know you suffer from diabetes and can help treat you effectively. If you do not feel like wearing an I.D. bracelet, make sure to keep something on you that says you are a diabetic.
To assist your body in digesting your good properly, be sure to chew your food slowly. When you chew your food, it’s covered in enzymes that help your body to process what you eat. Doing this will make sure your body is able to take equal advantage of all the nutrients you consume, keeping your glucose levels stable.
In order to prevent gestational diabetes, try eating a low glycaemic index diet. These diets help to slow the digestion of food, which allows the body to adjust to the amount of sugar that is consumed during a meal. In turn, this helps to prevent women from developing gestational diabetes.
Closely monitor how much trans fat and saturated fat you are taking in. The trans fat in vegetable oils and fried products contribute to heart disease and severely affect patients with type 2 diabetes. Also, the saturated fat in red meats and other foods does the same thing. Eat these types of fats at healthy levels.
To treat diabetes more effectively, remember to add stress relief to your routine. For some people, being stressed out affects blood sugar levels immediately — most people notice increased glucose, but some people have lower glucose when stressed. Being stressed for a long period of time can also change blood glucose levels more permanently. To keep from making your diabetes worse, take steps to control your stress levels.
A crucial tip for diabetics is to shed excess pounds. Dropping extra weight is a great way to help the body use insulin properly, reduce blood sugar levels and regulate blood pressure. A beneficial side effect is the increased energy levels typically experienced by those who achieve significant weight loss.
Although it may seem rather depressing when you find out that you have been diagnosed with diabetes, know that you can still continue living the life you have been leading with a few minor tweaks. You should meet with a nutritionist that will help adjust the diet you are used to.
Diabetes being so common means that the information about how to manage it is abundant. However, information alone will not help you to control the disease. You will still have to work to apply the advice, like what you’ve just read above, if you want to stay in front of the illness.