Diabetes Healthy Living

In addition to any medications or injections, perhaps the more important part of treatment for diabetes is lifestyle changes you can make with regard to diet, exercise, smoking, and alcohol intake.

You should avoid foods that contain high amounts of fat, especially saturated fat, as well those those high in refined and simple sugars.  These foods can lead to an increase in weight and increase to risks for diabetic complications.  They also affect your body's blood glucose levels dramatically and can be detrimental.

When choosing foods, you should also include some foods with each meal that have low glycemic index.  These foods help keep blood sugar levels more stable with smaller spikes.  They generally are food rich in complex carbohydrates such as breads, cereals, and certain varieties of potatoes.  Examples of low glycemic index foods:

• basmatic rice
• porridge oats
• whole grain or rice pastas
• high grains or rye breads
• sweet potatoes and yams

You should also eat food with lots of fiber, vitamins, and minerals such as vegetables and fruits.  You should set a goal to eat at least 5 portions of vegetables and fruits every single day.

You should avoid proteins that are high in fats, especially saturated fats.  You should eat at least two portions of fish (omega-3 polyunsaturated fat foods) each week.  You should also avoid foods like eggs, nuts, lentils, and red meats.  You should include low-fat or non-fat dairy products in your diet as an important source of calcium.  You should cook with as little oil as you can or bake your foods.

You should never have a high intake of alcohol as it can lead to hypoglycemia, especially if drinking on an empty stomach.  You should not smoke, and drink only in moderation.

Increasing your physical activity and exercise while avoiding a sedentary lifestyle is very important to increasing cardiovascular health, losing and managing weight, and avoiding diabetic complications.  Any type of exercise should include some forms of aerobic, strength, and flexibility training each week.  There are many benefits of exercising regularly that improve health and the prognosis of diabetes such as losing and managing weight, strengthening bones to avoid osteoporosis, lowering your cholesterol and triglyceride levels, lowering the risk of heart disease and heart attacks, lowering the risk for a stroke, and lowering your blood pressure.