Did you know that 1 in 11 Americans today has diabetes? Despite its prevalence, diabetes is an invisible disease. It affects men and women, people young and old, and people of all races, shapes and sizes. Often there are no outward signs from the 29 million Americans who fight this chronic illness every day. That’s why there is a critical need to foster awareness and education while breaking down stereotypes, myths and misunderstandings about this growing public health crisis that affects so many of us. Your diabetes care team will help you, but day-to-day diabetes care is up to you. You can do it!
That care includes:
- Choosing what, how much, and when to eat
- Yes, some changes need to be made in what and how much you eat, but you do have some flexibility in deciding what’s on your menu.
- Try these tips for eating healthy
- Eating a variety of foods, including vegetables, whole grains, fruits, non-fat dairy foods, healthy fats, and lean meats or meat substitutes.
- Trying not to eat too much food.
- Trying not to eat too much of one type of food.
- Spacing your meals evenly throughout the day.
- Not skipping meals.
- For people with diabetes, a good cookbook provides ideas to trim fat from their diet and gives detailed nutritional analysis and exchanges for each recipe.
- Getting physically active
- Exercise is a key component of proper diabetes care. Along with all of the other benefits you will receive from being active, your diabetes will also respond in kind with more stable blood glucose levels.
- Aerobic activity makes your heart and bones strong and joints flexible, relieves stress, helps your insulin work better and improves blood flow.
- For most people, it’s best to aim for a total of 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week. If you haven’t been very active recently, you can start out with 5 or 10 minutes a day and work up to more time each week.
- You can also split up your activity for the day: For example, take a quick 10-minute walk before or after each meal instead of 30 minutes all at once.
- There are many ways to be more active during your day:
- Walk instead of drive
- Get off the bus a stop early and walk the rest of the way
- Work in the garden, rake leaves or wash the car
- Play actively with kids
- Walk around while talking on the phone
- Park at the far end of the lot and walk
- Checking your blood glucose
- Your doctor may want you to start checking your blood glucose at home.
- Checking your blood glucose is one way you can know how food, activity and medicine affect your blood glucose. It can help you make sure your blood glucose isn’t going too high or too low.
- Write the date, time and blood glucose number in a logbook so you can share it with your diabetes care team. Talk with your doctor or your diabetes care team about how often and when you should check your blood glucose.
- With type 1 diabetes, your pancreas is no longer capable of producing insulin. Through multiple daily injections with insulin pens or syringes or an insulin pump, it will be up to you to monitor your blood glucose levels and appropriately administer your insulin. Work closely with your healthcare team to determine which insulin or insulins are best for you and your body.
- Getting Support
- Emotional support, while not often initially considered, plays a key role in diabetes care.
- Connecting with other people living with diabetes that understand the daily grind of counting carbohydrates, testing blood glucose multiple times each day and dealing with the various highs and lows (both physical and emotional) of life with diabetes can make all the difference.
- Also, talk with friends and family or other people that may be able to help you see the positive side of things, or figure out ways to reduce the stress.