Diabetes is one of the most common conditions of today. It can range from a polite nuisance to a debilitating condition that leads to death. While the varieties of diabetes vary, the seriousness of the condition is uniform. Many people live long and productive lives with diabetes; education, diet and proper treatment can make diabetes a manageable condition.
Stress can wreak havoc on a Diabetic’s mental health, but it will also cause problems physically as well. Try to do stress-relieving activities like exercise, yoga, or deep breathing exercises at the end of the day or during any situation that is particularly stressful to keep yourself calm, cool, and collected.
If you have been diagnosed with Diabetes – keep a diet diary! This is a handy tool! A diary will allow you to track what and how much you are eating. It will also help you detect a pattern you may have for a certain craving at a particular time of the day. You will be able to see which foods cause your blood glucose level to spike. Perhaps you can make some tasty alternatives that will not have such an effect on your Diabetes? Doing so will help you to avoid any unnecessary headaches.
Make sure to keep active. Exercising and doing physical activities have several benefits. It can lower your blood sugar and help you lose weight. Not only that, it can increase your responsiveness to insulin which will help keep your blood sugar level. Both aerobic and resistance exercises provide excellent benefits.
Many people think diabetics have to avoid all sweets, but this isn’t necessarily true. When planning a sweet dessert or snack, just make sure it is included in a healthy meal or with exercise. Your doctor can guide you with pointers to help you include desserts and snacks in your diet.
Make a list of high glycemic index foods and learn to identify potential problem foods and ingredients. Foods such as breads, juices, desserts, cereal, and pastas have high glycemic indexes. Processed foods are bad for your blood glucose levels. Rather than consuming these terrible foods, eat fish, meat, fruits, and vegetables.
Choosing the right blood glucose monitor is an investment in your health, and as such, you should avoid using price as the deciding factor in your purchase. If you are tech-savvy, you might do well with a monitor that has online tracking capabilities and storage functions. If you have dexterity problems, look for monitors with easy-to-handle strips and operation.
You may want to consider homeopathic medicine if you have diabetes. Some of these other natural treatments can help control symptoms just as much as medications do. For instance, Uranium nitrate helps to reduce your blood sugar while also decreasing sugar in the urine. Bryonia helps get rid of weakness and dry mouth.
If you have diabetes, a great tip in managing your blood sugar is to never skip meals. When you skip meals, your body uses the glucose from your liver for fuel. For people with type 2 diabetes, the liver does not sense that the blood has enough glucose, so it keeps pouring out even more glucose. Therefore, skipping meals is not a good idea if you have diabetes.
If you’re a diabetic who uses insulin to control his diabetes, make sure to rotate the insulin injection site. Rotating the site helps to make sure that the skin in one area doesn’t toughen up, making it harder to take the injection. Rotate the site every time you give yourself insulin.
If you have gestational diabetes, you should understand that you are not to blame. In most cases, this condition does not appear for any specific reasons. Keep your stress to a bare minimum, and think positive and happy thoughts about your child and yourself.
Diabetics who notice that their fingernails and toenails are becoming very thick and even pulling away from the nail bed may actually have a fungal infection. Fungal infections are more common in people with diabetes; diabetes may also make them more likely to suffer liver damage from common anti-fungal medications. If your doctor prescribes an oral medication, be sure to have regular blood work during therapy.
Learning to eat right is an important factor in controlling diabetes. The key steps to developing an approriate diet is cutting back on refined carbohydrates, keeping portions sizes under control, establishing and maintaining a regular meal schedule, and consuming a variety of vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Simply speaking, a diabetes-friendly diet is low in fats, high in nutrients, and contains a moderate number of calories.
Be vigilant when monitoring your glucose levels. If your blood glucose levels are especially high before mealtime, this may be an indication that your liver is producing far too much glucose. Try taking your insulin 60 to 90 minutes before your meal, rather than 30 to 45 minutes beforehand. This will give your body’s insulin a head start needed to more effectively manage blood glucose.
Check your blood sugar often. This is very important if you are dealing with diabetes because you blood sugar can spike or get very low without you feeling any symptoms. You can buy a glucometer for less than $100.00 or you may be able to get it free from a diabetes educator.
Smoking isn’t healthy for anyone but can be even more unhealthy for a person with diabetes. This habit produces many negative health effects. Smoking makes you more resistant to insulin. If you don’t already have diabetes you may have an increased risk of getting type 2 diabetes.
Many diabetics feel harassed by loved ones who are always inquiring about their blood sugars and testing habits. Instead of becoming frustrated or resentful, sit down with the other person and clearly identify what steps they can take in order to more effectively contribute to managing your condition. Chances are, the other person is not trying to irritate you, but instead is looking for ways to help out.
It is important that you do not feel that diabetes is a situation that cannot be overcome. While you may not rid yourself of the condition, diabetes can be managed and controlled so that your overall quality of life is what you deserve. You hold the key to your health, so be you best advocate.