5 Hacks for Healthy Living with Diabetes
While nearly 10% of the U.S. population has diabetes, a new diabetes diagnosis is life changing for every individual it affects. Lifestyle changes like food restrictions, monitoring blood sugar levels and limiting sugar are daunting. Add to that the complications that can come from the disease, and the struggle is even greater.
But according to SKLD registered dietitians in skilled nursing facilities throughout Michigan and Ohio, a few small, gradual lifestyle changes can help patients better manage diabetes with less disruption in their daily lives.
SKLD registered dietitian Hailey Szymanski says, “Early detection and treatment of diabetes can help you manage your symptoms and prevent further complications in the future.” Hailey recommends keeping an eye on these common symptoms provided by the American Diabetes Association:
Urinating often
Feeling very thirsty
Feeling very hungry—even though you are eating
Extreme fatigue
Blurry vision
Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal
Weight loss—even though you are eating more (more common in type 1)
Tingling, pain, or numbness in the hands/feet (more common in type 2)
According to Hailey, “Many patients experience five stages of grieving after receiving a diagnosis of a chronic illness such as diabetes. It is important to reach out to local community resources for support and remember that you are not alone in this process.” She stresses that with small lifestyle changes, diabetes can be easily managed.
November is Diabetes Awareness Month
Whether it’s for you or for a loved one, here are 5 lifestyle enhancements to better manage diabetes:
Make Your Registered Dietitian Your New Best Friend
Once you are diagnosed with diabetes, Hailey encourages patients to get involved with group classes or one-on-one counseling sessions with a registered dietitian as soon as possible to gain as much information about making healthy lifestyle changes to manage your diabetes. A dietitian can you choose the right foods to fuel your body and maintain control over your blood sugar.
According to Hailey, “Registered dietitians can help provide a better understanding of blood sugar ranges, provide you with guidance on what foods to choose when you are experiencing hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and how to prevent hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).”
2. Keep Blood Sugar in Check
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention diabetes is the condition in which the body does not properly process food for use as energy. This means your body either doesn't make enough insulin or can't use its own insulin as well as it should, causing sugars to build up in your blood. With the proper lifestyle, diabetes can be managed well, but mismanaged diabetes can cause serious health complications including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations.
Because of the possibility of diabetes-related complications, it’s crucial for diabetics to control their blood sugar. Following are some tips to control blood sugar, according to Hailey:
Carbohydrate counting
Limiting alcohol
Limiting sodium and saturated (“unhealthy”) fats since diabetes is strongly linked with other diseases such as cardiovascular and chronic kidney diseases.
Choose unsaturated (“healthy”) fats such as oils, nuts, fish and avocados instead.
Take medications prescribed by a physician
Diet changes which may include eating more slow-release carbohydrate foods (i.e. whole grains foods, fruit, etc.) to maintain blood sugars much longer than fast-release carbohydrate foods (i.e. desserts, fruit juices, etc.).
When implementing dietary changes, it’s important to make small changes and start gradually. To promote balance, Hailey says that “we need carbs to fuel our brain, we should just try not go overboard at every meal.”
3. Eat Less, More Frequently
Rather than eating three big meals each day, you may need to increase the frequency that you eat throughout the day to prevent low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia. A common practice is to consume 6 small meals throughout the day or consume foods containing carbohydrates and protein every 2-3 hours.
4. Plan Your Meals
Your registered dietitian may recommend starting a food diary or offer a sample meal plan as a guide to healthier eating. When it comes to diabetes, the main objective for a registered dietitian is to provide practical tools for day-to-day meal planning based on personal preferences. In practice, this means a dietitian can help you slowly implement some of the diet changes listed above.
5. Get More Active
Along with diet and medications, the American Diabetes Association says that “regular physical activity is an important part of managing diabetes or dealing with prediabetes. Because when you’re active, your cells become more sensitive to insulin so it works more effectively.”
In this case, you don’t have to run a marathon to make a difference. Hailey gives some simple activities such as “just getting up and walking and doing arm or leg exercises while sitting in a chair.” Getting moving burns more calories and carbohydrates, while not moving stores those carbs as fat. By being active, you can better keep your blood sugar under control.
When it comes to diabetes, some of these small changes could have a great impact that is not only helpful, but could be life-saving as well.