8 Major Ways To Fight Diabetes And Conquer Your Health
Prediabetes is a condition before diabetes, where the blood sugar of an individual is high but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. While it is inevitable to stop the progression of prediabetes to diabetes, there are many things that one can do to reduce the risk of diabetes.
Although you can't change certain factors like your genes, age, and other lifestyle habits, there are some dietary and lifestyle changes that you can adopt to reduce the risk of diabetes. Here are a few lifestyle habits that you can modify in your day-to-day routine to delay the onset of diabetes.
1. Stay Hydrated
For a prediabetic person, it is very important to stay hydrated. Dehydration and sweat occur at a high rate in such individuals, so drinking enough water can tackle the fluid that is lost as sweat.
Dehydration can also affect your appetite as well, and with a lowered appetite you'll get an increased thrust that will affect your food intake. Moreover, when a prediabetic person feels dehydrated, he must drink water, lemon juice, and other drinks that have no or very minimum amount of sugar.
2. Physical Activities
If you are a prediabetic person you must be physically active, and regular exercise is a must. Whether you are going for a morning or evening walk, or doing some light exercise at your home, you must indulge in some physical activities. You don't need to hit a gym, just some normal exercises are enough.
A lot of benefits add up to you when you do regular exercise. For example, you can lose weight, lower blood sugar, boost the sensitivity of your body toward insulin, etc.
You can aim for 15 or 20 minutes of aerobic exercise daily, such as walking, swimming, biking, or running. Apart from aerobics, you need to develop a habit of resistance exercise at least twice or thrice a week. This resistance exercise will increase your strength, ability, and balance. Remember, not to stay in a single position sitting or lying down for a longer duration, stay active and have a 1-minute walk every 30 minutes.
3. Eat Healthy Food
Eat healthy food, especially prefer to have a vegetarian diet as much as possible. Make sure to have a sufficient amount of vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates in your diet. Carbohydrates have sugar, starch, and fiber which is a source of energy for your body. Fiber-rich food is also important in a way that they help to lower your body weight and reduce the risk of diabetes.
Another benefit of fiber is the slower absorption of sugar which can reduce your blood sugar levels, which in turn reduces your cholesterol level as well. Plant-based food maintains your blood pressure and thereby helps you for good heart health.
4. Avoid Heavy Meals
It is always advised for prediabetics patients to avoid heavy meals during lunch and dinner. This doesn't mean that you need to skip your meals or breakfast but consume a sufficient amount as required.
Your body might not be able to digest too much food, as you'll probably medication as well. Your dietary goal should be to lose weight and move forward with a healthy body mass index. Eating plenty of fiber is good for your health and overall weight management. So, make a habit to avoid heavy meals and eat an appropriate portion of all elements daily.
5. Keep Insulin Always
Doctors always advise prediabetic patients to have an effective insulin handy in case of emergencies. To manage your diabetes, make sure that your insulin is safe with you, especially when you are going out somewhere. Nowadays insulin pens are available locally and are easy to use also be.
6. Quit Smoking
If you are a person who is addicted to smoking, it is strongly recommended to quit smoking immediately. When diabetes is paired with smoking, it attracts a lot of serious health issues. Heart diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, lung cancer, and a risk of early diabetes are seen in diabetes patients who smoke. Smoking not only prevents hr secretion of insulin from your body, and but also resists the absorption of insulin as well.
7. Increase Your Vitamin D Intake
Among all the vitamins, vitamin D is very important for blood sugar management. A reduced level of vitamin D can increase insulin resistance and thereby can lead to diabetes. On the other side, sufficient vitamin D can have a positive impact on blood sugar management. Good sources of vitamin D include fatty fish, liver oil, and exposure to early morning sunlight.
8. Track Your Diabetic Condition
One major factor to control your diabetic health is to track it. Have tracking devices to measure it regularly at least three times a month. You can also visit a path lab to measure your blood sugar levels.
Indeed, stopping diabetes is not possible, but if you implement these things in your life, you'll surely have some control over your diabetic health condition.
