DIABETES PREVENTION: HOW TO AVOID OR MANAGE DIABETES

Testing For Sugar Level

Diabetes is a growing problem. If you have diabetes in your family or otherwise, you are at risk, it makes sense to focus on Diabetes Prevention and take some preventative steps. Type II diabetes is the most preventable form of the disease. Here are some tips that may help prevent diabetes from developing in your life.

Proper Diet — Foods That Helps in Diabetes Prevention

Many sources suggest that a diet emphasizing plant foods is important for preventing diabetes. Other foods that may help stabilize blood sugar and keep you from developing full-blown diabetes include the following:

• Magnesium-rich foods like black beans, spinach, and almonds are said to help in diabetes prevention. Interestingly, diabetics are often deficient in magnesium, sources say.
• Onions and garlic are natural blood sugar regulators. Black bean soup with garlic or black bean burgers with onions would be great!
• Stevia is a very sweet, calorie-free herb; the extract is often sold in grocery stores and health food stores as a sweetener. It may lower blood sugar, too, making is a good choice for those with pre-diabetic conditions or those wishing to prevent the onset of diabetes.

Exercise and Diabetes Prevention

It’s important for everyone, but for those who is interested in diabetes prevention, exercise is especially essential. For one thing, vigorous activity tends to lower blood sugar. For another, exercise usually results in weight loss if it’s practiced regularly and properly. Maintaining a healthy body weight is key to diabetes prevention.

Just in Case…

There are some possible Diabetes prevention measures you can take that are controversial, or at least the jury is still out as to whether or not these measures are effective. If they’re healthy measures, though, it might pay to err on the side of caution and implement them even if their effectiveness against diabetes is uncertain. Some examples of this type of prevention include:

* Reducing stress, whether through stretching, meditation, prayer, or other forms of stress reduction. Some studies suggest that chronic stress may increase your risk for developing diabetes.

* Reducing high blood pressure may also help prevent diabetes. These two conditions often exist together, and research suggests that high blood pressure may even trigger the onset of diabetes. Keeping your blood pressure under control is a healthy thing to do anyway, so you really can’t lose on this one.

* High fructose corn syrup, that sweetener we all love to hate, may or may not be implicated in the development of diabetes. It may be no more of an issue than white sugar. Once again, cutting HFCS out of your diet is not a dangerous thing to do and may even be healthier, so it’s a win-win if you cut it out of your diet for whatever reason.

* Trans fats and saturated fats are usually included on the “do not eat” list for those wishing to prevent diabetes. It’s been suggested that these artery-clogging fats can exacerbate or even trigger Type II diabetes symptoms.

Diabetes Prevention — How to Recognize and Prevent Complications

Learning to recognize the complications of diabetes in yourself and others can save a life. Sometimes diabetes goes unnoticed, and until there’s a complication, the person doesn’t know he or she has diabetes. If a shrewd friend can see some symptoms before the complications hit, it may give the diabetic an edge on treatment. It’s also a good idea to learn some of the signs and symptoms of complications and how to stave them off in yourself.

Here are some tips to help you prevent and recognize diabetes complications.

Diabetes Prevention

There are some specific actions you can take to help avoid complications and keep them from developing.

Don’t smoke

Smoking is one of the worst things a diabetic can do. First of all, smoking constricts blood vessels, further complicating the compromised circulation that comes with diabetes anyway. Secondly, smoking increases diabetics’ risk of cardiovascular disease and even vision problems. So a good step toward staving off these complications is to stop smoking (or don’t start!).

Take your medication regularly

To help your body stay on an even keel, it’s a good idea to take your prescribed medication as directed. Don’t self-medicate. If you want to change medications or try something different, make sure you do so under the care of a professional.

Regular check-ups

Getting regular physicals is important, but so are check-ups specifically for your diabetes. Your vision in particular should be monitored to prevent vision complications such as glaucoma later on.

Maintain a healthy weight

Eating a healthy, diabetic-specific diet and getting enough regular exercise is key to maintaining a healthy weight. You don’t want to crash-diet, but getting on track with the right foods and activity level is a good place to start.

Recognition

Recognizing complications early can help, whether it’s an urgent, short-term complication or a long-term one. Here are some tips.

Sources say that the body parts most affected by diabetes are:

• Eyes
• Kidneys
• Nerves
• Heart and blood vessels
• Gums
• Feet

Watching for abnormalities in these areas of the body is the first step toward recognizing any complications in that area.

Neuropathy

Burning, tingling sensations in the hands and feet, sharp night-time pain, and difficulty walking are signs of diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage). Swollen, red feet are also a sign of serious nerve complications.

Vision problems

If you have blurry vision, sudden losses of vision, what seems like flashing light or grey, drifting films across your eyes, it could be a sign of diabetic vision complications. Pain and pressure in the eye are also symptoms.

Kidney complications

Diabetics are prone to kidney problems. Signs of kidney complications include fatigue, poor concentration, painful urination, and/or edema (puffy swelling) in the abdomen, around the eyes, or in the ankles and feet.

High and low blood sugar

Symptoms of very low blood sugar may include nausea, extreme fatigue, confusion, emotional imbalance, and ravenous hunger. High blood sugar may cause excessive thirst, headache, and increased, frequent urination. High and low blood sugar need to be addressed immediately.

Managing Diabetes with Diet and Exercise — Top Tips

Generally speaking, Type II diabetes is the version of this disease that can be managed with diet and exercise. However, for those with Type I, these healthy lifestyle tips may help relieve symptoms and enhance management of the condition. Here are some tips for managing diabetes with diet and exercise.

The Right Carbs

Carbs, or carbohydrates, have been on the “bad” list lately. But not unlike fat, there are good and bad carbs, especially when it comes to diabetes management. Generally speaking, carbs to avoid might include the following:

• White sugar
• Fruit juices
• White flour
• De-germed cornmeal
• White rice

Carbs to emphasize might include these foods:

• Whole fruits
• Whole grains
• Brown rice
• Whole cornmeal

Proteins and Carbs

Combining proteins and carbs at meals and snacks can help prevent blood sugar spikes. Examples include:

• Whole grain bread with unsweetened nut butter
• Whole grain crackers with low-fat cheese
• Lean turkey breast in a whole wheat pita
• Brown rice and beans
• “Party mix” made from whole grain cereal, peanuts, and pretzels
• Apple slices with peanut butter
• Brown rice and broiled salmon
• Whole wheat macaroni and cheese (made with low-fat cheese and skim milk)

Fats

While keeping your weight at a healthy level is important for managing your diabetes, eating the right kind of fat has its place. In moderation, these healthy fats can help lower cholesterol and provide other health benefits. Healthy fats can be found in:

• Fish (especially salmon and Arctic char)
• Avocados
• Almonds
• Olive, safflower, and canola oils

It’s a good idea to avoid saturated fats and trans fats (hydrogenated fats). Saturated fats are fats like butter and shortening that are solid at room temperature. Hydrogenated fats were once liquid fats (sometimes healthy ones) that were artificially solidified using hydrogen. Trans or hydrogenated fats are found in some types of peanut butter and in margarine, and in the ingredient lists of countless packaged foods.

Exercise

To manage your diabetes, exercise is considered by experts to be essential. Interestingly, strength training has been shown to be especially beneficial to diabetics, producing results that, in some instances, rival medication. Aerobic exercise is also helpful; it gets the heart rate up and burns calories.

The important thing is to exercise at least 30 minutes a day for a minimum of five days a week. This helps keep your weight in check (vital for diabetics and pre-diabetics) and may even reduce stress. Stress has been implicated in the development of diabetes symptoms.

Living with Diabetes — Practical Steps

Regardless of what age you are diagnosed with diabetes or which of the two types you have, it helps to have some coping strategies. Living with diabetes can be challenging, but it certainly need not keep you down. Here are some practical steps for living with diabetes.

Connecting with Others

One of the most helpful things you can do is get to be a part of the diabetes community in your area. You’ll learn you’re not alone; you’ll probably pick up valuable information, tips, and literature, and you’ll learn about upcoming events, retreats, and camps.

This can be helpful for children who want to fit in with a peer group but aren’t sure how or if others will accept them, or for adults who feel isolated in their condition. It helps a lot just to know there are others who understand what it’s like.

Form a Group

If you don’t have a local support group for diabetics, consider forming one. Members can meet at your house or at a local venue, and you can set up social networking or a website to keep in touch. You can plan outings, gatherings, meetings, and so forth, and keep your group informed about events.

Take Control

While regular visits to your physician are important, diabetics ultimately have to be responsible for their own daily care. You have to learn to take your own blood sugar and administer your own insulin, and only you know when something feels “off.” It’s up to you to implement an exercise regimen and eat the right foods. Learning this basic truth — you are responsible for managing your diabetes — can take some of the stress out of living with this condition.

Don’t Beat Yourself Up

For those with Type II diabetes or for parents of children who have Type I, it can be tempting to get caught up in the self-blame game. The development of Type II diabetes may in fact be linked to certain lifestyle choices, but it’s not necessarily so; and even if it is, you have to move forward and into a healthy lifestyle.

Parents whose child or children have Type I may blame themselves — mothers may worry about something they did while pregnant, or obsess over letting their child eat a lot of sugar before the diagnosis. None of these blames are necessarily even true! It wastes time and energy to worry, so focus on moving forward and getting the most out of life from here on out. This may be the beginning of an opportunity for self-improvement and self-control.

Have a Plan

Having a plan can help you stay in control in a given situation, and get the most out of parties and holidays. Decide ahead of time how you will handle holiday and party treats so you don’t have to think on your feet each time you’re offered a goody.

Diabetes in Children — A Guide for Families

Has your child been diagnosed with diabetes, and you’re worried? Or maybe he or she has had diabetes for a while but you feel like you’re floundering. Sometimes, parents and families need to understand how diabetes affects the family dynamic, and how they can be supportive. Whether your child is an infant, teen, or in grade school, families often need some guidance on how they can help their children live a normal life.

Here is a brief guide for families living with children who have diabetes.

Be Ready for Misconceptions

Parents and diabetic children will have to deal with various misconceptions and myths about diabetes. It’s good to look over some of the more prevalent myths and questions, and have a ready answer for them. You may want to coach your child in answering these misconceptions as well.

• “Will I catch diabetes from you/your child?” Of course not — diabetes is not communicable.
• “I can’t invite you/your child to my birthday party!” Children with diabetes may not be invited to birthday parties because many hosts/parents do not want the responsibility of a diabetic child, especially one surrounded by sugary birthday treats. Hopefully, you can work with the parents of kids who are having birthday parties and let your child participate in whatever capacity you’re comfortable with.
• “Will you die if you eat sugar?” Some people think that diabetics will be “poisoned” if they eat sugar.
• “You must have eaten too much sugar as a baby/child; that’s why you have diabetes.” Many people think that eating too much sugar causes diabetes.

Research

To help make the disease seem less scary, research the terminology and realities of the disease. That way, when your doctor talks to you about the disease, you will not feel intimidated by the terms and will know what he or she is talking about. Knowledge can help you feel empowered. You can also use your research to help formulate a plan, which makes a lot of families feel more secure.

Include Other Family Members

When you can, include the family in the scheduled meal times and even snacks. Some families make a nightly together time of the snack before bed that most diabetics need. Everyone in the family should know how to recognize signs of a problem — high or low blood sugar especially.

Get Involved

Involve yourself in the diabetes community in your area and/or online. There are diabetes camps, online forms, and various support groups that can help your family live with diabetes. These groups can also help your child learn how to cope with diabetes now and in the future.