Living with diabetes can be quite the challenge. Between frequent doctor visits, testing your own blood sugar, and managing your diet, it can be so much for a person to handle. Knowing what you need to do is half the battle. Read the rest of this article, and hopefully it will make it easier for you to manage your diabetes.
Did you know that it is recommended that diabetics have a diet high in dairy? Studies show that dairy can help keep blood sugar levels from spiking, so having as much low-fat dairy as possible, can be a huge help to a diabetic. Have a tall glass of skim milk at breakfast and some cheese at lunch. It's healthy and tasty!
If your child is diagnosed with Diabetes, make keeping track of their blood sugar fun. Have a contest where they get a reward for doing their blood sugar on time every day for a certain number of days, like a trip to the toy store or an hour at the park.
If you have diabetes, talk to your insurance provider and healthcare provider to see if an insulin pump might be a helpful and affordable thing for you. While expensive and more difficult to maintain, it can provide your body with a more stable insulin level, which may be helpful for some patients.
Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is an irreversible condition causing tingling and even numbness or pain in your arms and legs. This is caused by not controlling your blood sugar which leads to damage to the nerves in your limbs. If you get your Diabetes in check you can sometimes lessen the symptoms and stop it from progressing further.
Green tea is an excellent tool for the Diabetic who is attempting to lose weight. Studies show it helps your heart to stay healthy, and it's so tasty that you won't want to add any sweeteners to it. You can also use powdered matcha in cooking, and it's great with cocoa!
Be VERY careful with any advice you receive online about diabetes treatment. It is fine to do your research online, and even to find out what other people are doing to take care of their disease, but you need to take any new information you want to act on to your doctor, to make sure that it's medically sound.
Test your sugar regularly, and track the results. Keeping a log book of your sugar levels will help you and your doctor decide if your medication and diet plan are working to control your sugar. You can save money by sharing a glucometer with a family member or friend, so long as you do not share lancets.
Don't use alcohol swabs before an insulin injection. It's actually unnecessary, as long as your skin, hands, and needle are clean. Alcohol swabs will dry out the skin, making it more likely that the injection site will stay open. This can actually increase the risk of an infection at the site.
A diet too high in protein can actually be harmful to diabetics. Some people think more protein is good, but studies have shown that too much animal protein can cause insulin-resistance, a factor in diabetes. Try to include proper amounts of protein, vegetables and carbohydrates to keep your diet healthy and well-balanced.
As it was said in the beginning, diabetes is quite the challenge. There are so many things that a patient with diabetes needs to remember and consider. Hopefully, reading this article helped to ground you, and allowed you to understand how in a practical way this disease can be managed and effectively controlled.