Last Updated on April 24, 2024
With diabetes, it can be hard – and even embarrassing – to keep track of your blood sugar, in case it dips. But, it doesn’t have to be that hard to manage your diabetes. If you manage your diabetes now, not only will you improve your energy and healing ability, but you’ll also reduce your chances of other health complications, such as:
- Heart attack
- Nerve damage
- Kidney failure
- Blindness
- Gum disease
We all know nothing is easy when you live with diabetes. With that said, here are 10 simple and helpful tips to help you stay on top of your diabetes:
1.Make Some Lifestyle Adjustments
First and foremost, you may want to make adjustments to your lifestyle now. (Yes, do it right now!) Since your hormones are changing all the time, it’s important to be on top of them. Hormone levels can make your blood sugar fluctuate, causing you to change up meal plans, exercise more, or go to the doctor. It’s best to talk to your doctor on how you can adjust your lifestyle to hormonal changes that you might be experiencing.
2.Manage Stress
Your best bet is to keep calm in all situations. Why? Because stress can cause your blood sugar to rise, thus aggravating symptoms if you’re diabetic. You can also find relaxing activities to take part in – anything that can help you cope with your feelings without aggravating symptoms.
3.Moderate Drinking
Moderation is essential, should you choose to drink alcohol. However, if you’re diabetic, you may want to consider moderation as key to a healthy lifestyle – or, you can cut alcohol out of your life entirely.
Alcohol consumption can cause low blood sugar, which is a result of your liver having to process the alcohol and neglecting to release stored sugar in response to low levels. Plus, alcohol can impair your ability to think clearly and make the best decisions in a given moment. So, try to limit alcohol consumption, or give it the boot.
4.Exercise
Exercise makes everything better, since it:
- Gives you more energy
- Reduces stress
- Helps you relax
- Lets you sleep better
One recommendation is to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, every day. Try to pick an exercise that not works well with you, but is also effective in making you healthier. Speaking of being healthier…
5.Healthy Eating (Not Dieting)
Healthier eating is the way to go! But the best part of this is that you don’t have to diet. All you have to do is make healthier food choices – ones that you can easily stick with for life. Think about the foods that:
- Support overall good health
- Has vitamins and minerals that your body needs, AND
- Very compatible with meal plans
6.Less Salt
Although salt can be irresistibly tasty, and can go on any food that you wish, eating lots of it can increase your risk of high blood pressure, this increasing your chances of heart diseases and stroke. And when you’re diabetic, the chances of getting heart diseases and stroke are astronomical.
One recommendation is limiting yourself to a maximum of 6g (one teaspoonful) of salt daily. Plus, check the food labels to see if they equal or exceed this limit. If a food product is less than 6g of salt, then that’s even better.
You can even cook your meals from scratch; this allows you to see how much salt you’re putting into your food, rather than rely on pre-packaged foods that might be packed with so much salt. And, you can substitute salt for different herbs and spices to add extra flavor to a dish.
7.Practice Better Oral Hygiene
Diabetes robs you of the ability to fight infection from bacteria in the mouth. Since diabetes puts you at greater risk of gum disease, it’s important to brush up on your oral hygiene.
8.Check Your Medications
Some medications may aggravate diabetic symptoms (i.e. affect healthy glucose levels in patients). Therefore, talk to your doctor to see if your medications are to blame for aggravated symptoms, and if you need to switch to a different medicine.
9.Keep Up With Vaccinations
It’s important to get vaccinated, no matter what. Diabetes makes you more vulnerable to infection; and without vaccinations, you’ll be more at risk of:
- The flu
- Pneumonia
- Hepatitis B
10.See Your Doctor Regularly
Finally, your doctor has the final say on how you should manage your diabetes. Therefore, make sure you schedule regular doctor appointments, and get tests and screenings on time. Regular doctor visits allow you to track your progress.
Conclusion
So you see, diabetes can be managed, if you know what to do. By following these tips, you’ll be able to take control of your diabetes. And, as always, consult your doctor for more advice on managing diabetes.
Michael Dehoyos writes at Academic Brits. As a marketing writer, he evaluates the marketing strategies of various companies, and helps them improve their marketing concepts. And, as a health writer, he contributes to numerous health sites and publications.
