Diabetes is a potentially severe and chronic disease that doesn’t have a cure, but having diabetes or being diagnosed with diabetes shouldn’t be the end of a person’s life. However, diabetes can affect our daily lifestyle as it requires a complete change or a slight adjustment to a new lifestyle.
Since diabetes can’t be cured but managed with a health kit blood glucose or some lifestyle changes are required to ensure longevity, even with diabetes.
This article discusses some tips for living a healthy life with diabetes.
6 Tips on How to Live with Diabetes
The following are suggestions for maintaining a healthy lifestyle while dealing with diabetes.
1. Monitor Blood Sugar
Monitoring your glucose is crucial for living with diabetes, as it offers You can watch your glucose level using a glucometer or a diabetes kit.
Monitoring your sugar level can help you notice early warning signs that may help you avoid more serious complications in the future. “You can either use a glucometer and “poke” yourself regularly to check your blood sugar or wear a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) that is checking them constantly, even when you’re asleep,” notes Melinda Hany, Registered Nurse.
2. Create A Meal Plan
Managing diabetes and maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be challenging. Still, you can work with a health expert to create a meal plan consisting of three balanced diets and three snacks; that’s six meals per day recommended for someone with diabetes.
If you have type 2 diabetes and are overweight, finding a way to lose that weight may help reduce further complications.
What better way to do that than a meal plan and dieting? Eating healthy and working towards losing excess weight is good as it helps to reduce blood glucose.
Create a meal plan with less salt and added sugar, healthier complex carbohydrates, and unsaturated fats.
3. Get Active
Regular exercise is highly recommended for people with type 2 diabetes.
Want All Of This But Shorter And Delivered Straight To Your Inbox?
SIGN UP!
Being active helps to regulate blood sugar, increase the body’s sensitivity to insulin (the hormone that enables your body to use sugar for energy), and keep the cardiovascular system in great shape. Some of the activities you can try are aerobics, stretching, muscle strengthening, and balancing exercises.
“Always talk to your doctor before starting any new exercise plan,” Hany adds.
4. Manage Stress
When it comes to diabetes and managing it, making sure stress is at a minimum level is essential — stress has the potential to increase your blood sugar, even if you’re otherwise taking care of yourself appropriately.
If you are stressed or find yourself in a situation that stresses you mentally, you can do some yoga meditation or even go for a walk to unwind or hang out with a friend.
Hormones from stress can lead to increased blood pressure and heart rate.
5. Take Prescribed Medicines
Taking your prescribed medications as directed is essential to keeping you healthy when you have diabetes.
People with unmanaged type 2 diabetes are prone to complications like damage to their nerves and eyes, cardiac arrest, and even strokes.
6. Frequent Check-Ups
Going for regular check-ups is essential if you have diabetes. Check-ups will help your doctor and the medical team keep track of your blood sugar, monitor your progress, and help detect early signs of complications before they become more severe.
Regular check-ups help you keep track of your blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight, as all these aspects need to be at a certain level to avoid unexpected issues and complications.
Without regular check-ups, diabetes could lead to complications and issues affecting your entire body, like kidneys, eyes, and nervous system.
As challenging as living with diabetes can be, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is still possible.
Managing diabetes can be difficult without the right support. However, living with diabetes is possible — and a supportive lifestyle is crucial for helping you live as long and healthy of a life as possible. .