Living with Diabetes

Brush your teeth twice a day: Diabetes and oral health are interlinked. High blood sugar can be a trigger for various gum diseases and infections. On the other hand, gum disease can make it harder to control diabetes. Over time plaque collects on the surface of your teeth, hardens to form tartar and settles on the gum line. It makes cleaning between the teeth difficult leading to painful, inflamed gums. Moreover, the glucose present in saliva also affects the health of your teeth and the tissues of your tongue, roof and the back of the mouth. So brush twice daily and floss at least once a day. Rinsing your mouth after every two hours will also help you keep your mouth healthy.

Opt for strength training: Brisk walking, aerobic exercises and yoga can go a long way in managing diabetes, but strength training can do wonders. It improves insulin sensitivity of the body and helps to control blood sugar. When you exercise with weights or other forms of resistance you work on your muscles, tire them out and burn calories. The body then uses glucose from the bloodstream to power the muscles, reducing blood sugar level. Apart from this, strength training also aids weight loss that helps to manage diabetes. However, talk to your doctor before taking up a weight training program. Check your blood sugar level before and after exercising to know if there is a dip in your sugar level.

Eat fibre rich foods: You know the basics of following a good diet if you are a diabetic – less sugar, more complex carbohydrates, etc. But giving importance to fibre is far more necessary than thinking about curbing sugar. There are studies that indicate high-fibre diets help to initiate carbohydrate metabolism, lower cholesterol level and help to control diabetes. However, it is essential to include fibre moderately in the diet along with other macro and micro nutrients. To improve your fibre intake, choose whole fruits over fruit juices. Eat more legumes like rajma, chickpeas and black-eyed peas over the split moong and masoor dals. Leafy green vegetables, oatmeal, multigrain bread, are few foods that are rich in fibre.

Choose shoes wisely: One simple thing that you can do to save your feet from the perils of the condition is to get shoes with big toe boxes or the ones that fit you snugly and is comfortable. Blisters, sores or friction can be hard on your feet and make way for infections if you are bruised that would need a lot of attention and care. Remember with diabetes problems like gangrene and diabetic foot is common. Closed shoes can put more pressure on your feet and hurt them. Another way to protect your feet is to wear socks to reduce friction. Here are eight foot care tips every diabetic must follow.
Manage stress: We always talk about practising yoga, meditating, going for a run, walking with your pet, reading a book, cooking or doing whatever that helps you control daily stress. However, you can download apps that will help you keep a tab on your stress levels Hormonal imbalances that happen due to acute or chronic stress can affect your health in many ways. One way it increases the blood sugar level that is dangerous for a diabetic. It can also trigger obesity and increase blood pressure that can harm your heart. So close your eyes and breath to kill stress before it kills you. more