Managing Diabetes

Receiving a diagnoses of diabetes from your doctor doesn’t have to be frightening. In fact, an article by HealthyYou.com published in the Dec. ’21 / Jan. ’22 issue of AARP Magazine, suggests just the opposite, choose to look at as a chance to start over.

Some endocrinologists are moving towards a new treatment. The treatment begins with the patient making a commitment to a combination of healthy nutrition and exercise, rather than the traditional medication approach. This has had success, especially with type-2 diabetes.

Dr. Osama Hamdy, MD, and director of the In-Patient Program at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, states “…many people can manage diabetes with life style changes, consisting of exercise, a carbohydrate-controlled nutrition diet, proper hydration and more. Below is the 7-ways to turn diabetes around.

Lose (Just a Little) Weight:  Loosing 5-10% of one’s body-weight leads to huge improvements in blood sugar.

Water Down Blood Sugars:   The more dehydrated a person becomes, the higher the blood sugars concentration, keeping properly hydrated creates the opposite condition.

Exercise Snacking:  Exercise in short bouts of 10-15 minutes (i.e., walking after eat meal). Be sure to do a variety of exercise, and be sure to include strength training.

Muscle Up with Protein:  Muscle tissue stimulates hormones that control blood sugars. Fish, chicken, beans, nuts & tofu are high protein foods. Be sure to have protein with each meal.

Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19:  Diabetes lowers your body’s immune system making for a higher risk of  a more severe illness or death due to COVID.

Don’t Focus on Sugar:  Become a foods nutrition label reader, look for the total carbohydrates, this will include all sugars both natural and added. Men should not exceed 60-75 carbs/per meal and Women not over 30-45/per meal.

Let the Meds Come as Needed:  Just because you may still need medications, you are not a failure. It may make time for the new life style to change things, and aging may be an issue.  Remember that medications work with the body to control blood sugar.