Diabetes
Health & Fitness

Useful Diabetes Management Tips From the Experts

Diabetes is a condition that negatively affects the lives of millions of Americans and hundreds of millions of people globally. The condition is characterized by elevated blood glucose levels. If these elevated levels aren’t treated, then they can cause damage to the eyes, blood vessels, heart, kidneys, and nerves. If one lives a healthy lifestyle, then diabetes is manageable. Certain types of diabetes are even curable.

If you are suffering from diabetes, then it’s crucial that you manage your condition properly. If you don’t, you could suffer serious consequences. This article will tell you how to manage your diabetes:

Diabetic Socks

Not everybody with diabetes will need to wear specially designed diabetic socks, but some will. Diabetics who suffer from a change in foot color or temperature, sweaty or moist feet, and decreased pedal pulse can benefit from socks made for diabetics massively. These socks are inexpensive and very effective; they are also very easy to find and can be purchased from a multitude of retailers. If you are concerned with your feet, then before purchasing socks, you should speak to your doctor. Any worrying symptoms need to be addressed immediately.   

Routine Eyecare

It’s also crucial that you see your optician two or three times a year. Diabetes can lead to total blindness. Your optician will be able to check your eyes and perform scans and tests, which will tell them whether your diabetes is impacting your eyes. If it is, then you will need to undergo more rigorous treatment. Not all types of diabetes lead to blindness, however. It’s typically just type one diabetes that does. Type two diabetes is usually curable, while type one is permanent. Type one also involves regular insulin injections. You must also attend all other healthcare appointments related to your diabetes.

Eating Carbohydrates

Experts recommend eating certain carbohydrates if you are suffering from diabetes. All carbohydrates affect one’s blood glucose levels in some way, so it’s important to carefully select the carbs that you do eat. Nutritionists recommend eating whole grains like buckwheat and whole oats; fruit; vegetables; chickpeas, lentils, beans, and other pulses; vegetables, and dairy. You need to ensure that the dairy products you do eat are sugar-free. Nutritionists also advise avoiding low fiber foods like white bread and rice. If you don’t carefully select the carbohydrates that you eat, then you will experience significant spikes in blood sugar levels.

Reduce Salt Intake

Experts also advise eating as little salt as possible. Salt intake increases one’s blood pressure, which can consequently cause heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes. When one suffers from diabetes, one is already prone to these conditions. If you eat lots of salt when you are already prone to these conditions, you seriously put your health at risk. Strokes, heart attacks, and heart disease can be fatal. Make sure to monitor your salt intake by reading the product packaging and using as little as possible when you are cooking. Nutritionists advise limiting yourself to six grams a day.

Processed Meats

Health experts have long advised against processed meat consumption. This is especially important for people who suffer from diabetes. When one cuts down on carbohydrates, it’s natural to want to fill up on meat, like sausages and ground beef. Unfortunately, processed meat has strong links with heart disease, like high salt intake. While you don’t necessarily need to go vegetarian, you should try to avoid processed meats where possible. Try to substitute meat for pulses, eggs, fish, turkey and chicken, and nuts. Fish is particularly good for people who are diabetic because it contains omega-3 oil, which protects one’s heart. Another way to protect your heart is to get enough sleep. Many people do not, and it is a leading cause of illness.

Diabetes

Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

There’s no denying it, fruit and vegetables are incredibly good for you. If you are diabetic, then it’s crucial that you begin eating more fruits and vegetables. Increasing your fruit and vegetable intake can increase the number of vitamins, minerals, and the amount of fiber that your body gets. This can keep you very healthy. The sugar that’s contained in fruit is not bad for you. This is natural sugar, which is good for you and is not the same as that which is contained in chocolate, biscuits, and cakes. Try to avoid fruit juices, however, as they do contain added sugar. If you have enough fruit and a juicer, then you can make your own healthy fruit juices.

Consume Healthy Fats

We all need to consume some kind of fat because fat provides our bodies with energy. However, there are different types of fat and not all are healthy. If one begins consuming unhealthy fats, then one will inevitably experience some kind of health problem, be it heart disease or an increase in the negative symptoms of diabetes. Be sure to consume healthy fats, like those found in unsalted nuts, avocados, oily fish, seeds, olive oil, and sunflower oil. Saturated fats increase the amount of cholesterol present in one’s blood which also increases one’s risk of heart disease, which, as we know, is dangerous for diabetics.

Added Sugar

It goes without saying that when you are diabetic, you shouldn’t be eating foods with any added sugar. While removing sugar from one’s diet can be difficult, it is very good for one’s health and can help to eliminate the negative symptoms associated with diabetes. This means that you should remove sugary drinks, energy drinks, and fruit juices, and swap them for water, tea, and milk. Try to avoid eating unhealthy deserts, and instead eat fruit.

Regular Exercise

Exercise is very important, for both diabetics and non-diabetics. If one does not exercise, then one can experience serious health problems. In addition, one who doesn’t exercise is far more likely to experience heart disease, which we have mentioned extensively throughout this article. If you do not want to go to the gym, then you can go for runs in the morning or alternatively practice calisthenics and bodyweight exercises. Even a brisk walk is considered exercise, so regular walks will work.

Diabetes is a condition that can significantly impact the quality of one’s life. If steps aren’t taken to minimize the severity of one’s symptoms, then diabetes can even result in death. Follow this article’s guidance, and you should be able to manage your condition from home.

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