When people worry about diabetes, they usually aren’t frightened of testing their blood sugar level by pricking their fingers daily. More serious conditions, such as diabetic retinopathy or the risks of losing a leg, tend to scare people. Avoid letting your diabetes get this bad. Use the tips offered here to help you manage your diabetes.
The “glycemic index” number for a food indicates how likely the food is to impact blood sugar levels due to the ingredients. For diabetics, the GI numbers should be as low as possible.
Lots of other protein-rich foods besides meat exist, such as beans, tofu, eggs, and dairy products. Excite your taste buds with new and different flavors!
You will be able to deal with your condition more easily if you organize yourself. As an example, leave the meter and your insulin supplies in the same location when you head off to bed each night, so you know exactly where they are in the morning. Get into a routine every day to do the test and then record the levels into your log.
If you are a diabetic, you have to learn to snack in a healthy fashion. It is probably not necessary for you to ban sweets altogether. If your blood glucose is properly regulated, you can safely eat desserts occasionally. Remove carbs from your meal to make room for dessert. Try to stick to equal amounts to make sure your entire meal stays balanced.
Add a few walnuts to your salad for some extra nutrition and a bit of crunch! These nuts contain monosaturated fats that will help your cells be more accepting to insulin, which will keep your diabetes under control. In addition, walnuts provide you with vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants. As if that’s not enough, they amp up your energy levels and taste fantastic, too!
Learn to identify foods that have high glycemic indices and that can cause your blood sugar to spike. This includes fruit juices and foods like bread, cereal and pasta. Processed foods are not good for your sugar levels. Eat foods such as fresh veggies and fruit, fish, and lean meats.
Many no cost methods are available to help you lose weight and combat diabetes, including working out at a park and jogging. Can goods can make inexpensive weights, as do bags filled with heavy items and chin-ups can be performed on your local park’s jungle gym.
Remember to consult your physician if you’re pregnant or if you think you have gestational diabetes. If you don’t act proactively, you are putting your health, as well as the health of your child, at risk. You can take prescriptions that will not harm the baby and your doctor can help you set up a diet.
Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, fast-acting insulin should always be taken no more than 15 minutes before you eat. Fast-acting insulins may effectively maintain blood sugar, but only if the dosage is correct, and timed correctly for the person.
Sugar Levels
Cinnamon is an excellent spice that can be added to foods if you are a diabetic, since it has no sugar, sodium or calories. Cinnamon will sweeten just about anything, while helping you manage your sugar levels. It has not been proven that cinnamon can efficiently lower you sugar levels, but it cannot harm you.
Glucose tablets are an option for the hypoglycemic. The tablets are simple to take wherever you go and help elevate your glucose levels quicker and more efficiently than foods with sugar.
It is important that, as a diabetic, you eat nutritional foods on a regular basis and check your glucose levels, even when feeling unwell and you have no appetite. You need to maintain your water intake due the feeling of dehydration during low glucose periods.
One of the myths associated with diabetes is that you must avoid sugar at all costs. While sugar should be strictly moderated, you don’t have to ban it from your diet altogether. You will still be able to indulge in small servings of your favorite sweets on special occasions. But when you do this it is wise to eat fewer carbohydrates, especially starches, with the meal. This will compensate for the carbohydrates in the dessert.`
It is important to exercise on a regular basis. Exercise aids your body in handling insulin, thus keeping your blood sugar stable. Exercising is important if you have diabetes.
Never rely only on urine ketone tests to measure the amount of glucose in your blood. Higher ketone levels in your urine only indicate that your ketones are higher than 200mg/dl. Organizations like the ADA recommend that those with diabetes use more reliable testing methods, like strips or finger pokes.
Sleep Apnea
Diabetics often have other undetected health issues, and one more serious issue is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is when you do not breathe as you should while you are sleeping. If you’re tired during your day, get checked for your sleep apnea.
Have all your supplies in one bag and ready to go. It’s also good to have a couple other bags so your supplies will always be around. Pack it with syringes, meter hooks, insulin and whatever else you may need so that you never want for these necessities.
As the introduction of this article mentioned, it’s the potential to go blind and other debilitating side effects associated with diabetes that really scare people. You can work past the fear and use the information you’ve learned here to ensure that you’re never a victim of these nasty complications.