How to manage your Diabetes!

Diabetes is a disease in which your blood sugar levels are too high. Glucose comes from the foods you eat. Our body uses glucose as fuel and Insulin is a hormone that helps the glucose get into your cells to give them energy. Over time, high blood glucose leads to problems such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, eye problems, dental disease, nerve damage and foot problems.

Every 7 seconds a person dies because of diabetes.

Diabetes is classified into Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 diabetes is caused by a lack of insulin production in the body and Type 2 diabetes is due to the body’s ineffective use of insulin.Simply, type 1 is mostly hereditary or autoimmune and type 2 is more dependent on lifestyle choices and environmental factors.

Persons with diabetes are most likely to develop non diabetic diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia. Type 2 diabetes accounts for around 90% of all diabetics worldwide. Now, let's get that diabetes under control!

1. Eat Right!

Managing diabetes is all about controlling your blood sugar levels. Choose foods that are lower in sugar, calories, saturated fat, trans fat, and salt. Here is a list of foods we recommend.

1. Eat Non starchy Vegetables like broccoli, carrots, greens, peppers, and tomatoes.

2. Reduce Starchy foods like potatoes, corn, and green peas

3. Dont eat too many fruits in one serving—includes oranges, melon, berries, apples, bananas, and grapes

4. Grains—at least half of your grains for the day should be whole grain

includes wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley, and quinoa

examples: bread, pasta, cereal, and tortillas

5. Get your Proteins from lean meat like chicken or turkey without the skin, fish, eggs, nuts, peanuts, dried beans and certain peas, such as chickpeas and split peas, and meat substitutes such as tofu

6. Consume Non-fat or Low fat dairy products

7. Eat foods with heart-healthy fats, like oils that are liquid at room temperature, such as canola and olive oil, nuts and seeds, avocado, fish such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel.

AVOID: fried foods and other foods high in saturated fat and trans fat

foods high in salt and sweets (such as baked goods, candy, ice cream

beverages with added sugars, such as juice, regular soda, and regular sports or energy drinks)

Drink water instead of sweetened beverages. Consider using a sugar substitute in your coffee or tea.

Plan your Meals!

There are many ways to plan your meals. One of them is the plate method.

Use a 9-inch plate. Put non starchy vegetables on half of the plate; a meat or other protein on one-fourth of the plate; and a grain or other starch on the last one-fourth.

Starches include starchy vegetables such as corn and peas. You also may eat a small bowl of fruit or a piece of fruit, and drink a small glass of milk as included in your meal plan.

The plate method shows the amount of each food group you should eat.

You can find many different combinations of food and more details about using the plate method from the American Diabetes Association’s Create Your Plate .

Portion sizes

You can use everyday objects or your hand to judge the size of a portion.

1 serving of meat or poultry is the palm of your hand or a deck of cards

1/3-ounce serving of fish is a checkbook

1 serving of cheese is six dice

1/2 cup of cooked rice or pasta is a rounded handful or a tennis ball

1 serving of a pancake or waffle is a DVD

2 tablespoons of peanut butter is a ping-pong ball

Count your Carbs!

Learn which foods have contain how much carbohydrates.

Read the Nutrition Facts food label, or learn to estimate the number of grams of carbohydrate in the foods you eat.

3. EXERCISE!

Along with the meal plan, physical activity is still the most important factor to tackle the diabetes as it helps in

Lowering blood glucose levels

Lowering blood pressure

Improving blood flow

Burning extra calories

Preventing falls and improve memory in older adults

Sleep cycle

Things to look out for.

Know your blood Sugar levels: A1C test- This test shows your average blood glucose level over the past 3 months and the goal for the people with diabetes is blood sugar levels below 7 percent.

Check your blood pressure- The ideal blood pressure goal for most people with diabetes is below 140/90 mm Hg.

Check your Cholesterol- There are two kinds of cholesterol in your blood: LDL “bad cholesterol” which build up and clog the blood vessels, too much of it can cause a heart attack or a stroke. HDL “good cholesterol” helps remove the bad cholesterol from the system.

Stop smoking- Both smoking and diabetes narrow your blood vessels so, diabetic patients should try to quit smoking. E-cigarettes aren’t a safe option either. Quitting smoking will-

lower the risk for heart attack, stroke, nerve disease, kidney disease, diabetic eye disease, and amputation.

Words: Doctor Bae