Do you have diabetes? Here are some tips to ensure healthy Blood Sugar levels

By Team Newsable | First Published Mar 11, 2022, 1:18 PM IST

We spoke to Dr Haroon H, MD Consultant Internal Medicine KMC Hospital, Dr B R Ambedkar Circle Mangalore who gave us some amazing tips and plans that go a long way to control diabetes and help you lead a complication-free life.

As per data provided by the world health organisation, the number of people with diabetes increased from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. Between the years 2000 and 2016 there was a 5% increase in premature mortality from diabetes. Diabetes is a major cause of heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure, blindness, limb amputations, stroke and other complications. It is important to keep your blood sugar level in your target range as much as possible to help in preventing the onset of such deadly health problems.

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Taking medications and following up with the doctor regularly, appropriate lifestyle modifications and a personalised diet and exercise plan can go a long way to control diabetes and help you lead a complication-free life.

Regular exercise

In consultation with your doctor choose the exercise plan that suits you the best. Walking, cycling, weight training, dancing, swimming are all good forms of exercise.
Remember to take a break now and then at least once every thirty minutes when you do activities that involve long-term sitting in reading, working on a computer, etc.
Exercise improves the way the cells in your body respond to Insulin. This helps in many ways in people at risk of developing diabetes; this can help prevent/postpone the onset of diabetes.
Exercise also helps lose weight, lower blood sugar levels, boost immunity, and improve insulin sensitivity.

Healthy Diabetic Diet

Design a meal plan that suits your requirement with the help of your doctor and a qualified dietician. Choose from a wide variety of food items rich in fiber. Fibre or roughage is the part of food that doesn’t get absorbed. The fibre slows the absorption of sugar and lowers blood sugar levels.
It also prevents fat and cholesterol absorption, helps in weight loss and prevents constipation: vegetables, fruits, whole grams, non-starchy vegetables.
Avoid carbohydrate-rich food like white bread, pastries, fruit juices, cookies, chocolates. Carbohydrate-rich food can have a direct impact on blood sugar management. As much as possible, try to go for food items with a low glycemic index.
Read food labels and serving size, especially if you are buying packed and processed food. Chew your food, eat slowly, and always watch your portion or serving size.
Eat only healthy fats. Fatty foods are high in calories and can increase blood sugar. Choose healthy fats, also called unsaturated fats both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. These are usually present in olive oil, sunflower oil, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, salmon, mackerel and cod fish.
Avoid the saturated fats that are usually present in red meat and diary product.

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LifeStyle Modification

Too much stress can hhave adverse implications on your blood sugar control. Control your stress with the help of yoga, relaxation, meditation, exercise.
Patients with diabetes should monitor their blood sugars regularly and keep their health care provider informed.
Be active and plan an appropriate weight loss program with the help of your doctor. Weight loss helps control diabetes and may help reduce dosage of medications.'
Stay hydrated by taking the optimum amount of water and ensuring proper rest, which is good both in both quantity and quality.
Around seven to eight hours of good quality sleep in needed to stay healthy. Improper sleep can make diabetes control go haywire. Stop smoking and alcohol consumption. Visit your doctor regularly and do the tests as advised. Get yourself screened for any complications so that they can be detected early and end-organ damage and organ failure can be prevented.
Have your food at regular times and don’t skip meals. Get the HBA1C test done as advised by your doctor to check for average blood sugar levels over the past three months.
People who are overweight and have a family history, other risk factors should consult a healthcare provider and get screened for diabetes and pre-diabetes at regular intervals.

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