30/12/2015
Control diabetes in 5 easy steps
A research survey asked people with diabetes; “What has been the most difficult about living with diabetes?” Seventy four responded – “controlling diabetes’.
If you feel the same way, take heart. Diabetes may not be curable, but is certainly manageable. Through proper diet, exercise, self-care and medication you can control diabetes successfully. What’s more, the earlier you start controlling it and thus preventing complications, greater are the chances of keeping the disease in check. You get a whammy gift too – living a full vigorous and healthy life.
Step 1 – Follow a healthy and healing diet
Does that mean you restrict eating to only a few recipes; some food in and some out? No! You can eat a variety of food. You may be surprised to find that there is no diabetic diet! There is only healthy diet.
By making small and gradual changes you turn good diet intentions into second nature habit, without much effort at all.
You must learn to calculate your daily calorie requirement. Spread it over small multiple meals. Eat high fibre and complex carbohydrates, Proteins should be sufficient and must come from fish and chicken rather than red meat. Add variety of fresh produce. Hydrate yourself well by drinking plenty of water. Calorie dense and fatty food should be left out.
You start with high fibers and that itself will start helping your sugar levels to decrease.
Step 2 – get fit to fight diabetes
The more active you are, the more successful you will be in controlling sugars and the weight. Aerobic exercise and strength training will prevail over diabetes and help you reclaim your good health. Other bonus is- your medication may be halted or reduced. Exercise safely and stick to a regime at least for some time before switching over to a different regimen. Perseverance is key to success.
Step 3 – Take medicines as prescribed by the doctor
It is important to understand the medication you are taking, their side effects if any. You must learn to take injections either insulin or GLP1 agonists (They are NOT insulin), properly at the specified time and site on the body.
Hypoglycemia (Hypo – low sugars) as mentioned often occurs at times when there is a mismatch between the food and diabetes drug action. It is preventable.
Stopping of medicines without the doctors or against the advice of the doctors can be dangerous, in fact, life threatening.
Step 4 – Check your blood sugar regularly(Self-monitoring of blood glucose – SMBG)
It is a vital step in managing the disease. It can also avert emergencies like hypoglycemia or ketoacidosis. Regular testing helps ensures that your self-care programme of diet, exercise and medication are working well. You get immediate feedback after you eat or exercise. You can do it anywhere anytime. There are a plethora of glucometers to choose from to suit your pockets and needs.
It is vital to get glycosylated hemoglobin done every 3 months to monitor the progress.
Other tests like lipid and kidney profile are to be done as advised by the diabetologist.
Step 5 – Defeat stress with positive living
Your life is not the same after you have been diagnosed with diabetes. It is not any worse, only different. It may be a wakeup call to take better care of yourself!
You need to manage stress better by effective coping skills, defeat depression. Fight phobias and fears. You may seek spiritual comfort. Tap into relationships to heal you. Enough rest and at times professional help is warranted. When you are emotionally strong, you can better manage diabetes,
The key here is to control your diabetes so that it doesn’t control you. The good news – rather great news- is that taking action to control of diabetes not as difficult as you might think. Yes, you have to alter a few habits involving food and exercise. But they are to be done – diabetes or no diabetes. Diabetes only gives an impetus to change to healthier living.
