6 Lifestyle Changes To Help Control Your Diabetes
Diabetes is a manageable lifestyle disease. Many patients think that being diagnosed with diabetes means an end to their life, while the truth is far from it. With a few conscious decisions, you will be on your way to leading a very healthy life. You can make several lifestyle changes to help control your diabetes.
- Exercise
If you do not like breaking a sweat, you need to start doing so. Exercising improves metabolic syndrome, which leads to most lifestyle diseases. It helps to burn off excess calories, which might lead to diseases like type 2 diabetes and conditions like obesity. If you have never worked out before, ensure you start slowly. A 30 minutes power walk will do for starters, then you can add jogging later on. As long as you are active, you can stay healthy and keep your insulin levels in check.
- Check Your Meals
Most foods have traces of sugar in them, and you need to figure out how to get nutrition without spiking your sugar levels. Many people think that having diabetes means cutting out all sugars, but that is not possible. The one thing you need to do is to figure out how much sugar you are taking in and work on keeping it in check. Avoid overly sweet and fatty meals, and you will be okay.
- Quit Drinking Alcohol
Even though it might not seem like it, the alcohol you take often has more sugar than fizzy drinks. While you might reduce your intake of sugars and desserts, your blood sugar will keep rising if you are an avid alcohol drinker. The best thing would be to reduce your alcohol intake and, where possible, eliminate it. If you are struggling with alcoholism, you need to check yourself into a rehab facility. Quitting alcohol will significantly improve your insulin levels, and you get to keep the disease under control.
- Find Ways To Deal With Your Stress
Too much stress will lead to self-destruct behaviors like drinking alcohol and binge eating junk food. The only way to deal with this would be to handle the stress. Find ways to relax and get away from the noise in the outside world. You can take up activities like yoga or go hiking. If you need to talk to a therapist, then do so. A healthy mind will ensure you can effectively handle your diseases without getting overwhelmed.
- Stop Smoking
Another habit you need to cut out is smoking. Even though smoking mainly affects your lungs, it can also affect other body parts. Excessive smoking limits blood flows through your body. You might find that areas that have issues like your legs and hands might get deprived of blood. With a condition like diabetes, in severe cases, you might need to get these limbs amputated. By cutting out smoking, you can prevent amputations from happening.
- Go for Regular Health Check-ups
One of the things many people with a lifestyle disease hate is the hospital. Such is because the health check-ups might bring up issues you did not even know you had. While this might be scary, you do not have to treat it like bad news all the time. However, regular check-ups allow the doctor to monitor how the disease progresses. The doctor can also step in and stop the condition from getting worse.
Ensure you schedule the visit at least once every month, and as you improve, you can reduce the frequency of your visits. Aside from the regular check-ups, talk to your doctor if you notice that there is something off with your body or health. It might not be directly related to diabetes but will put you at risk since you already have compromised immunity.
Closing Thoughts
Taking care of your health is not as complicated as many people make it out to be. With a few intentional choices, you can be sure that your health will be better than it has been in the past years. Talk to your doctor and let them draw out a treatment plan. That way, you know what you need to do and if you can still keep enjoying the things you did before the diabetes diagnosis.
