How to Live Healthy and Properly Manage Diabetes

Today, diabetes now affects around 16 million Americans and every year, approximately 800,000 new cases are diagnosed. Diabetes is a disease that attacks everyone. It can affect children, men, women, and the elderly. It is also a disease that spares no race. Whether you are black, white, Hispanic, Asian, or European, diabetes can affect you. This is why you need to know about the basics of living with diabetes.

First of all, this disease is the leading cause of kidney failure. It can also cause blindness, and can significantly increase the risk of you getting heart diseases, stroke and even birth defects. Amputations are also common in diabetics and it can significantly shorten the life expectancy by up t 15 years.

If you or someone you love is suffering from diabetes, then you have to know what you are up against in order for you to know how to live a normal life with the disease.

At first, you may be overwhelmed and get depressed upon knowing that you or someone you love has diabetes. You may even feel that this is a death sentence. But, you have to consider that you feel this because of your ignorance for the disease. Although diabetes still has no cure, you will see that there are ways on how you can properly manage it in order for you or for the person close to you who is affected with the disease live a more normal life.

You need to keep in mind that even with diabetes a person can still live a full life. All it takes is extra care and proper management of the disease. The first thing you need to remember about diabetes management is the diet. The diet plays an important role in the life of a diabetic. You will need to put together a meal plan with a dietitian as well as the doctor.

In most cases, you will find that diabetics will have several meals a day. Aside from breakfast, lunch and dinner, you will see that small snacks are required in between. The meals should be taken at the same time every single day in order to help keep the body on a schedule and also regulate the blood sugar levels in the body. Skipping meals and snacks may lead to large swings in blood sugar readings, which is a very dangerous thing for diabetics.

In order for the blood sugar level within normal range, a diabetic should balance the food they eat with the insulin that the body gets from exercising as well as from injections. You can monitor the blood sugar level with a device called glucose meter. This will be able to keep you informed on the current blood sugar levels in the body, which can be very helpful in planning meals.

Diabetics should follow a certain meal plan as their body works differently from the person not suffering from diabetes. A diabetic should have low carbohydrate, low salt, low sugar, and high fiber diet. This will help regulate the blood sugar levels in the body and help prevent drastic changes in it.

Preventing or minimizing complications is your goal when managing diabetes. By strictly following the proper diet and proper eating schedule, you can be sure that you will be able to live a normal and full life.

How You Can Adjust Your Life with Diabetes

A lot of people with diabetes just can’t seem to accept the fact that they have the disease. When doctors first tell people that they are diabetic most of them are overwhelmed and feel as if they completely lost control of their lives. This is understandable as diabetes is a very serious disease that has plenty of complications where some of which can be life threatening. Living with diabetes is not easy. But, there are ways where you will be able to properly manage the disease, which will also allow you live a normal life.

If you are diagnosed with diabetes, the most important thing that you should do is to get down to the basics. For starters, ask your doctor to write instructions down on how and when to take your medications. You may also want to ask them how often you should check your blood sugar level with the glucose meter device.

It will also help you out during the first few weeks if you seek help from your physician and a dietician or a nutritionist when it comes to planning your meals. They will also give you advice on how to plan your own meals and also tell you what foods that you need to regulate, and what foods that you should eat plenty of.

With a written menu, you will be able to relieve a lot of stress after the initial couple of weeks of diagnosis.

You also need to understand more about what you cannot eat, and the amount of food that you can and cannot exceed. This way, you will have a more in depth knowledge about planning meals. A nutrition expert will be able to help you make a healthy diabetic diet and also teach you how to follow your diet effectively and easily.

If you need to lose weight, you will find that your nutritionist will be able to help you out when it comes to planning meals that will allow you to lose weight without compromising your overall well-being.

After you get the hang of the basics, such as eating according to your diet plan, checking your blood sugar level, taking your medications, and doing exercise, the next step is to continue educating yourself about the disease. Check for seminars and classes that involved diabetes management and care. Here, you will be able to learn how to take care of yourself and how you will be able to prevent complications brought upon by diabetes as well as how to deal with it.

Adjusting to a diabetic lifestyle is not easy, especially if you have grown accustomed to living the kind of life that led you to the disease. However, with time and patience, you will soon adjust to this kind of lifestyle and it will eventually become second nature to you. It is also very important to remember that if you have any problems concerning your health, you should always consult your doctor about it. They will be more than helpful in giving you advice as well as helping you cope with the disease.

Living with diabetes is not easy. But, with proper management and discipline, you will see that you will be able to eventually live a life that you can consider as normal. Remember these tips and you will be able to conquer diabetes.