The disease of diabetes can be severe and debilitating. Individuals diagnosed with diabetes must learn how to care for themselves and preserve their health in order to live a long, happy life. This article has many tips for dealing with diabetes.
There is no shortage of foods with lots of protein, including lean meats, dairy products, and vegan options like tofu. Try various things to keep you healthy and avert the boredom of a strict diet.
To help make your diabetes control efforts less of a hassle, get organized and keep a constant testing routine. Keep your testing supplies and medications in one place, and make sure you leave them there after you finish your routine. When you are testing your blood sugar, write down all your levels in a log.
Choose a diet containing lots of fiber. It is certain to lower your chances of developing diabetes. Your risk will be increased by the intake of highly glycemic products, such as food that has been overly processed, rather than those made with whole grains. Study after study concludes that individuals who eat more whole grain have a much lower risk of contracting diabetes.
If you start to have vision problems, you need to talk to your doctor. There are a multitude of problems diabetes can cause with your eyes from cataracts to glaucoma to diabetic retinopathy, and these are all very serious. This can eventually lead to blindness if you do not take care of these issues.
Sometimes when you’re a diabetic, and you are tempted to snack, it is hard to resist the goodies that surround you. You need to avoid these and eat complex carbs like fruits and veggies.
If diabetes is a challenge for you, consider eating five or six smaller meals during your day, instead of the more traditional three meals. Eating frequent small meals improves your chance of keeping glucose levels stable. These meals will also keep you from getting over-hungry and indulging.
Glucose Levels
Don’t worry if your blood glucose levels spike right after treating a hypoglycemic episode. This is because your body has responded by releasing hormones, or you have eaten or drank more than was needed when responding to the reduced glucose levels. Next time, drink or eat half the quantity you normally would, and then check again after thirty minutes.
If you have diabetes and you smoke, try to stop smoking. Smoke is terrible for everyone, but it’s worse for diabetics as it could dangerously raise blood sugar. Your physician can give you help with quitting.
Unless otherwise directed by your physician, you should always take fast-acting insulin between one to fifteen minutes before you sit down to eat your meal. Insulin is helpful in maintaining the level of sugar in your blood, if you take it in the right quantities and at the right time.
Give yourself a constant reminder of why taking care of your diabetes is so important. Figure out what it is in your life that’s important to you. Is there something that prevents you from participating in those activities? Fix those problems first. This can help you keep yourself focused on the positives in your life and motivated in the management of your diabetes.
A lot of people mistakenly believe that diabetics can’t eat any sugar at all. Do not get rid of sugar entirely, simply stay away from foods too rich in sugar such as sweets. You could still savor a little serving of your favorite dessert on special occasions. Since eating sweets gives you added carbohydrates, it is good to lessen other foods that are rich in carbohydrates when you eat your special treat.
Blood Sugar
Even though gestational diabetes will generally clear itself after birth has occurred, you must still have your blood sugar tested regularly. It is often assumed to be impossible to continue to have problems with blood sugar regulation after birth, but unfortunately this is not the case.
All diabetics should be trained to use a finger stick tester to check blood glucose levels several times per day. The only time you will have high ketone levels is when your blood glucose levels are greater than 200 mg/dl. The ADA tells diabetics to use better ways to test yourself, these can be testing strips or finger sticks.
Take a small insulated bag with your insulin and supplies, if you plan on traveling. Insulin has to be kept at a certain temperature and by keeping it in an insulated bag, you are making sure it does not get too hot or too cold.
Diabetes sufferers may have various other health issues that could go unnoticed, like sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is when you do not breathe as you should while you are sleeping. If you feel very tired during the day, get checked out for sleep apnea.
Research has shown that exercising helps to lower blood sugar, and increase insulin sensitivity. A combination of resistance exercises and aerobic work outs will produce optimum results.
If you are diabetic and want to reduce the chance of complications, get more exercise. Not only will you lose weight, but your blood sugar will decrease because you will develop higher sensitivity to insulin. With these blood sugar altering effects of increased activity, anyone who is diabetic cannot afford to be sedentary.
As previously discussed, diabetes is a serious disease that needs to be properly treated. It’s important to be educated about diabetes if you have it so that you may learn the proper way to manage self-care. Diabetics who apply the advice from this article will be taking great steps towards improving their health and well being.