Category: Health Articles

Physical activity is recommended for any person to stay healthy. But for a diabetic it now only increases energy levels and can help maintain an ideal body weight it also helps to control blood sugars. But an active diabetic needs to take extra care and precautions to ensure they are getting enough fuel for their body so their blood sugars do not drop dangerously low – known as hypoglycemia.

The amount you exercise is going to determine how much you are going to eat on your diabetic meal plan. The more physically active you are the higher your nutritional requirements and the higher your risk is for developing hypoglycemia. The best practice when you are just starting out is to monitor your blood sugars before and after working out and during if you feel it is necessary. It is important to listen to your body and stop if you are feeling light-headed or are experiencing any of the other signs associated with low blood sugar.

Before you work out, have a snack that is going to sustain you for a long period of time without spiking your blood sugar levels. A granola bar eaten with a handful of nuts is a good choice as it combines a carbohydrate that is high in fiber and a high-quality protein. The food that you eat before working out should have a high-fiber content, this will slow down the breaking down process of the carbohydrates in your system and you will be sustained for a longer period of time.

Drink plenty of fluids (preferably water) when you are working out to stay hydrated. In case of an emergency, carry glucose tablets with you at all times or some hard candy that will quickly raise your blood sugar. At other times of the day, eat balanced meals to maintain your energy.

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If you are a diabetic and are overweight or considered clinically obese, you can improve your overall health and the management of your diabetes by losing weight. It may seem like an overwhelming goal if you have tried in the past to lose weight and have failed. But there are steps you can take and support you can utilize to help you reach your goals.

The first step to losing weight is to set a short-term goal for yourself. You can do this on your own but can also get help from your doctor or a dietician. A good goal when starting to lose weight is to take a small percentage of your overall weight and aim to lose that much in your time frame. For instance, if you weigh 200 pounds aim to lose weight 5% of your body weight to begin (10 pounds). When you lose weight as a diabetic you are helping your body by lessening your insulin requirements. Weight loss will also assist you in keeping your blood sugar levels under control.

Another method to lose weight is physical activity and exercise. Getting your body moving will increase your metabolism and that act will assist in losing weight too. Not only will increased metabolism aid in weight loss, it will also help in controlling blood glucose levels. Your body will be processing food more efficiently.

Diet and exercise go hand-in-hand with weight loss. It also takes patience and time but as you begin the road to weight loss the benefits you will derive as a diabetic will begin right away. And as you reach your goal weight you will gain better control of your blood sugars. If you are having difficulty losing weight on your own, speak to your doctor about other options that are available to you such as medication or possibly surgery.

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All diets should use fat in moderation as it can lead to an unhealthy body weight and heart disease. For a diabetic, controlling fat intake is important for the previous reason in addition to the negative affect it can have on blood sugars. Fats can be put into many different categories – healthy, non-healthy, saturated, non-saturated, trans-fat, and more. But the bottom line with any of kind of fat is to enjoy in moderation.

When you eat food that is high in fat (for instance a cheeseburger), your short-term blood glucose reading may come back as fine. But since fat acts much like protein and it slows down the digestion of carbohydrates you may notice a higher than normal blood sugar many hours later. It is hard to plan for such a spike because it is quite delayed compared to other foods that are eaten that raise blood sugar.

The best advice is to choose natural, healthy, unsaturated fats and oils whenever possible. You can do this by reading your food labels carefully as the different kinds of fats are listed on most food labels. Excessive fat intake will also cause you to gain weight and that is another way blood sugars can spiral out of control. Extra body weight that you carry around is taxing on your systems and will affect how your body uses and needs insulin.

Healthy fat choices include:

• Avocado – oil or the fruit itself
• Sesame, olive, or canola oil
• Black or green olives
• Peanuts and peanut butter (this doubles as a protein choice)
• Sesame seeds

Additional fat choices that should be used in moderation:

• Butter or margarine
• Walnuts
• Salad dressings
• Mayonnaise
• Pumpkin and sunflower seeds

If there are any questions about a type of fat and what a serving size should be, contact your doctor or dietician for more information.

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If you are considered obese, especially with an above average amount of abdominal fat and are insulin resistant, you may have what is known as metabolic syndrome. It is important to note that you can be insulin resistance and not actually have diabetes – yet. If you are insulin resistant you may be what is termed pre-diabetes.

If you are insulin resistant, your body is not using the insulin your pancreas is producing effectively. Your pancreas will continue to produce more and more insulin but your body will not use it and cannot derive the energy from the food you eat. This condition can be passed on from another member of the family but it is also caused by obesity and inactivity.

As with diabetes, the risk factors for having metabolic problems – metabolic syndrome – are quite similar. Age is a risk factor, the older you are the chances of having this are greater. Almost half of the people with metabolic syndrome are over the age of 60 but symptoms have been seen in children and adults in their 20’s. Another risk factor for having this syndrome is race, people from a Hispanic or Asian backgrounds are at a higher risk than others. And as mentioned there is also the hereditary factory.

Being obese with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 25 is a factor too. The difference with this factor from the others is that most people have an element of control over this. If they are able to lose weight and exercise they can reduce or eliminate this contributor towards metabolic syndrome.

If you are diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, your doctor will run screening tests for diabetes. He or she will also recommend or put your on a program to lose weight through a healthy and balanced diet coupled with physical activity.

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High blood pressure is a concern for anyone but people with diabetics are more likely to suffer from it than others. If you are obese and diabetic, a high blood pressure can be deadly leading to a fatal heart attack. Like many health risks associated with diabetes, good control of your blood sugars, a healthy diet and physical activity can help to keep your blood pressure in check.

If you are suffering from a headache, your vision is blurry and you feel light headed or dizzy you may have high blood pressure. These symptoms are not just indicative of high blood pressure though and you should seek medical attention to determine the cause. Other times there may be no symptoms at all when you have high blood pressure or it may be slightly elevated. It is smart to have your blood pressure routinely checked at your doctor’s appointments.

When you are obese, the most effective way to reduce your blood pressure is to lose weight. Follow a meal plan that works for your diabetes, making sure you are consuming enough food, and can still allow you to lose weight. Other changes that you can make that will improve your blood pressure are:

• An exercise routine that is followed on a regular basis
• Reducing stress in your life – mediation, yoga, letting go of some responsibilities
• Quit smoking
• Lessen the amount of salt you use for cooking or on your food

While you are making lifestyle changes to lower your blood pressure your doctor may decide to put your on medication. If you have to take blood pressure medication it does not have to be forever. You can look at it as a short-term fix while you make the changes necessary to lower your blood pressure on your own.

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When you are diabetic you have probably read in many places and have heard from your doctor how beneficial it is for you to lose weight. But that doesn’t make it any easier to do. It is difficult to do, but everyone is right; you will reap many benefits from losing weight including managing your diabetes and blood glucose levels.

If you are already motivated to lose weight and just don’t know where to begin, make an appointment with your doctor or diabetes educator. They can provide you with information on a healthy eating plan and approve the type of exercises you should begin with. Getting the okay from your doctor before starting any physical routine is a good idea so you do not over-do it at the beginning creating more harm than good.

If you have tried to lose weight before and know that it is a hard road, you may find the motivation you need through a support group. Having a network to back you up when you are having a hard day or the commitment of meeting someone at the gym can get you through the rough patches ahead.

As you reach certain milestones in your weight loss journey set reward points for yourself as motivation. You may decide to reward yourself when you lose 10 pounds or it might be going for a walk 5 times in one week – whatever you need help with. Your reward can be anything that will make you work harder – renting a movie, a new pair of shoes – make it special.

As you continue to lose weight and become more active keep a careful eye on your blood sugars and insulin requirements. You may find that you are requiring less insulin as you drop the pounds. Keep in contact with your doctor and update him on your progress.

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Much the same as fiber, eating quality protein with your snacks and meals can have a positive affect on your blood sugar levels. By combining protein and carbohydrates you will slow the digestions of the carbohydrates in your body. This slowing down will prevent your blood sugar from spiking as the result of too many carbohydrates in your system.

This does not mean that you should eat more protein than is recommended in one meal. Doing so can lead to other problems down the road. But if you are a diabetic, skipping protein in your diet is not a good idea. For diabetics who are vegetarians or that don’t eat a lot of any protein it is important to find a source that can be consumed on a regular basis.

There are many other sources of high-quality protein that does not include animal meats. Other protein sources can include:

• Tofu is a source of protein that can be prepared in a variety of ways including dessert tofu
• Nuts are an excellent source of protein but can be high in fat too. Read nutrition labels and enjoy in moderation
• Seeds such as flax, pumpkin, and sunflower can be eaten as a source of protein
• Beans and other members of the legume family. There are many ways to prepare beans from chili to cold salads
• Protein powders are available to sprinkle on cereals or to make into shakes for drinking
• Fish sources – be aware that large fish contain high levels of mercury and should only be eaten once or twice per week

When making protein choices, go for a lean cut whenever possible. Even though protein has a positive affect on blood sugars excessive fat can cancel out the benefit and turn it into a health risk. Enjoy high-fat meats or heavily processed meats on rare occasions and eat a wide variety of proteins.

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Life sometimes doesn’t seem fair – you love sweets and are known for your sweet tooth but now that you have been diagnosed with diabetes you are afraid you can’t have them anymore. This isn’t entirely true. Yes, if you previously indulged in many sweets you can no longer do that (and it may be a contributing factor to way you have type 2 diabetes). But there are ways that you can satisfy your sweet tooth and stick to your diabetic diet.

Even though sugar isn’t the only reason blood sugars raise the combination of a high- sugar item and carbohydrates are. There are many sugar substitutes and artificial sweeteners that are available to purchase on their own or in sweets such as chocolate and hard candies.

Another way to add sweets into your diet is to substitute them for other carbohydrates in a meal. If you were planning on having a tuna salad sandwich for lunch instead of having the bread try eating the tuna on its own and use the saved carbohydrates on a cookie or two (depending on size and serving information). This can be done with many different variations, but should be done in moderation – your body really will function better on those two pieces of whole wheat bread than it will on two chocolate chip cookies.

Speak with your dietician too. A dietician is full of ideas and suggestion on how to improve your diabetic diet. He or she may have suggestions on snacks or meals that you would not have considered to be sweet but can certainly satisfy your sweet tooth. Such as eating a banana to satisfy a chocolate craving. As time goes on you will begin to appreciate the natural sweet things in life too – such as a juicy apple or a fresh orange.

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You can be diagnosed with pre-diabetes before you actually get diabetes. In pre-diabetes you have higher than normal blood sugars but they are not at the level that they would need to be in order to be considered diabetic. If you are obese or severely overweight and pre-diabetic there are steps you can take to put off the actual diagnosis of diabetes or prevent it.

The same test is used for pre-diabetes as it is for diabetes. Once you find out that you have pre-diabetes you can make a plan with your doctor to prevent the onset of the disease. By losing weight and either adding or increasing your level of physical activity you can delay diabetes for quite sometime. There have been people who have gone on to maintain a healthy weight through diet and exercise and have remained in the pre- diabetic phase for their lives.

If you are not able to get down to your goal weight, just losing a small amount can be beneficial. It takes an additional strain off of your body by lessening the need of the amount of insulin that is produced. There are many other benefits that you will also get by reducing your body weight including increased energy and cardiovascular health.

Most times, doctors do not test for diabetes unless there are risk factors present including age (over 45 years old). But if you are considered obese, your doctor will probably order the appropriate glucose test each year at your physical examination to check for pre- diabetes and diabetes.

There are not always symptoms present when you have pre diabetes. But if you are experiencing any of the signs that could signal the full disease such as an increased thirst and need to urinate, make an appointment with your doctor for a check-up.

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Even before you are diagnosed with diabetes, if you are obese, your blood sugars are most likely elevated. High blood sugar levels in a body over a prolonged period of time can have devastating affects on your body. You may not be showing symptoms of high blood sugars but your doctor will most likely do a routine blood test if you are obese to check for pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes.

People can go for years or even decades with undiagnosed pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes. Over this time, their blood glucose will be at above average range and this can due internal damage. Once you find out that you are pre diabetic it is wise to change your lifestyle and eating habits to prevent the onset of diabetes. For people who have already been diagnosed with diabetes, they can still experience damage from hyperglycemia if they are not controlling their diabetes effectively.

Hyperglycemia that goes unchecked for a long period of time can cause kidney damage up to the point of kidney failure that will require dialysis or a transplant. It also causes nerve damage, particularly to feet and the lower legs. People suffering from hyperglycemia will heal slowly and will have intestinal problems including diarrhea and can have eye difficulties leading to eyesight problems.

As soon as you find out that you are diabetic, test your blood glucose regularly to keep an eye on your levels. You will need to work closely with your health care team to bring your blood sugars under control. You can lessen the effects of prolonged hyperglycemia by keeping your diabetes under control. If you have not yet been diagnosed with diabetes but have been told you are pre-diabetic follow a healthy eating plan including plenty of physical activity to get healthier and keep your blood glucose levels in check.

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