Diabetes is a trying time in anyone’s life, but you can make it manageable with the choices you make. It may seem like a daunting task at first but after you get it under control you can expect to live a full life. Following are some handy tips to help you make good decisions. Please read on.
Stress can wreak havoc on a Diabetic’s mental health, but it will also cause problems physically as well. Try to do stress-relieving activities like exercise, yoga, or deep breathing exercises at the end of the day or during any situation that is particularly stressful to keep yourself calm, cool, and collected.
Keep track of your blood sugar levels in a log book, so you know where you’ve been and how you’re doing currently. If you can’t afford enough test strips to check multiple times a day, check at a variety of different times, so that you can get an idea of how your sugar is going throughout a typical day.
Don’t use alcohol swabs before an insulin injection. It’s actually unnecessary, as long as your skin, hands, and needle are clean. Alcohol swabs will dry out the skin, making it more likely that the injection site will stay open. This can actually increase the risk of an infection at the site.
A great breakfast food for a Diabetic is grapefruit! It’s been known to assist people with weight loss even when they do nothing else. Be careful that you aren’t on any pills, like atorvastatin for cholesterol, that have adverse reactions when you ingest grapefruit. It can actually increase their potency and potentially lead to an overdose.
To avoid developing a life-threatening infection, avoid going barefoot outdoors. People with diabetes are much more susceptible to developing infections from minor injuries and simply cutting your foot on a piece of glass could become a major ordeal. Instead, try wearing lightweight, waterproof shoes when you’re going outside in warm weather.
To spot foods that may be an issue for you, keep track of what you eat in a log alongside of your glucose levels. After a while, you’ll be able to notice the effect that certain foods have on you. This is a much better way to spot problematic foods than an elimination diet, and can also show you what foods benefit your health.
If you have Diabetes then it is important that you dry your feet carefully after a bath, shower, or a dip in the pool. Your feet will be more prone to getting infections, including fungal, so keeping them cool and dry can help prevent that from happening. Don’t forget in between your toes!
There is no cure for Type II Diabetes. You may be able to keep it at bay by losing the fat that causes insulin resistance, but it will always be there waiting for you to give it a foothold to take your body back over. Stay on track with your diet changes and increase in exercise for the rest of your life.
A good tip for people suffering from diabetes is to carry around diabetes bars to use as meal replacements when they can’t find the time to eat a proper meal. There are bars and shakes made specifically to address the needs of people with diabetes so it is an easy way to get your nutrients without any hassle or measuring.
While some people view vacation as a chance to get away from all of their most pressing obligations, the same cannot be said of blood-glucose testing. Instead of entirely shirking your duties, you may be able to follow a more relaxed approach. You may be able to splurge on your eating habits, delay waking up for an early-morning glucose check, or testing as frequently.
To help control your diabetes with your diet, eat more vegetables. A good diet for many diabetics involves high fiber, high nutrients, low fat, and moderate amounts of calories, and eating vegetables is part of this kind of diet. Replacing some refined carbohydrates and sugar-filled foods and drinks with vegetables can also help keep your body healthier and regulate your weight, which will help control your diabetes naturally.
If you are a diabetic, consider seeking the help of a nutritionist. A nutritionist is able to help you with problems as such as: what to eat, what you can’t eat, what diets to follow and what to eat as a bedtime snack. Nutritionists also provide assistance in answering questions you may have.
Know that being sick can affect your blood glucose level. Being sick stresses your body out, and when your body stresses out it creates more glucose. In fact, both physical and mental stress could affect it. So to help you monitor your levels, you should check your blood glucose level more often on days that you are sick.
If you have Diabetes, journal your eating habits and blood sugar levels. Do this every day, for every meal. The information contained in your journal can help to explain blood sugar spikes, or dips, throughout the day. It can also provide your physician with real life information that can be used for your on going treatment.
When you have diabetes, you need to make sure that you are getting enough rest each night. If you fail to get enough sleep, not only will your body crave sugar and energy, but it will lead to overeating, low blood-sugar levels and even irritability that could have been avoided in the first place.
Watch the low-fat snacks. Some people believe that since a snack is low-fat, then the calories aren’t as high. This can cause you to overeat because you think these snacks are better for you. Low-fat snacks really don’t save that many calories. If you do eat them, consume as many of them as you would, a regular snack.
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