Managing Diabetes Everyday

The four things you have to do every day to lower high blood sugar are to eat healthy food, get regular exercise, take your diabetes medicine, and test your blood sugar.

1. Eat healthy Food

People with diabetes don’t need special foods. The foods on your diabetes eating plan are the same foods that are good for everyone in your family. Eating healthy will help you maintain a healthy weight, keep your blood sugar in a good range, and prevent heart and blood vessel disease.  Liaise with your doctor to recommend a dietician that will develop an eating plan for you and your family. Try to eat foods that are low in fat, salt, and sugar and high in fiber such as beans, fruits and vegetables, and grains. Medical doctors say a proper diet is one way to control diabetes. Hence taking advantage of natural compounds in foods is an alternative to drug prescriptions. So won’t you rather alleviate or prevent diabetes by changing your eating habits?

What you should do...

If you use insulin

• Before you eat, give yourself an insulin shot.
• Eat the same amount of food at about the same time every day.
• Don't skip meals, especially if you've already given yourself an insulin shot to prevent your blood sugar crashing.

If you don’t use insulin

• Monitor your meal plan.
• Don’t  miss meals particularly when you’re on diabetes pills since your blood sugar may crash. In addition missing meals may make you eat too much at the next meal. It may be better to eat several small meals during the day instead of one or two big meals.

 Guidelines for planning diabetes diet

• The recommendation is that no more than 30% calories come from fat, 12% to 20% from protein and 50 to 60% of daily calories from carbohydrates.
• Eating small meals spaced throughout the day can help a person avoid very high or low blood glucose levels.
• Weight loss should be a gradual process, with few exceptions, like one or two pounds a week. Diabetes patients are at higher risk of developing heart diseases and high cholesterol levels raise the risk of heart disease. Losing weight and reducing intake of saturated fats and cholesterol can help lower blood cholesterol. Unsaturated and monounsaturated fats are healthier alternatives.  Avoid meats and dairy products which are major sources of saturated fats; while most vegetable oils are high in unsaturated fats, and allowed in limited serving. Olive oil is a good source of monounsaturated fat, the healthiest type of fat. Liver and other organ meats and egg yolks are particularly high in cholesterol. 
• Foods rich in fibre such as fruits, vegetables, peas, beans, and whole-grain breads and cereals may help lower blood glucose.
• Most people with diabetes can drink alcohol safely if they drink in moderation (one or two drinks occasionally). In higher quantities alcohol can cause health problems such as hypoglycemia, liver damage, and increase levels of fat in blood.
• Sugar stoppers you can store in kitchen should include tea, cinnamon, buckwheat, guava, cocoa, and cherries. Chemicals known as polyphenols found in black, green, and oolong teas boost insulin activity. Less than half a teaspoon daily of cinnamon increases sugar metabolism in fat cells. Buckwheat contains chemical compounds that reduce blood sugar levels. Extracts from apple guavas lower blood-sugar levels. Cocoa decreases insulin resistance and cherries contain chemicals called anthocyanins that increase insulin production.

2. Get Regular Exercise

Exercise is especially good for people with diabetes. Physical activities like walking, swimming, dancing, riding a bicycle, playing football, and golfing are all good ways to exercise. Cleaning the house or working in the garden are other forms of exercise. Exercise helps keep weight down, helps insulin work better to lower blood sugar, good for heart and lungs, and energises you.

To be sure you’ll have no problems before you start exercising, your doctor may check your heart and your feet. If you have high blood pressure or eye problems, your doctor will assist you in selecting safe exercises.  For instance if you have high blood pressure or eye problems, some exercises that requires eye coordination like weight-lifting  may not be safe. 

It is important to exercise regularly, at least  like three times a week for about 30 to 45 minutes each time.  Start with 5 to 10 minutes if you’ve not exercised for a long time, and then gradually increase your time.  Eat or drink something like an apple or glass of milk before you exercise,   If you’ve not eaten for over an hour or if your blood sugar is less than 100-120.

Carry a snack with you when you exercise just in case of low blood sugar. Steady exercise such as walking and bicycling can help keep your blood sugar in a good range. Ensure you wear an identification tag or card saying that you have diabetes.

What you should do...

If you use insulin

• Exercise after eating, not before.
• Don’t exercise when your blood sugar is over 240, it is too high. Run your blood sugar before, during, and after exercise.
• Don’t exercise right before you go to sleep because it can crash your blood sugar during the night.  Low blood sugar is under 70. Between 75 – 150 is a good range.

If you don’t use insulin

• Before starting an exercise program see your doctor.
• Before and after exercising, if you take diabetes pills, test your blood sugar. 

3. Take Your Diabetes Medicine Daily

Insulin and diabetes pills are the two kinds of medicines used to lower blood sugar. Everyone with insulin-dependent diabetes and noninsulin-dependent need insulin. You will have to give yourself one, two, or more shots daily. Missing a shot can make you sick.

Insulin is injected with a needle. Your doctor will tell you what kind of insulin to use, how much, and when to give yourself a shot. Talk to your doctor before changing the type or amount of insulin you use or the time you give your shots. Your doctor will show you how to draw up insulin in the needle, the best places on your body to give yourself a shot, like the outside part of your upper arms, around your waist and hips, and the outside part of your upper legs. Avoid areas with scars and stretch marks. Ask someone to help you with your shots if your hands are shaky or you can’t see well.

Keep extra insulin in your refrigerator in case you break the bottle you're using.  The freezer or hot places like your car’s glove compartment are not good places to keep your insulin. Also, avoid placing them in bright light. Too much heat, cold, and bright light can damage insulin.

If you take diabetes pills

If your body makes insulin but the insulin doesn’t lower your blood sugar, you may have to take diabetes pills. Diabetes pills only work in people who have some insulin of their own. Some pills are taken once a day, some are taken more often. Your doctor will tell you how you should take your pills.

Diabetes pills are safe and easy to take. Don’t hesitate to share any unpleasant symptoms with your doctor. Remember, diabetes pills don’t lower blood sugar on its own but when combined with a good eating plan and exercise will do the magic. However, you may need insulin shots sometimes if the diabetes pills no longer lower your blood sugar, for instance if you get sick, need to go to a hospital, or become pregnant. The good news is that you may be able to stop taking diabetes pills if you lose weight, since even a little weight can sometimes help to lower your blood sugar.

If you don't use insulin or take diabetes pills

Although many people with noninsulin-dependent diabetes don’t have to use insulin or take diabetes pills, persons with diabetes need to follow doctors’ advice as regards healthy eating and exercise.  Also involve your doctor in the know on when to take your pills or insulin.

4. Test Your Blood Sugar Daily

One good way to be in the know if you’re crashing your high blood sugar is of course to run a blood test on how much sugar is in it. Too much or too little sugar may necessitate a change in eating habits, exercise or medicine plan. People test their blood at various times. Some do it once a day; others do it three or four times a day. Your doctor may advise you to do the test before meals, before going to sleep, and sometimes in the middle of the night. Don’t hesitate to ask your doctor how often and when to test your blood sugar.

To test your blood, you need a small needle called a lancet. You also need special blood testing strips that come in a bottle. Your doctor or diabetes adviser will show you how to test your blood.

Urine Tests

You may need to test your urine ketones if you’re sick or your blood sugar is over 240 before eating a meal. A urine test will tell you if you have ‘ketones’ in your urine. Your body makes ketones when there is not enough insulin in your blood and can make you sick. Call your doctor right away if you find ketones during a urine test. It may be a sickness called ketoacidosis.  Ketoacidosis is serious, and likely to develop in people with insulin-dependent diabetes. Signs of ketoacidosis are vomiting, weakness, fast breathing, and a sweet smell on the breath. It is fatal if left untreated.

The Hemoglobin Alc Test

Another test for blood sugar, the hemoglobin Alc test, shows what your average blood sugar was in the last 3 months, showing how much sugar is sticking to your red blood cells. It’s important to see your doctor for a hemoglobin Alc test every 3 months. To do the test, the doctor or nurse takes a sample of your blood to a laboratory and then send the result to your doctor. Ask your doctor what your hemoglobin Alc test showed.

Keep Daily Records

Write down the results of your blood tests every day in a record book. You can use a small notebook or ask your doctor for a blood testing record book. You may also want to write down what you eat, how you feel, and how much you have exercised.

Keeping daily records of your blood and urine tests will let you know how well you’re taking care of your diabetes. Share the information in your book with your doctor to see if you need to make changes in your insulin shots, or diabetes pills, or in your eating plan. If you don’t understand what your test results mean, ask your doctor or nurse.

Some of the things to jot down in your notebook should include:

• whether you had very low blood sugar
• whether  you ate more or less food than you usually do
• whether  you felt sick or very tired
• what type of exercise you did and the duration
• the time you gave yourself an insulin shot
• the dose and type of insulin you gave in each shot.
• whether you found ketones in your urine

By keeping records of your blood tests, insulin shots, and daily happenings, you will be able to monitor efficiently your diabetes.

For more information on how to manage your diabetes, check online medical sites like WebMD, Harvard Medical School, Mayo Clinic, and MSN Health, or speak with your family doctor.

Photo Credit: Creative Commons.