As long as you follow the ideal lifestyle for diabetics, you can not only control your blood sugar but can potentially reverse the risk of diabetes as well.
Diabetes does not have a cure. The best you can do is keep your blood sugar level under control, so as to not let the disease hinder your everyday activities. With a few changes, you can adopt the ideal lifestyle for diabetics that can help regulate your sugar. In fact, pre-diabetics can reverse their risk of type 2 diabetes as long as they diligently follow these recommendations.
The end goal of these lifestyle changes is to obtain a healthy body mass index. Obesity and diabetes aren’t just bad on their own; they can also aggravate the risk of cardiovascular diseases. With the following changes, you can not only maintain a healthy BMI but can also improve heart health.
Regular Exercise
Now is not the time to be a couch potato. If you have diabetes, then you need to get moving. Doctors recommend two and a half hours of mild exercise per week or around an hour and fifteen minutes of high-intensity physical exercise.
Your goal should be to get your heart racing and to sweat a little. Doing so will not only improve heart health but will also bring down your blood sugar level as your body utilizes the sugar during the workout.
Focus on Good Carbs
Despite popular myths, you do not need to avoid carbs altogether. Instead, you need to focus your shift toward good carbs. Avoid eating foods that are high in starch and concentrate more on whole-grain foods.
Replace white rice with brown rice or cauliflower
Replace potatoes with sweet potatoes
Switch out your regular pasta with whole grain pasta instead
Essentially, all carbs break down into glucose. It’s more about the impact that carbs have on the body. As long as what you consume has a low Glycemic Index, you should be good to go.
Replace Saturated Fat with High Fiber
Saturated fat has no place in the ideal lifestyle for diabetics as this lifestyle revolves around weight loss. Fat deposits on the abdomen significantly increase one’s insulin resistance, which is why you need to remove saturated fat from your diet and replace it with food that is high in dietary fiber.
Fiber can help slow down sugar absorption in the blood, which regulates blood sugar levels. It can help build insulin resistance besides being excellent for your metabolism.
Manage Stress
When a person is stressed or has anxiety, the brain identifies it as a threat and activates the body’s defense mechanism. As a result, you will notice a spike in your blood pressure as well as the body’s sugar levels. Constant stress makes it difficult to keep blood sugar levels under control, which is not particularly beneficial for people with diabetes. Another downside of stress is that it can also lead to heart diseases.
If you are someone with diabetes, be mindful of your stress management. Consult a doctor for some tips on how you can deal with daily anxiety. You can even undertake exercise like yoga to help calm your nerves.
Control of Alcohol Intake
According to the American Diabetes Association, women with diabetes should have no more than one drink a day, while men should limit their daily intake to two drinks. Alcohol does significantly impact your blood sugar levels, so you should make it a habit to run a blood test before and after you spend an evening at the bar.
Observing the ideal lifestyle for diabetics isn’t extremely difficult. All it takes is a little bit of self-control, some motivation, and a lot of self-love. If you care about your health, you will be able to make these changes effortlessly.