Basic Facts About DiabetesCertain subjects will become very important
to you such as nutrition, weight loss, exercise and lifestyle. Certain subjects will become very important to you such as nutrition, weight loss, exercise and lifestyle. Every newly diagnosed diabetic will need to learn how to make wise food choices and how to plan meals that will lead to better diabetic management. Nutrition: Individuals diagnosed with diabetes have the same basic nutritional requirements as everyone else. Nutrition is one factor that needs to be controlled when you are a diabetic. You can no longer eat based on desire and in any amount you want. Diabetics to remain healthy need to follow a well-balanced meal plan that includes correct amounts of certain foods that will manage your blood glucose level so that it is as close to normal (non-diabetes level) as possible. Healthy food choices include eating lots of vegetables and fruits, eating non-starchy vegetables such as spinach, carrots, broccoli and green beans. Choosing whole grain foods instead of processed grain products. Brown rice and brown spaghetti instead of white. Adding dried beans and lentils to your meals and making sure that you have fish twice a week. When making meat choices, lean meats are best and when eating turkey or chicken remove the skin. Choose non-fat dairy or non-fat yogurt and non-fat cheese. Liquid oils should be used in cooking instead of solid fats. Everyone should be more careful about portion sizes; especially those who are trying to lose weight.
Stay away from high calorie snack foods and desserts. Weight Loss: The sad fact is that 9 out of 10 individuals who have been recently diagnosed with diabetes are overweight. If you are diabetic and are overweight, losing some weight can help you to better manage your diabetes. When you decide to lose weight your first step should be to speak with your doctor. Your doctor can give you healthy guidelines to losing weight successfully. Exercise: We all should exercise on a daily basis because when we exercise we help our bodies to digest food better. Exercise is any activity that gets you up and moving. Sometimes the toughest part of exercising is taking that first step. There are different types of exercising: aerobic exercise, strength training, and flexibility exercises. Walking is an excellent exercise for anyone because it improves circulation and your mobility; it promotes weight loss and can even help you to reduce your stress level.
Lifestyle: Your lifestyle not only includes your work, home life and what you do for fun but it also includes those health habits you have acquired like if you smoke or drink, use recreational drugs etc. Your lifestyle includes your eating habits and your risks that you take such as if you drive a sports car or bungee jump. A diabetic needs to consider their lifestyle and evaluate if anything about their lifestyle is detrimental to controlling their diabetes? If there are factors about their lifestyle that may hurt their changes for controlling their diabetes such as consuming alcohol or smoking they need to seriously consider avoiding or at least cutting down these habits if they want to remain in control of their diabetes. Diabetes and Your Health
09/07/2010 |
