Tips to Manage Your Diabetes

Diabetes is a very common disease that many people are afflicted with. Approximately, 30 million people have diabetes in the United States. That’s roughly 9 percent of the American population.

What Is Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes (also referred to as noninsulin-dependent diabetes, diabetes – type 2, and adult-onset diabetes) is the most common form of diabetes and the one that most people end up developing. It is a lifetime condition that affects the level of sugar in your blood. Among normal people your blood sugar levels are controlled by your insulin. The insulin acts as a stabilizing force for your blood sugar. If it goes too high, your insulin brings it down. If it goes too low, the insulin brings it back.

You can think of insulin as a sense of balance for your body. People with diabetes have that mechanism messed up or removed in some way. In order to treat diabetes, it is a really good idea to get regular exercise. You’ll need more exercise then the average man as well. Grab a pedometer and make it your goal to do 10,000 steps a day. This will allow you to treat your diabetes better. Always find a way to sneak in some exercise in your life.

How To Manage Your Type 2 Diabetes

— Stretch if you are on the phone. If you are brushing your teeth, jump and up down to get that heart rate up. If you are watching TV, then do some jumping jacks during a commercial break. There’s always a way to sneak in some exercise if you really want to. When there’s a will there’s a way.

As said before exercise is one of the greatest ways to treat your diabetes. It’s important to check with your doctor and see how your health. Some diabetics have some trouble with exercising. Make sure that your doctor checks everything. Your cardiovascular system, your entire body, and how you breathe.

What most diabetics don’t realize is that exercise can assist you greatly with blood sugars. It cuts the risk of developing heart problems and is just good for you. It can help your blood pressure from going too high or too low. It’s the next best thing to insulin. Losing a few pounds will allow you to manage your diabetes greatly. It’ll stop the severity of diabetic attacks that can occur. However, it’s important to not overexert yourself when exercising.

— Carry a candy bar around you when the pressure’s too low. It’s a great way of bringing it back up. If it’s too high, then just rest a little. Nothing wrong with that. Do not overexert yourself.

— Diet is the next thing that you should think about. Dieting is also the next best thing to exercise, that can help you treat your diabetes. It’s critical to pay attention what you eat and when you eat. You can easily gain a few pounds if you eat a big meal afterwards, and sleep right away. Make sure that you watch these things.

The only reason why your blood sugar goes up is because of starches and carbohydrates. This is the source of all your pains and troubles as a diabetic. Which is why it’s recommended to go with a low carb diet if you can. Some diabetics can’t handle that but if you can do it then go with it.

— Your diet should consist of beans, fish, and veggies. Always avoid foods that are processed and sugared up. This will destroy you as a diabetic. It’s best to avoid them if you want to save your life. Get organic foods if you can. It’ll be good for your body and mind as well. What most people don’t understand is that what you eat will actually affect your brain as well. Having a good diet is a critical factor to having a sound mind.

There’s an interesting study that was done by scientists. It showed that children that were living under poverty actually experienced slowed brain development. The kids learned slower, reacted slower, and so forth. They basically did everything slower. This is because your brain needs key nutrients in order to grow. People living in poverty are deprived of that privilege to grow their brain. And, that’s why their cognitive development is slowed down significantly. This is just to show that it’s important to eat well. It’s especially important for diabetics as that will be the game changer on how your life will be. You really don’t want blood pressure attacks on your hands. You don’t want to faint on the ground or excessively sweat and develop a heart attack. No one wants that. Do yourself a favor and eat a well-balanced diet.

— It’s recommended to get a personal nutritionist. This will help you greatly. The nutritionist will help you develop a custom meal time for your needs. Since, it’s personal and tailored to your needs – you will find that the meal plan will work for you. Not for everyone. Just you. The nutritionist will take into account your blood type, genetic history, family history, your diabetes, and so much more. If you stick with the meal plan, then your diabetes will be under firm control. It’s good to have control.

Can’t have the nutritionist? Follow these guidelines and you’ll be fine. Eat lots of fish as they’re really good for you. Eat only lean meats and eat avocados, nuts and walnuts. Olive oil is also a good addition in your meal plan as well. Pay attention to your diet and your body will love you for it.

— Feet can be an issue for diabetics. Always analyze your feet for wear and tear. Your feet are especially sensitive and needs proper attention. If you any issues with your feet, then it’s highly recommended to consult with a medical professional. If you try it fix it yourself, then you risk the chance of worsening the problem and damaging your feet further. Flip flops, and heels can damage your feet so it’s best to avoid them in all scenarios. There’s also custom footwear that you can get. Check with your doctor about that.

With these tips you will be able to manage your diabetes in no time.

Now it’s time to delve a bit deeper into the specifics of type 2 diabetes.

Causes of Type 2 Diabetes

Remember that insulin stuff I was talking about earlier? Well, to get a bit more scientific, insulin is actually a hormone that your little known organ called the pancreas makes. To delve even deeper, the insulin is produced by specific types of cells in your pancreas known as beta cells.

Now earlier I mentioned that insulin pretty much like a balance for your body. Well, it seems to be like this because the insulin’s main objective is to transport glucose (you may know it as blood sugar) to the cells all around your body. That glucose is then saved by the cells and used at a later time to fuel their functions.

Type 2 diabetes creates a rift in this perfect harmonic situation, due to various cells (such as fat, liver, and muscle cells) not reacting properly to the insulin being transported to them. This reaction is what doctors and other health experts refer to as “insulin resistance”. As you can imagine, insulin resistance causes problems as it pertains to the aforementioned cells’ ability to store the glucose, since the glucose can’t get into those cells. When this happens, all of the glucose remains in the blood and ends up congregating in high concentrations. Doctors and health experts call this condition hyperglycemia. You may have heard that term on a commercial or medical show before.

By the way, even if you regularly exercise and maintain a healthy body weight, you can still get type 2 diabetes. Although, this usually only happens in older folks.

Type 2 diabetes is also a hereditary issue. Your chances of developing type 2 diabetes are compounded by a family history of diabetes, along with not being physically active or fit yourself. So, I especially stress that you be physically active if those in your family have type 2 diabetes, although there’s a chance that being fit won’t be enough. But, it definitely diminishes your risk of developing it.

Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes

The biggest problem with type 2 diabetes is that the symptoms may take a long time to rear their ugly heads. You could have the disease for years and have no way of knowing because you haven’t shown any symptoms. Let’s take a look at some of the symptoms of type 2 diabetes:

— Constant sores and infections in the bladder, kidneys, and skin
— Feeling tired often
— A starving sensation
— Needing more fluids to replenish your thirst and constantly needing to use the bathroom to urinate

All of these symptoms aside, the following symptoms may be the first ones that you end up feeling:

— Impaired vision
— Impotence (not being able to “get it up” in intimate situations)
— Feeling a sharp pain in your hands and/or feet
— Feeling numbness in your hands and/or feet

Treating Type 2 Diabetes

When talking about treating this nasty disease, you’re pretty much looking for ways to lower the amount of sugar in your blood and be able to manage your blood sugar levels going forward. Another more long-term objective of type 2 diabetes treatments is to stop the issues that come about as a result of the disease.

I feel the need to stress this again as it is really important. The key treatment for type 2 diabetes is physical activity on a consistent basis and subscribing to a healthy and effective diet. Yes, these are also the ways to prevent getting type 2 diabetes. Starting to understand the importance of doing those things?

Important Tasks

Now, if you have type 2 diabetes, being able to perform the following skills will be of the most importance to you:

— Testing and documenting your blood sugar levels
— Setting a time and place to eat
— Creating a safe exercise and diet regimen
— Taking the proper doses of prescribed medications (if you were prescribed any)
— Identifying and effectively dealing with spikes or drops in your blood sugar
— Managing days where you are too ill to go to work or school
— Finding the best stores/pharmacies to purchase diabetic supplies and finding a good spot in your house to place them (where they are easily accessible, of course)

Don’t be discouraged if you’re not good at these right away. These skills may take a bit of time and practice to develop. You’ll eventually get the hang of it. Just stay in the know about recent developments pertaining to type 2 diabetes.

Monitoring Your Glucose Levels

The first skill that I mentioned above is probably one of the most important. Being able to successfully test your blood sugar levels and document them all on your own will indicate how effectively you’re dealing with your diabetes. Consult your doctor or another medical expert about how frequently you should test your blood sugar.

How does one go about testing it, though? There’s this cool little gadget known as a glucose meter. Here’s how it works: You take a tiny needle (referred to as a lancet) and you lightly prick your finger it. This will cause your finger to bleed a little. Put the blood that comes out on a test strip and insert that strip into the glucose meter. The meter will then return the amount of sugar that is in your blood.

Make sure to document this number and maintain a file with all of the readings that you’ve taken since you started testing. This is useful not only for you but for your doctor, as well. Your readings might indicate that you need to improve your treatment methods. Or they could indicate that you’re well on your way to recovery.

The Benefits Associated with Working Out

It’s incredibly well-known by just about everyone that exercising regularly is important and does a lot of good for your body. That importance goes up drastically if you have diabetes, though. Let’s take a look at everything regular exercise does to help manage your diabetes:

— Decreases the amount of glucose in your blood without the need of medications
— Burns excess fats to bring your weight down to a healthy level
— Brings your blood flow and blood pressure to normal healthy rates
— Gives you more energy
— Enables you to deal with stress easier

Consult with your doctor before beginning any kind of workout regimen. They may give you special instructions to follow to make sure that you get the most out of your workout.

Medicinal Treatments for Type 2 Diabetes

If everything mentioned above isn’t enough to maintain healthy blood sugar levels, you may need to take diabetes medication. There are a variety of meds available and many of them do different things for your blood sugar levels. Therefore, your doctor may have you take multiple kinds to better your condition.

The following are the most oft-prescribed and taken diabetes medications:

— Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors
— Biguanides
— DPP IV inhibitors
— Injectable medicines (GLP-1 analogs)
— Meglitinides
— SGL T2 inhibitors
— Sulfonylureas
— Thiazolidinediones

All of these are either taken through the mouth or through inoculations.

If these medications are still not enough to treat your condition, your doctor may have you inoculate yourself with insulin. There is no other way to get insulin into your body without the use of a syringe, insulin pen, or insulin pump. The most common way being the syringe, so you’ll have to get over your fear of needles (if you have that fear).

Complications of Diabetes

— Kidney disease
— Eye disease
— Heart disease
— Stroke

Special medications might be prescribed to you in order to prevent any of the above complications from developing as a result of your type 2 diabetes.

Help is Out There If You Need It

You will easily be able to find plenty of resources both online and around town that will help you manage your diabetes. All it takes is easily consulting your doctor or even a friend who has had to deal with diabetes either themselves or had a family member who has had it. On top of that, a simple Google search brings up thousands of articles with various methods to help you better maximize your type 2 diabetes treatment and still be able to live your life to its fullest with this nasty illness.

Prevention Tips

This is the last time that I’m going to harp this, I swear. Regular exercise and a healthy diet are KEY to significantly lowering your chances of developing any kind of diabetes. It is so easy to ask your doctor or look online for incredibly simple diets that’ll keep you off the path to developing diabetes. Although, be wary of diet scams as they are prevalent on the internet, as well. That is why your doctor and verified medical sites like webMD are your best bet. The same applies for finding the perfect workout regimen for you so that you can stay physically fit and active.