Table of Contents
Introduction
Diabetes is a condition that causes your body to have too much glucose in the blood. When this happens, it can be very serious and can lead to other health complications. However, diabetes is manageable if you make a few small changes to your lifestyle. Here are some ways that you can manage your diabetes:
Eat healthily.
A healthy diet is the cornerstone of your diabetes management. To eat healthily, follow these guidelines:
- Eat a variety of foods from all food groups.
- Choose foods low in sodium, fat and sugar.
- Eat plenty of fiber-rich fruits and vegetables at every meal.
- Choose lean protein sources such as fish, poultry or beans several times per week as part of your meals or snacks. A serving should be about the size of your palm (about 3-4 ounces).
- Consume vitamin-fortified grains daily to help ensure that you get enough vitamins and minerals in your diet.*
Be active.
Being physically active is an important part of managing diabetes. Exercise helps you lose weight and maintain a healthy weight, control your blood glucose levels and improve the quality of your sleep. It also reduces stress and improves mental health, which can lead to better management of diabetes. And in addition to all that, research has shown that exercise may even help you live longer!
So if you’re not currently getting enough exercise or feeling like the effects from what little activity you do have are wearing off, check out our list below for some ideas on how you can get moving:
Monitor your blood glucose.
The most important thing you can do to manage your diabetes is to regularly monitor your blood glucose. What is blood glucose? Blood glucose is the type of sugar found in the blood stream, which comes from eating carbohydrates and other foods. This carbohydrate turns into energy for all cells in our body and every organ needs a certain amount of it to function properly. Without enough energy, our organs can’t work properly and this could lead to serious health problems such as heart disease or stroke.
How do you measure blood glucose? You can get a test kit from your pharmacist or diabetes clinic that uses a drop of blood by pricking your finger with a small lancet (or needle). It’s easy and painless! The lancet holds a small amount of blood so there will be no mess at all! Just make sure not to touch anything after this because it may transfer bacteria which could cause an infection if left untreated.”
Take medications as prescribed.
Taking medications as prescribed is an important part of diabetes management. Taking your medications helps you to manage your blood glucose levels and avoid complications, such as nerve damage and kidney disease. It can also help reduce the risk of organ failure, amputation and blindness.
Stay at a healthy weight.
To maintain a healthy weight, you will need to:
- Eat a healthy diet and get regular physical activity.
- Monitor your weight.
- Use medication as directed and monitor blood sugar levels regularly.
Manage stress.
Stress can increase your blood glucose levels. Stress can make you eat more, drink more alcohol and smoke more cigarettes. It can also make you sleep less, and feel more pain. All of these things will increase your chances of developing diabetes.
To manage stress:
- Take part in physical activity such as walking or jogging
- Go to bed early (at least eight hours before going to bed)
Get enough sleep.
Sleep is a vital part of staying healthy. In fact, the National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults get 7-9 hours of sleep each night. When you’re getting enough sleep, it can help you control your blood sugar levels and keep your heart healthy.
It’s common for people with diabetes to have trouble sleeping at night because their blood sugar levels are higher than normal during the day. But there are ways they can help themselves get better rest:
- Try taking 15-30 minutes before bedtime to relax by listening to music or reading something calming (like this article). This may help make it easier for you to fall asleep when you turn in for the night; just don’t stay up too late!
Diabetes is manageable with a proper health plan!
Your health is important, and you can do a lot to improve it. The first step is to follow a proper health plan. This means eating healthy foods, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep and limiting stress. These things will help you manage your diabetes and stay healthy for years to come!
It’s also important that you monitor your body for signs of illness or injury; this way if anything happens it won’t go unnoticed until it’s too late. Some symptoms include: fever (over 100 degrees Fahrenheit), chills or shaking uncontrollably, dehydration which causes dry mouth/thirsty/headache/dizziness etc.. If any of these happen then visit the doctor immediately; don’t wait until tomorrow because by then it could be too late!
Good luck managing your diabetes by following these steps!
Conclusion
We hope this guide has helped you to better understand the basics of living with diabetes and how to manage it. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out! We are here to help.