4 Crucial Tips for Managing Diabetes
Diabetes can result in excessively high blood sugar levels. Failure to control this illness for a long time increases the risk of eye problems. Failure to control your blood sugar levels not only increases the possibility of blindness but also results in other vision issues like glaucoma and cataracts. When you don’t control your blood sugar levels, you risk getting dementia once you get older. Learning how to control your blood sugar levels can be quite helpful. Outlined below are five crucial tips for managing diabetes.
1. Keep track of your blood sugar
Regular monitoring of blood sugar comes in handy for people with diabetes, especially those who use insulin. It helps with the successful management of diabetes. Keeping tabs on your glucose levels helps:
- Discover how your treatment plan is working
- It gives you details on how to control the disease
The results from blood sugar monitoring can help you make the right decisions regarding:
- Physical activity
- Food
- Dosing insulin
There are various ways to monitor your blood sugar at home, including:
- Test strips and glucose meters: Diabetes test strips and a glucose meter are common for monitoring sugar levels. It involves pricking your finger with a tiny needle to collect a blood drop that you place against a test strip in a glucose meter. The meter then reveals the results within minutes
- Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs): These devices are worn 24 hours a day to measure your sugar levels. CGMs use this data in graph form to show a complete picture of how your glucose levels change over time
2. Eat healthy
Unhealthy eating habits are a leading cause of diabetes. When you consume extra carbohydrates and calories, your blood glucose levels increase. Healthy eating is among the strategies you can leverage to control your sugar levels effectively. A diet for diabetic people is based on consuming nutritious foods regularly. Eating healthy meals regularly helps with improved use of your body’s insulin or the one you get from medicine. The best foods for diabetics include:
- Healthy carbohydrates
- Good fats
- Heart-healthy fish like tuna and salmon
- Fiber-rich foods
A certified dietician can help you develop a diet plan based on your lifestyle, tastes, and health goals.
3. Get physically active
Physical activity is crucial for people with diabetes. Besides reducing blood sugar levels, exercising helps counter insulin resistance by boosting the body’s sensitivity to insulin. Regular physical activity helps:
- Reduce blood pressure
- Control weight
- Reduce harmful LDL cholesterol and increase healthy HDL cholesterol
- Reduce anxiety
- Strengthen bones and muscles
4. Quit smoking
While managing diabetes can be challenging, smoking makes it even harder. Nicotine raises your blood glucose levels, making them harder to deal with. Diabetics who smoke usually need significant insulin doses to keep their glucose close to their intended levels. If you smoke and have diabetes, you’re highly likely to experience worse diabetes-related complications like kidney failure, cardiovascular disease, and blindness. Quitting smoking:
- Makes it easier to manage diabetes
- Lowers the risk of high blood sugar-related complications
- Reduces the possibility of catching type 2 diabetes
5. Prioritize regular diabetes check-ups
People with diabetes are at a high risk of complications such as:
- Nerve damage
- Cardiovascular disease
- Blindness
- Kidney problems
This is where regular diabetes check-ups come in. Medical experts will. They involve a healthcare professional:
- Evaluating your condition
- Tracking your progress
- Making the necessary changes to your treatment plan
Routine check-ups not only help manage diabetes but also address possible complications.
Endnote
Controlling your blood sugar levels is key to improving overall health. Consider implementing these tips to manage diabetes.
