How People With Diabetes Can Maintain A Healthy Lifestyle, According To Experts

[ad_1]

Each year, 1.5 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. If you or someone you love is newly diagnosed, you are probably feeling a lot of emotions and receiving a lot of new information quickly from the doctors and your support system. You may be wondering, “What do I do now?” and “How am I supposed to keep track of everything? “ The good news is, you are not alone. In 2018, 34.2 million Americans, or 10.5% of the population, were recorded to have diabetes – and there are plenty of ways to stay on top of your healthcare needs, find vital information and advice and get support to continue living your life. .

“Getting a diagnosis of diabetes can be difficult,” says Dr. Seema Sarin, MD, director of lifestyle medicine, EHE Health. “However, this is not a terminal diagnosis. There are many ways to actively manage the disease. “

Learn more about SheKnows

Managing diabetes and making it part of your lifestyle, whether you are Type 1 or Type 2, can be overwhelming at first. Fortunately, there are tools and best practices that can help. One of these key tools is an integrated continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device. Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 2 System is the only integrated CGM system available that continuously measures glucose data every minute with customizable and optional real-time alarms^† to alert users when their blood sugar is high or low without painful scans or injections^‡ This technology is available for children (ages 4 and up) and adults with diabetes, and monitors glucose levels for up to 14 days.¹, providing trends, insights and actionable data. By having access to this type of information about your glucose level, you can be sure that you are making smart choices for your health.

We spoke with experts – doctors, people with diabetes and their caregivers – to present some of the best tips for maintaining a healthy lifestyle when you have diabetes. Here are some tips to get you started.

Be aware of your glucose levels and take your medication

Click here to read the full article.

“Managing diabetes is a balancing act. You need to balance your exercise, diet, and medication. It can be easy to put aside the importance of taking your medication regularly, but it is one of the foundational elements in helping you maintain a healthy lifestyle, which can help you understand and possibly even be able to predict trends in your glucose levels. “

– Dr Seema Sarin, MD, director of lifestyle medicine, EHE Health.

Find the right tools

“When you have diabetes, what you eat, how you nourish your body, and how you manage your levels – it’s a daily practice, vacation or not. It’s just a matter of having the tools to help you manage it. And for me, it’s definitely my Abbott FreeStyle Libre 2 System. It’s the tool I use to help me make informed decisions about my glucose level. It made me more aware and I really needed it.

– Alysse D., founder of Ready to Stare

Maintain a healthy and active lifestyle

“A healthy, active lifestyle is important for people with diabetes. My son has type 1 diabetes and staying active in sports has been a big part of his overall health. Thanks to football, he was able to train and exercise at least three to four times a week. For those who may not have the discipline to exercise daily or weekly on their own, being responsible for a friend or, in my son’s case, a team, maybe really beneficial.

Along with an active lifestyle, keeping my son healthy through his diet and wellness appointments has been crucial. We focus as much as possible on good nutrition and low-carb alternatives, understanding that he’s a kid and enjoying his favorites here and there in moderation is normal and good.

– Shalyce Tyson, Founder of ShalyceTyson.com

Manage your stress

“Take time for yourself and be aware of the stress. If you are stressed, take some time and find ways to calm yourself down. Make sure to add some sort of exercise to your routine. I love to walk on our treadmill at least once a day. Even a brisk five to ten minute walk can have tremendous benefits mentally and physically.

If you can, I recommend eating whole foods and limiting processed foods. In my experience, the type of food you eat is more important than the amount of carbohydrate in the food (as long as you know how to boluses!). The food glycemic index is definitely a useful tool in determining which foods work for you and which foods don’t. “

– Amanda R., founder of The chambray rabbit

Plan your meals and ask for help

“Make meal plans. It helps me to stay organized with my purchases. Maintain regular meal times. Set alarms on the phone for busy days when it can be easy to skip or delay. In terms of diet, I stick to the cool and green. I avoid juices. I make salad an obligatory part of every meal. I am careful not to have long intervals between meals. I minimize processed foods and avoid white flour. I shop locally and eat what’s in season. Although I love coffee, water is my drink of choice. I follow the diabetes plate method – fill half with non-starchy vegetables (salads), quarter with protein (sprouts and lentils), quarter with starchy vegetables or whole grains (Indian flatbread made with multigrain flour or millet). Depending on my calorie goals, I add a serving of fruit or dairy products (usually yogurt). I always carry almonds, walnuts, an apple, a bottle of water and my medicine in my purse.

Yes, it takes determination and discipline, but it’s not that difficult. I am part of a diabetes group where we interact regularly, share our experience and motivate each other.

– Vidya Sury, founder of Collecting Smiles

This article was created by SheKnows for Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 2 system.

Sure Abbott FreeStyle Libre 2 System:

The FreeStyle Libre 2 system includes a self-applied sensor (the size of two stacked quarters) which is the easiest glucose sensor to apply¹ and worn on the back of the upper arm, eliminating the need for painful injections to test glucose levels.^‡Easily check your glucose level with a² scan of a second instead of a finger.^‡

WARNINGS / LIMITATIONS *: The system should not be used with automated insulin dosing (AID) systems, including closed loop systems and insulin suspension systems. Remove the sensor before MRI, CT, X-ray, or diathermy treatment. Do not take large doses of vitamin C (more than 500 mg per day), as this could falsely increase your sensor readings. If you do not use the system according to the instructions for use, you may miss severe hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia and / or make a treatment decision that may result in injury. If glucose alarms and system readings do not match symptoms or expectations, use a finger-drawn blood glucose value to make diabetes treatment decisions. Consult a physician if necessary and contact Abbott toll free (855-632-8658) or visit * www.freestylelibre.us for detailed directions for use and safety information.

* For complete usage directions and safety information, learn more here.

^†Notifications will only be received when alarms are activated and the sensor is within 20 feet of the reading device

^‡Fingers are needed if your alarms and glucose readings do not match the symptoms or when you see the Check Blood Glucose in the First 12 Hours symbol.

¹Sony FreeStyle Libre 2 System user manual.

²Haak T et al. Flash Glucose Sensing Technology to Replace Blood Glucose Monitoring for the Management of Insulin-Treated Type 2 Diabetes: An Open-label Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial. Diabetes Ther. 2017; 8 (1): 55-73.

The best of SheKnows

[ad_2]

Source link