Here in this article, we are going to discuss 12 tips to manage your diabetes. Diabetes is a chronic disease which is caused due to insulin resistance in our body. When the glucose level in our body increases and it does not enter into the cells due to low insulin production from the pancreas or the insulin produced from the pancreas is not used efficiently by our body. The glucose level in our body increases which causes diabetes
These are the 12 tips to manage your diabetes
Be more physically active
If you want to manage your diabetes, you should be physically active if you have diabetes because it helps to regulate your blood and keep you fit
Take regular checkups
Lose weight
Lower your blood sugar
physical activity boosts your insulin sensation and keeps your blood sugar under control. Doing regular exercise is very important if you are diabetic.
Aerobic exercise. diabetic should do aerobic exercise for 30 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise — such as brisk walking, swimming, biking or running
Resistance exercise also makes you fit and active and makes insulin sensitive — at least 4 days a week — increases your strength, balance and ability to maintain an active life. Resistance training includes weightlifting, yoga and callisthenics.
Limited inactivity. Do not sit too long, such as sitting at the computer, which can help control blood sugar levels. You should do some easy exercise like walking around or doing some light activity every 30 minutes a day.
Skip fad diets and make healthier choices
There are many fad diets suggested by different dieticians like paleo or keto diets and glycemic index, Which can help you to manage weight. These diets also help to manage diabetes according to research. These diets are mainly based on green veggies and fruits which are helpful for diabetes patients. Green veggies contain fibre which helps to slow down digestion and do not spike blood sugar.
Your diet plan should aim to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle. That’s why you should consult with a good dietician to have a healthy diet plan that you can follow for the long term in your life. Following a good diet plan could be more beneficial for you over time.
You should adopt simple strategies that make your food good and appropriate is to divide your daily plate routine
These are given below-
Add fruit and nonstarchy vegetables
Consume whole grains
Add protein-rich foods, such as legumes, fish or lean meats
It is advised to get daily checkups for type 2 diabetes patients by American Diabetes Association
People younger than 45 who are overweight or obese have more factors of diabetes
Women who have had gestational diabetes
People who have been diagnosed with prediabetes
So if you are diabetic then you should consult with a diabetes doctor and share your concern about diabetes and its prevention with your doctor. You should also share your genetics diabetes history with your doctor
Ask your doctor for the best diabetes prevention that you should follow in your daily life
Eat healthy plant foods to manage your diabetes
Consumption of plants provides healthy minerals carbohydrates and vitamins to your body. Carbohydrates main source of energy for your body as contain sugars and starches and fibre. These are the important sources of energy that we get from plants and it helps to control your blood sugar. Dietary fibre is also obtained from plants and that is not useful for us, our bodies can not digest dietary fibre.
Plants contain fibre that helps to manage weight and also reduces the risk of diabetes. Fibre is absorbed slowly and does not spike our blood sugar.
Fibre-rich fruits and veggies include-
Tomatoes, peppers and fruit from trees like apples, oranges, papaya
Nonstarchy vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach and cauliflower
pulses, such as beans, chickpeas and lentils
Whole grains, whole grain roti, whole-grain rice, whole oats, barley
What are the benefits of fibre include:
fibre slows down the absorption of sugar and lower blood sugar level
Fibre is absorbed slowly by our digestive system and does not spike blood sugar
When you eat fibre-rich food it keeps you full and you do not eat much
If you are a diabetic then you should avoid the consumption of “bad carbohydrate” because carbohydrate contains high sugar.
These are some examples of high carbohydrate foods white bread and pastries, pasta from white flour, fruit juices, and processed foods with sugar or high-fructose corn syrup.
Eat more salad and fruits to manage your diabetes
We know eating fruit and veggies is good for you. Eating more fruits and minerals helps you get the vitamins, minerals and fibre your body needs every day to help keep you healthy.
diabetes patients might be wondering about fruits they should eat or not because it’s sugary. The answer is no. Whole fruit is good for everyone diabetes patients can also consume fruits and there is not any risk of a sugar spike. Fruits do contain sugar, but it’s natural sugar.
Sugar present in fruits is quite different from the added sugar in artificial products like biscuits, cakes, chocolate, energy drinks etc
products like fruits juice also contain added sugar it is better to consume whole fruit instead of fresh, frozen, dried or tinned (in juice, not in syrup). You can consume fruits any time throughout the day.
Avoid red meat
You should avoid red meat If you’re cutting down on carbs, you might start to have bigger portions of meat to fill you up.
avoid the consumption of red processed meat which is not good for your health like bacon, lamb, beef etc. Because it may cause heart disease and other diseases like cancer
Instead of red meat, you can consume these-
poultry like chicken and turkey
unsalted nuts
pulses such as beans and lentils
eggs
fish
Beans, peas and lentils are also very high in fibre and don’t affect your blood glucose levels too much – making them a great swap for processed and red meat and keeping you feeling full.
You can add fish to your diet because it is a good source of energy and contains omega-3 oils. Fish like salmon and mackerel is a good choice because they contain omega-3 oil, which is helpful for a healthy heart.
Avoid sugar consumption
In the beginning, it is very hard to cut out sugar but if you keep it in your practice you can slowly cut down it. Consume natural sugar like fruits and avoid consuming coffee, energy drinks, tea etc.
There are many zero-calorie sweetener products available in the market which are helpful for diabetes patients to cut down sugar consumption. With the consumption of zero-calorie artificial sweeteners, you can control your blood sugar. If your diabetes treatment means you get hypos, and you use sugary drinks to treat them, this is still important for your diabetes management and you shouldn’t cut this out.
Avoid drinking alcohol
Diabetes patients should avoid alcohol because it contains high calories so try to avoid consumption of alcohol in your daily routine if you want to lose weight. Consume only limited units of alcohol a week
Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach is not good if you consume any medicine or insulin. because alcohol can cause a spike to blood sugar
Don’t bother with so-called diabetic food
According to doctors, there is no diabetic food all food has a special property. we can not say any food is diabetic. whatever each food provides you have special health benefits but sometimes we should avoid sugary food and fruits that contain much sugar.
Avoid drinking alcohol
Diabetes patients should avoid alcohol because it contains high calories so try to avoid consumption of alcohol in your daily routine if you want to lose weight. Consume only limited units of alcohol a week
Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach is not good if you consume any medicine or insulin. because alcohol can cause a spike to blood sugar
Get proper vitamins and minerals
There’s no evidence that mineral and vitamin supplements help you manage your diabetes. because until you do not have checkups and you’ve been told to take something by your healthcare team, like folic acid for pregnancy, you don’t need to take supplements.
you get most of your essential supplements from the food that you eat. You can make your weekly diet chart where you can add different types of foods. Because consumption of supplements sometimes may spike your blood sugar and can affect your health. Consumption of supplements can even cause diabetes complications like heart disease, high blood pressure, nerve problem and kidney failure
Choose healthier fats
fat is a very important source of energy that we should include in our diet. there are different types of fats available some are good for us and some are not good. These fats can affect our bodies.
We can get healthier fats from different foods like nuts, avocados, oily fish, soybeans, seeds and sunflowers. Some saturated fats can increase the amount of cholesterol in your blood, increasing your risk of heart problems. These are the main source of fats-
red and processed meat
Ghee
Butter
Card
biscuits, cakes, pies and pastries.
It is advised that you should avoid or consume oil or fats in low quantities. Because they increase the cholesterol level in your body. When you have high cholesterol you should consume baked or steamed food to lower your cholesterol level
Eat less salt
We should consume salt within a normal limit because high salt consumption could result in high blood pressure, which causes heart disease and stroke. But when you have diabetes you are more prone to have high blood pressure problems and you are already at high risk to have heart-related diseases.