7 Health Habits to Manage Diabetes
Managing life with diabetes is very difficult, our everyday habits have a major impact on our blood glucose levels. There are so many factors that play a major role in the maintenance of normal blood sugar levels. Eating habits and exercise are the major factors that play their role in our daily diabetes management plan, but there are so many other things that affect glucose levels in the blood that it is nearly impossible to isolate the effect of blood sugar from our daily life conditions.
Glucose levels are sensitive to so many factors including patient’s physiology, dose of medications, timing of meals, and intensity and frequency of exercises. Thus, it is very important for patients to consult doctors and design their own meal plans and exercise routines and make their own diabetes management plans. Here we have provided some of the research-based studies that provide us with some of the lifestyle habits to help people living with this condition.
Meal-related considerations:
Meal Composition
For a diabetic person, two ingredients are important in a meal i.e. Carbohydrates and everything else (protein, healthy fat, fiber, etc.). Amount of carbohydrate intake plays an important role in the determination of glucose profile because of insulin resistance. Liver fat plays a key role in increasing insulin resistance and fat in the pancreas causes a decline in the secretion of insulin.
Thus, a strict low-calorie diet plays a key role in the improvement of fasting glucose along with other metabolic markers. The addition of lean proteins, fiber healthy fats, and non-starchy vegetables with right amount of carbohydrates stops glucose imbalance
Meal Timing
Meal timing is a very important issue in diabetic patients, skipping breakfast and consuming big suppers late are not good habits for diabetic patients because during evening hours glucose tolerance is very low even for healthy people.
But it also gets tricky because consuming such breakfast improves metabolic markers but it can also result in weight gain and glycemia if daily calorie intake is not kept in check.
Breakfast also brings hormonal changes in our body and it causes high sensitivity to insulin at the time of second meal of the day. This hormone regulation is also responsible for controlling metabolic activities during the fasting hours at night as exogenous glucose is not present and body uses other sources of glucose like glycogen from liver and muscles and fatty acids.
Eating breakfast changes the metabolism from these hormones to exogenous glucose from gut, after several minutes fatty acid levels decline and insulin secretion increases, glycogen is stored in muscles and liver and insulin sensitivity increases at the time of second meal.
Glucose tolerance also differs during different times of the day even for people who don’t have diabetes, it is advised to have fewer carbohydrates in the evening while adding more carbohydrates to the earlier meals. Consuming more carbohydrates in late hours causes an increase in fasting glucose. A high-energy breakfast or lunch is better than a high-energy supper and the consumption of proteins and vegetables before eating carbohydrates is also recommended. Increasing the number of meals can be helpful in controlling hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia as long as the calorie uptake is not excessive, especially in the evening.
Exercise-related considerations:
Diabetes management depends upon exercise, because of the utilization of stored sugar for the production of energy in muscles and efficient production of insulin. Exercise is very important for the maintenance of optimal body composition, but sometimes the intensity and duration of exercise can cause hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia. Thus, it is very crucial to perform the right exercises at proper times Regular exercise lowers the blood sugar level and the results are also long-lasting, sometimes even light activities like gardening and normal household chores are helpful in the improvement of blood sugar levels.
Post-meal Exercise
Doing exercise before meals lowers blood pressure and glucose, while post-meal exercises have an immediate glucose response in controlling meal-related hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia. Post-meal exercises improve insulin sensitivity but not for a very long time, and it has no impact on fasting glucose and glucose tolerance in hyperglycemic patients. If high-intensity interval exercise is done after meals it must be done for a shorter duration in order to improve glycemia and triglycerides, although it is more effective when done for a longer duration i.e. 45 minutes after meals.
Pre-meal Exercise
If exercise is done before having a meal it causes hyperglycemia initially and later the insulin sensitivity is improved. When exercise is done before breakfast hepatic and muscular glycogen along with free fatty acids are used as energy sources. Hyperglycemia is caused by the rush of extra glucose rushing into bloodstream from the liver.
Patients should talk to their doctors about their exercise plans, doctors usually advise aerobic activities every day for a short time, if the patient is inactive for a long time doctors recommend right balance of aerobic and other muscular exercises. Managing your post-meal or pre-meal exercising schedule according to your glucose levels is also very important. If someone uses insulin and their blood sugar level is less than 90mg/dl, he/ she should have a small snack before exercise. Staying hydrated is also very important because dehydration can affect blood sugar levels.
Medication
Some patients are lucky enough to control their blood sugars by exercise but others need insulin and other medications for managing their diabetes. The results of the medication depend upon the size of dose, also the medicines patients take for other issues affect their blood sugar levels.
It is very important to store insulin properly as it is temperature-sensitive, and if medication drops the blood sugar level too low or in some cases too high, the dosage and timing must be adjusted immediately by the doctor. If someone has multiple health issues like high cholesterol and high blood pressure, alternate medicines can be recommended because sometimes these medications can affect the blood sugar levels.
Illness
Blood sugar level is also affected by stress-related hormones that are produced by our body in order to fight the illness. Patients should always take their diabetes medicine and they must always stick to their sick day plan, monitor their blood sugar and adjust their medication dose. In case of vomiting and nausea the insulin dose and diabetes medications are reduced or with-hold because of the risk of hypoglycemia, during such times it is very important to monitor your blood sugar level and urine ketone levels. If you can stick to your diabetes meal plan controlling blood sugar levels would not be a problem, tea and other fluids that don’t add calories and help you stay hydrated. However, if you are on insulin you can take juices or sports drinks to help you keep your blood glucose levels from dropping too low.
Alcohol:
The liver provides an alternative source of blood sugar in our body in normal cases but if a person is consuming alcohol then his liver is busy with the metabolism of alcohol. In such cases if body has low sugar levels it will not get any help from the liver, alcohol consumption can cause low blood sugar for as long as 24 hours or more. In diabetic patients, alcohol consumption may lead to some serious complications like nerve damage and eye diseases, but if your glucose levels are under control then occasional drinks are fine, but if you take insulin or other medications then you should never drink alcoholic beverages on an empty stomach to prevent hypoglycemia. Low-calorie beverages having low carbohydrates as compared to alcoholic drinks and sugar-free mixers like club soda, diet soda, or seltzer will not raise glucose levels in blood, thus they can be used as an alternative. Patients should monitor their blood sugar levels before going to bed if they are consuming alcohol because it can lower blood sugar levels. If it is low then you should have a snack before going to bed
Menstruation and menopause:
The hormone levels fluctuate a week before and during menstruation, which may lead to significant fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Patients should keep tracking their blood sugar levels every month and the blood sugar variation must be adjusted by changes in meal plans, physical activities and medication. When older women having diabetes are approaching menopause they should keep checking their blood sugar levels, because sometimes low blood sugar levels can be related to the symptoms of menopause. Some oral contraceptives can also increase blood sugar levels, however, most birth controls have no impact on blood sugar levels. In both of these cases, patients must consult a doctor about monitoring their blood sugar levels more often.
Stress
Prolonged stress can result in serious health consequences, hormone fluctuation during this time can result in an increase in blood sugar level. Moreover, if you are having chronic stress then it would be difficult to follow your diabetes management plan. Patients should always seek professional help in order to cope with the stress and identify the problems that cause these problems. If you make a log of blood glucose levels every time when you are stressed out you may find a pattern, these patterns can help in fighting back by learning to relax and doing exercises to relax maybe finding some hobbies can always help.
