Once you become accustomed to living a certain lifestyle, it’s difficult to make any significant changes. But if you suffer from diabetes, it is important that you start to make the changes necessary to protect your health. Here are some useful tips to cope with your diabetes.
You will ensure your life will be easier to deal with if you stay organized. As an example, leave the meter and your insulin supplies in the same location when you head off to bed each night, so you know exactly where they are in the morning. Let your testing become a routine and you won’t forget to do it regularly and to write in your log.
If you get hypoglycemia, it’s absolutely crucial you have gum or some type of sugary food always available to you. It is vital to your well-being that you always stay prepared because your hypoglycemia can rear its head at any time. Your body especially craves sugar in the morning, making breakfast a very important meal.
Pregnant Women
Pregnant women should remain in contact with their doctor to facilitate early detection or prevention of gestational diabetes. If you do not get in front of this condition, you are risking both the health of you and your child. Your physician could prescribe medication that is safe for pregnant women and he could also give you advice on what to eat.
If you have diabetes and you happen to be experiencing some troubles in vision, you should speak to your doctor. There are a number of eye conditions that are associated with diabetes, such as cataracts, glaucoma, and particularly diabetic retinopathy. It’s vital you take care of these problems because it’s always a possibility that this could cause blindness.
It is normal for your blood sugar level to spike in response to low glucose treatments. This is because your body has responded by releasing hormones, or you have eaten or drank more than was needed when responding to the reduced glucose levels. Keep checking your sugar levels and learn to adjust the quantity of food you need.
This makes your baby more likely to be a diabetic. Don’t risk it – take care of your body and protect the health of your unborn child.
If you have diabetes and smoke, you should definitely consider quitting. Tobacco use is detrimental in general, but it poses unique risks to diabetics by pushing blood sugar levels higher. The highly addictive nature of nicotine can make quitting a very difficult process. Seek advice from your doctor.
Keep telling yourself why it is important to you to control your diabetes. Give thought to what you enjoy doing in life, what keeps you from doing them, and what can help you to do more of them. Stay focused on the important aspects of your life, and allow those things to motivate you to keep managing your diabetes.
A variety of spices can add flavor to a diabetics diet without adding sugar, fat or calories. Cinnamon naturally brings out the sweetness in food, and it doesn’t add any sugar in the process. Some researchers believe cinnamon can lower blood glucose levels.
Glucose tablets can sometimes be beneficial to the person diagnosed with hypoglycemia. These tablets are very convenient to carry with you, and work better and faster than sugary foods to get your blood sugar back to a normal level, because they take much less time to digest.
Even if you don’t feel well and have no appetite, your disease makes it imperative that you keep eating healthy foods, and continue to check your blood glucose levels. You need to maintain your water intake due the feeling of dehydration during low glucose periods.
One myth is that you have to avoid all sugars. The key to keeping a little sugar in your diet is to use moderation when eating sweet items. You can still enjoy some of your favorite sweet treats, just in moderation. Since eating sweets adds extra carbohydrates, it is best to cut back on other foods that contain carbohydrates when you have that special treat.
You shouldn’t only rely on urine ketone testing as a means to measure blood sugar levels. The only time you will have high ketone levels is when your blood glucose levels are greater than 200 mg/dl. Instead of this method, it is recommended by the ADA to use testing strips and finger pricks, which are more accurate.
Egg Whites
Egg whites are the best thing to have for breakfast, especially if you have diabetes. You will get plenty of proteins, while avoiding fat and calories, if you eat egg whites. Egg whites make great omelets, or go well scrambled with some sliced ham.
A few types of diabetes have a cure. Making life changes means making them for the rest of your life. These tips can help but can only take you so far. Your health is your own responsibility.
