contacts Sign In
author Image

Top 10 Lifestyle Tips for Managing Diabetes

SNW-Top-10-Lifestyle-Tips-for-Managing-Diabetes-1
SNW-Top-10-Lifestyle-Tips-for-Managing-Diabetes-1

Written by
SickNWell Staff Writer

Types of Diabetes | 10 Tips to Manage Diabetes | What’s the Takeaway?


Overview 

Did you know that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), just over 11 percent of the US population has diabetes?[1] That’s over 37 million people.  

Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects the body’s ability to turn food into energy. 

With this condition, your body cannot make enough insulin or use it efficiently, resulting in too much blood sugar (blood glucose) in the bloodstream. Given time, excess blood glucose can cause serious health problems, such as heart disease and kidney failure.

If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, naturally, you will have many questions about what to do and expect. The good news is that this disorder can be effectively managed with extra attention to lifestyle factors and anything else your doctor prescribes. 

But before we get to some vital management tips, let’s get a little background on what diabetes is and how it can affect you. 

 

Types of Diabetes

 

Type 1 

Between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, type 1 is by far less prevalent. In fact, it only exists in about three out of every 1000 adults in the US.[2] It’s characterized by inefficient insulin production by the body, which usually starts at a young age – children and young adults mostly. 

Currently, there are no known cures or preventive measures for this form of the condition, and a person with type 1 diabetes needs daily insulin to survive. 

 

Type 2 

Unlike type 1 diabetes, type 2 is preventable or delayable and is primarily rooted in lifestyle factors. Although it is usually diagnosed in adults, there is an upward trend in the disorder in children and teens.[2]

In this form of the condition, the body cannot keep blood glucose at levels required for normal functioning. Lifestyle changes, medications, and insulin can help here.  

 

Gestational Diabetes

A third form of diabetes can occur in pregnant individuals who have never had diabetes. In this scenario, the body cannot make sufficient amounts of insulin during the pregnancy, but the condition usually goes away after the baby is born.[3] However, both mother and baby will be at an elevated risk for developing type 2 diabetes later in life. 

 

SNW-Top-10-Lifestyle-Tips-for-Managing-Diabetes-2

 

10 Tips to Manage Diabetes

  1. Know Your Blood Sugar Level: This is possibly the most critical aspect of effective diabetes management. Monitoring your blood sugar will allow you to detect how it is affected by what you eat, your physical activities, and any medications. This information is crucial when it comes to making treatment plans. Blood glucose levels can be tested with finger sticks, a glucose meter, or a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device. Your health practitioner will advise on what is best for you.
  2. Keep an Eye on Carbohydrates: The starches in food raise blood sugar, some far more than others. Paying attention to this part of your diet will be very helpful in controlling blood glucose spikes. In fact, people with type 2 diabetes who adhere to a very low-carb diet (LCD), where no more than 50 grams of carbs are consumed daily, can even experience a remission of the disorder within six months.[4] Cut out refined starches like white flour, rice, and potatoes while adding more water-based vegetables like peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and green, leafy vegetables.
  3. Hydrate: Dehydration can affect blood sugar levels, so keep this in mind while exercising or even sweating on a hot day, and drink plenty of water to replace lost fluids.[5]
  4. Manage Stress: Stress hormones in your body can cause blood sugar levels to spike and drive insulin resistance in the long term.[6] Take breaks from watching news stories and social media, take time to unwind, do breathing exercises, and meditate to ease the burden of life’s stresses.
  5. Medications: Take your prescribed medications even when you feel good.
  6. Stop Smoking: This is true even if you don’t have diabetes; however, with diabetes, smoking can be devastating. Not only is smoking associated with developing type 2 diabetes but also with insulin resistance and inflammation that can lead to cardiovascular disease.[7]
  7. Exercise: Physical activity can improve glucose uptake by increasing insulin sensitivity and lowering body fat.[8] Set a goal of at least 150 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise each week, for example, 30 minutes, five days a week. Regular exercise also has the add-on effect of stress reduction (see tip #4 above) and lower blood pressure.
  8. Practice Good Oral Hygiene: Brush your teeth and floss daily to keep teeth and gums healthy. Infections caused by oral bacteria can cause elevated blood glucose levels.[9]
  9. Get Routine Care: See your doctor or medical team for regular check-ups and ensure that your overall health and medications work towards effective diabetes control. 
  10. Reduce Your Risk for Other Health Concerns: Unfortunately, diabetes can cause, be caused by, and exist alongside several other conditions that may worsen diabetes, so good overall health is extra important.

 

What’s the Takeaway? 

Diabetes is a relatively prevalent, serious condition and should be treated that way. It can result in adverse health impacts, affect existing conditions, and precipitate other disorders. 

However, people diagnosed with diabetes can expect to live active, independent, and healthy lives by committing to careful, lifelong diabetes management.

 

References:

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, June 29). National Diabetes Statistics Report. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved March 29, 2023, from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/data/statistics-report/index.html
  2. Imperatore, G., Mayer-Davis, E. J., Orchard, T. J., & Zhong, V. W. (2018). Prevalence and Incidence of Type 1 Diabetes Among Children and Adults in the United States and Comparison With Non-U.S. Countries. In C. C. Cowie (Eds.) et. al., Diabetes in America. (3rd ed.). National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (US).
  3. McIntyre, H. D., Catalano, P., Zhang, C., Desoye, G., Mathiesen, E. R., & Damm, P. (2019). Gestational diabetes mellitus. Nature reviews. Disease primers, 5(1), 47. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-019-0098-8
  4. Goldenberg, J. Z., Day, A., Brinkworth, G. D., Sato, J., Yamada, S., Jönsson, T., Beardsley, J., Johnson, J. A., Thabane, L., & Johnston, B. C. (2021). Efficacy and safety of low and very low carbohydrate diets for type 2 diabetes remission: systematic review and meta-analysis of published and unpublished randomized trial data. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 372, m4743. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m4743
  5. Johnson, E. C., Bardis, C. N., Jansen, L. T., Adams, J. D., Kirkland, T. W., & Kavouras, S. A. (2017). Reduced water intake deteriorates glucose regulation in patients with type 2 diabetes. Nutrition research (New York, N.Y.), 43, 25–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nutres.2017.05.004
  6. Sharma, K., Akre, S., Chakole, S., & Wanjari, M. B. (2022). Stress-Induced Diabetes: A Review. Cureus, 14(9), e29142. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.29142
  7. Chang S. A. (2012). Smoking and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetes & metabolism journal, 36(6), 399–403. https://doi.org/10.4093/dmj.2012.36.6.399
  8. Peirce N. S. (1999). Diabetes and exercise. British journal of sports medicine, 33(3), 161–222. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.33.3.161
  9. Borgnakke, W. S., Genco, R. J., Eke, P. I., & Taylor, G. W. (2018). Oral Health and Diabetes. In C. C. Cowie (Eds.) et. al., Diabetes in America. (3rd ed.). National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (US).
SicknWell