national diabetes month

You are your biggest health care advocate.

Managing your health can be a daily challenge, let alone living with diabetes. 

There are many variables to keep in mind as you manage diabetes day-to-day: Food intake, daily exercise, stress level, and even general health. And, maintaining blood sugar levels in the desired range is a fine balancing act with constant monitoring.

From sugar levels to health risks, here are four tips to help make living with diabetes a bit more manageable.

Monitoring Sugar Levels

According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), the majority of the food you eat is broken down into sugar and then releases into your bloodstream as your body’s source of energy.1 If blood sugar is too high, over time, you can have serious long-term health issues.2 If blood sugar levels are too low, then other health risks can occur like headache, shakey, fainting, and other issues.3

It’s important to monitor sugar levels to help prevent serious health complications. 

Protect Your Feet

Over time, nerve damage can occur and affect your ability to feel pain, heat or cold. If you lose sensation in your feet, you may not feel a blister, skin irritation, open wound or too hot or cold water. Poor circulation, another common diabetic complication, along with minor foot issues, can lead to major foot infection or other foot health complications if not treated early.4 It’s important to check your feet daily, wear appropriate diabetic footwear, and keep your feet clean. 

Learn how to manage your foot health daily to help prevent serious foot complications. 

Maintain Healthy Weight and Stay Active

Physical activity is important to maintain when living with diabetes—and it’s not as hard to stay active as you may think. According to the CDC, getting in about 150 minutes of moderate activity per week can help prevent health issues.5 

Examples of activities: 

  • Walking/hiking
  • Biking
  • Swimming
  • Dancing
  • Team sports
  • Gardening
  • Moving the lawn

Try to get about 20 to 25 minutes of activity per day as well as full-body exercise at least twice a week.5 

When you’re exercising, wear cotton socks and athletic shoes that fit well and are comfortable. After your activity, check your blood sugar levels as well as your feet to make sure you don’t have any sores. This will help you prevent serious complications down the road. 

Make sure to speak with your doctor before beginning any new exercise program. 

See Your Doctor Regularly

Over time, diabetes can affect any part of your body. However, if you take care of your health and see your doctor regularly, you can help prevent or delay health complications that are associated with diabetes. From checking your sugar levels and eating healthy to exercise and doctor visits, you can help prevent high blood pressure, cholesterol issues, heart disease, kidney issues, or other health-related complications.6 So, make sure you stay on track of your appointments and speak to your doctor if you have anything minor come up. 

Living with diabetes is a change in daily habits and is manageable. Remember, the biggest advocate for your health is you, so stay on top of it. 

Shop for footwear to help keep you healthy.

The contents of this blog were independently prepared, and are for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily indicative of the views of any other party. Individual results may vary depending on a variety of patient-specific attributes and related factors.

Sources

  1. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/managing/manage-blood-sugar.html
  2. https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes/medication-management/blood-glucose-testing-and-control/hyperglycemia
  3. http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/blood-glucose-control/hypoglycemia-low-blood.html
  4. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/managing/problems.html
  5. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/managing/active.html
  6. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/managing/problems.html