Managing your diabetes can seem like a lifelong struggle that you will never get out of. There are steps that you can take to reduce the affects your diabetes has on you and to maximize your treatment of it. This article will highlight these ideas for you in a practical way.
Skip the french fries and ditch the baked potato – it’s time to replace your carb-heavy side dishes with something that’s actually GOOD for a Diabetic. Salad! I’m not talking potato or pasta salad, they’re both carbohydrate disaster areas. Pick up some lettuce, shred some vegetables, throw on some tomato wedges and a nice light oil and vinegar dressing and dig in!
Don’t sweat the small stuff! Being a diabetic is hard, and you’re going to make mistakes. If you eat unhealthily or forget to exercise, don’t beat yourself up over it because sometimes that’s life! Do some deep breathing and forgive yourself for your lapse, then watch what you eat for the rest of the day and move on tomorrow.
Diabetics MUST visit their doctor regularly to keep tabs on their blood sugar, weight, and medications. Your physician might know of a new treatment that could be useful to you, or see something in your blood work that indicates there is a problem. Having your doctor weigh you will also give you an accurate measurement of how well you’re keeping your weight under control.
It is important for diabetics to learn to eat a healthy diet and control portion sizes. Eating excessively large portions is a sure way to gain weight. Eating too much, even of foods that are good for you, will result in weight gain and blood sugar problems. Use smaller plates, put your utensils down between bites and eat slower.
To keep your blood sugar levels from spiking, research high glycemic index foods. If you’re not knowledgeable about what ingredients you should avoid, you may consume something harmful without realizing it. If you need to eat something quickly and don’t have time to look it up, stick to non-processed foods.
Take a thyroid test! If you are diagnosed as Diabetic, find out if you’ve had your thyroid checked recently. Sometimes thyroid conditions can cause the pancreas to lower its production of insulin! So, getting a blood test to make sure that your thyroid is doing fine is a good idea – before you go on any medications for Diabetes.
A tip to prevent or manage diabetes is to eat high-fiber foods such as whole grains as much as possible. Processed foods, including white bread, have a high glycemic count due to being full of refined carbohydrates and these can increase the diabetes risk. This is because they lead to spikes in the blood sugar levels whereas the more natural the food, the easier it is to be digested.
Diabetics who find that they can sleep for hours and never wake up feeling fully rested may be experiencing unhealthily high insulin levels in the body. Be aware that this might also be a direct side effect of many popular diabetic medications. You might only experience this feeling after a meal. However, this is considered normal.
For anyone suffering from hypoglycemia, it is best to speak with a doctor to see if you should be taking glucose tablets. Glucose tables are fast and easy to use, and are safer and more effective than eating a food with a high sugar content.
Cut down on simple carbohydrates. These foods, such as pasta and bread, cause your blood sugar levels to spike which may cause hyperglycemia and a need for more insulin; that may result in a hypoglycemic episode. Stick to complex carbohydrates such as whole grains in order to keep your blood sugar stable.
With diabetes, it is important that you consult with professional help right away. This is important because there is plenty to be learned about the disease that only someone who specializes in it will know. Other than paid doctor visits, there are also toll free numbers that you can call for guidance.
You have a sweet tooth, but you’ve just been diagnosed with Type II diabetes, what are you going to do? There are many artificial sweeteners that can take the place of sugar in our lives. We may have tasted diet soda and though that we couldn’t bare it. But with multiple tastes you begin to get used to the taste and before long you will find yourself enjoying these diet beverages as much as you enjoyed the real thing. Better still, try carbonated water with just a little fruit juice.
Now you are equipped to take some practical steps to manage your diabetes better, get better results from your treatment and even lower the affects diabetes has over you. Following these tips will give you some of the results you have been looking for.
