What You Need to Know About Managing Diabetes in Everyday Life
Diabetes is a chronic condition of the body when the body stops responding to the insulin hormone which results in inappropriate metabolism of carbohydrate and glucose levels in the blood. There are two types of diabetes: type 1- diabetes and type 2 diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas produces less or no insulin and in type 2 diabetes, the body is resistant to insulin. According to the WHO reports, 1.6 million deaths have occurred due to diabetes in 2021. Not to mention, numbers are increasing by each passing year. For this reason, prevention and treatment of diabetes is one of the most crucial concerns in the healthcare industry. In this blog, the management of diabetes in everyday life will be discussed by covering all areas. So, read and learn tips to managing Diabetes in everyday life.
Managing Diabetes in Everyday Life: What you need to know first
Living with Diabetes is never easy. This disease is spreading across the Globe and the data is frightening.
Diabetes: Scary Data around
In 2022, 537 million people are living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes around the world. In fact, 1 person in 5 dies with the disease. Isn’t it scary? According to diabetesatlas.org, the number of diabetes patients will increase to 645 million by 2030 and 738 million people will be affected by the year 2045. The incidence of diabetes has increased by 39% worldwide from 1990 to 2019. Therefore, it is necessary to take immediate serious actions to prevent and manage diabetes incidences.
Responsible Risk Factors for Diabetes :
Sedentary Lifestyle:
These days people are living a sedentary lifestyle where they are involved in desktop jobs for 8 to 9 hours. In their busy schedule, they could not get enough time for exercise or physical activity which leads to diabetes.
Lack of physical activity :
Our sedentary lifestyle is the major cause leading to lack of physical activity that can lead to high blood sugar levels. If we don’t walk or move, we would have a higher risk of getting diabetes.
Our Food:
We all love processed and packaged food. But do you know, how badly it is affecting our health? Indeed, ordering from Zomato, and Swiggy frequently sounds good. However, these ordered food items contain flour, refined oil with high trans fat and saturated fats, and high Sodium, and are full of additives and preservatives. Certainly, all these lead to bad health. Even our kids are getting diabetic these days. Colas, packed juices, chips, and all fast foods are simply playing with our physical and mental health as well.
Our Genetics and Family History:
Our genetics play a vital role in making us diabetic. Any person whose parents or grandparents had diabetes is at higher risk of getting affected. If you have a sibling with type 2 diabetes you are at risk.
Other Risk factors:
Moreover, age, sex, and family medical history are also risk factors. Researchers have found that having a family member with type 2 diabetes raises the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Smoking and junk foods are also risk factors for diabetes as junk foods have more fats or oils which can increase the cholesterol level in the body. However, lack of awareness and education about diabetes management are also risk factors for diabetes as many people have no idea how to manage their diabetes which leads to a worsened situation. If you are Obese, Diabetes may attack you anytime. Furthermore, people over the age of 45 years are at greater risk.
Prevention: Tips to Manage Diabetes in Everyday Life
Diabetes management refers to the combination of modification of lifestyle and cures that can support people who have diabetes to maintain their blood sugar level in a healthy range. It can be a comprehensive plan that includes changes in diet, medication, and lifestyle to control the blood sugar level in a healthy range.
Different strategies to manage diabetes in everyday life
Exercise and increased physical activity:
In everyday life, people need to get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise which can help in lowering blood glucose, cholesterol, and blood pressure.
Eating healthy food:
Maintenance of a proper diet is necessary in everyday life to manage diabetes. A balanced diet with fibre and protein is necessary to keep the blood sugar level in normal range. Certain methods have been developed to follow a proper diet in diabetes such as the diabetes plate method which indicates that half of the plate needs to be filled with vegetables. These vegetables should be non-starchy and a quarter with protein and another quarter of the plate should be carbohydrate. The grains should be only whole grains. People need to reduce the serving size of meals and snacks because too much food can lead to obesity or being overweight.
Moreover, we must plan our food to avoid unnecessary intake.
Regular monitoring of blood sugar level:
In diabetes, it is necessary to check the blood sugar level regularly to track and understand how the body is responding to the foods, medications, and exercises. Therefore, self-assessment is a must. There are several tools and apps available by which anyone can check his blood sugar level. For example, a continuous glucose monitor is a blood sugar meter that can check blood sugar levels easily and help you maintain the levels.
Taking medication:
Most patients with type 2 diabetes use prescribed medicines that are necessary to take in appropriate dosage. However, people with type 1 diabetes need insulin therapy regularly.
Management of stress:
Stress is one of the risk factors for diabetes which raises the blood sugar level by stimulating the release of hormones that can mobilize energy. This situation can lead to high blood sugar. Stress also can make it harder for people to follow a strict lifestyle or diabetes management routine. Moreover, in stress, people would like to behave unhealthily like poor eating or smoking which can increase the seriousness of diabetes.
Drink enough water:
In general, people should drink at least 8-10 glasses of water every day to stay hydrated. It also helps keep blood sugar levels normal. In case one person is taking medication and doing exercises then he needs to drink more water. For example, those people who are taking SGLT2 inhibitors need to drink up to 3 litres every day. Thus, irrespective of weather conditions, one must drink an adequate amount of water to detoxify.
Management of weight: Weight management is a very crucial part of the management of diabetes as obesity makes it difficult to maintain a normal blood sugar level.
Other healthy habits:
There is a need to control certain types of habits such as the reduction of smoking because nicotine can raise blood sugar levels. Moreover, those who are smoking also need larger doses of insulin.
These are the main guidelines everybody must know to manage diabetes in everyday life. However, the above-discussed risk factors need to be considered while managing diabetes.
Conclusion: on Managing Diabetes in Everyday Life
It can be concluded that diabetes management in everyday life is very difficult if an individual has no proper knowledge. However, It is necessary to have proper knowledge and awareness about how to follow a strict routine on a daily basis to manage diabetes. Further, one must join or team up with people who are already suffering from the disease and are willing to reverse it. However, the above guidelines are important to follow by people with diabetes to manage their blood sugar levels and help in managing diabetes in everyday life.
