It is possible to stay fit and healthy even if you have been diagnosed with diabetes by following the best ways to control blood sugar.
For some, it means lowering the blood glucose levels using medications while for some only being active and healthy eating is enough.
However, whether you are taking medications or insulin injections, the importance of lifestyle or daily habit cannot be overruled.
The American Association of Diabetes Educators has come with seven best ways to control blood sugar. The categories are based on your daily lifestyle and behavior and help you in maintaining your blood sugar levels.
7 Best ways to control blood sugar
1. Eating Healthy
Eating healthy does not mean that you have only to control eating sugary and oily foods.
It also means that you should eat a balanced diet that includes all three nutrients such as carbohydrates, fat, and protein in reasonable portions so that you can maintain a healthy weight.
The meals should be low in saturated fats and sodium levels. You need to control the amount of carbohydrate type you eat in your meal at one time.
It certainly does not mean that you can gulp all your favorite foods in one meal even though they come with the tag of a healthy diet.
For taking a balanced diet regularly, you should know about the nutrient content including the fat and carbohydrate levels in each food you eat.
Similarly, if you are eating packaged or canned food, you must go through the labels and instructions about how to cook food.
Most of the packaged and canned foods are high in sodium and extra saturated fats. Even restaurants serve such foods.
Hence, you must prefer eating home-cooked food so that you know what exactly and in what quantity saturated fat and sodium are present in the meal.
2. Always Be Active
Only a person with diabetes doesn't need to adopt the best ways to control blood sugar. These lifestyle changes are a must for everyone.
For example, everyone must try to be active always. However, it is more necessary if you have been diagnosed with chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes.
To be active means, you should engage in strength-building, flexibility training, and aerobic activity. If you are active, it helps to control your levels of blood sugar and also improve cardiovascular health.
Regular exercise also ensures that you lose weight and can successfully keep your glucose levels under control.
However, before starting any exercise, you must consult a caregiver about which kind of activity is best suitable for you. In case you have a heart problem, the doctor may not advise you high-intensity training.
The best exercise is brisk walking or jogging which is suitable for everyone.
Daily 30 minutes of walking helps to keep the blood sugar levels under control and also maintain the health of your heart.
{ Also Read: How to cure diabetes naturally }
3. Monitoring Blood Glucose Levels
One of the best ways to control blood sugar is to monitor it regularly.
Your caregiver will alter or change the medications and also give certain lifestyle suggestions depending on the level of glucose in your body.
If you are already on insulin injection, you must check your blood sugar levels daily before eating and monitor the dose of insulin according to the suggestion of your caregiver.
4. Taking Medications Regularly
A patient of type 1 diabetes has to take insulin daily for the rest of his life, and if you are suffering from type 2 diabetes, it can be initially controlled with lifestyle changes and oral medications.
The longer you will have diabetes; more are the chances that your beta cells, which create insulin in the pancreas, will fail and make it necessary for you to take insulin.
Diabetes progresses naturally in this way, and it cannot be controlled directly. However, the medications if taken regularly can prolong the period of insulin use.
You must, therefore, consult your caregiver and try to understand how to take the medications correctly (before or after a meal) and also the side effects of those pills.
Taking drugs according to the suggestion of the caregiver helps to reduce its side effects.
5. Reducing Risk
The best ways to control blood sugar is to understand the importance of preventive care.
Regular check-up of blood pressure, dental exams, lab tests, eye, foot, cholesterol, microalbumin, and lipid labs give a clear picture of your body's condition.
You must keep on doing these tests to ensure that not only your blood sugar levels are under control, but also, that you are not developing any other type of disease.
In short, regular checkups and tests reduce the risk.
6. Solving The Problem Early
No one but you is only responsible for your health problems. Hence, to control progressive or chronic conditions such as diabetes you must ensure that your life is not affected by stress or tension.
Also, you must follow breathing exercises and meditation techniques to remain stress-free all through the day.
You must know your limit and also get acquainted with ways that can help keep your condition healthy and fit. If the problem is tackled the earliest, it can be prevented from becoming chronic.
7. Healthy Coping
Diabetes needs regular monitoring. Being a chronic disease, it requires a lot of commitment and involvement from the patient.
During the treatment and tests, the psychological state of the patient is also affected indirectly, affecting the whole family.
A patient must always stay positive in all conditions so that even if the glucose levels are a bit above normal, he can bring them down with regular practice of exercise and medications.
However, if you let the disease dictate you, the stress levels will increase thereby further increasing the blood sugar as well as blood pressure levels.
If you follow these best ways to control blood sugar, you can lead a healthy and positive life without any complications.
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