Working closely with your doctor, you can help yourself to manage your diabetes by concentrating on 6 key changes in your everyday life.
1. Eat Healthy
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Eating well is important when you have diabetes, because what you eat changes your blood sugar. No foods are surely off-limits. Focus on having only as much as your body needs. Eat lots of vegetables, whole grains, and fruits. Choose non-fat dairy and lean meats. Avoid foods that are high in sugar and fat. Remember that carbohydrates change into sugar, so watch your carb consumption. Try to keep it about the same from meal to meal. This is even more necessary if you take insulin or drugs to manage your blood sugars.
2. Exercise
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If you’re not moving, start. You don’t have to register into a gym and do cross-training. Just walk or play active video games. Having an active lifestyle helps you manage your diabetes by bringing down your blood sugar. It also reduces your chances of getting heart disease. It can help you waste extra pounds and ease stress. Your goal should be 30 minutes of action that makes you sweat and breathe little harder most days of the week.
3. Get Checkups
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If you’re not getting regular checkups, now’s the time to begin. See your doctor at least two times in a year. Diabetes raises your chance of heart disease. So learn your numbers: blood pressure, cholesterol, and average blood sugar over 3 months. Get a full eye exam every year. Visit a foot doctor to examine for problems like foot ulcers and nerve loss.
4. Manage Stress
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When you’re tensed, your blood sugar levels go up. And when you’re worried, you may not control your diabetes well. You may skip to exercise, eat right, or take your prescribed medicines. Find ways to ease stress through yoga, deep breathing, or hobbies that ease you.
5. Stop Smoking
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Diabetes increases your possibilities of having health problems like heart disease, stroke, eye disease, kidney disease, nerve damage, blood vessel disease, and foot problems. If you smoke, your possibility of getting these problems is even higher. Smoking also can make it difficult to exercise. Talk with your doctor about ways to stop.
6. Watch Your Alcohol
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Avoiding excess alcohol may make it simpler to control your blood sugar, so if you want to drink, don’t overdo it. The American Diabetes Association suggests that women who drink alcohol have no more than one glass a day and men who drinks have no more than two. Taking alcohol can make your blood sugar go too high or too low. Monitor your blood sugar before you drink, and take moves to avoid low blood sugars. If you use insulin or take drugs for your diabetes, eat when you’re drinking. Some drinks like wine coolers may be higher in carbohydrates, so take this into the report when counting carbs.