What You Can Do To Help A Family Member Who Has DiabetesA family member who has diabetes may need your help to stay healthy, or to learn how to monitor their blood glucose level. It is also important for you to encourage your family member with diabetes to learn all they can about their disease. The first step to helping a loved one who has diabetes is to learn all you can about diabetes. There are two types of diabetes. It is important to find out which type your family member has. The two kinds of diabetes are type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is when the body does not produce any insulin. It occurs more often in children, teens and youth. Type 2 diabetes is typically diagnosed in adults. Type 2 diabetics do not produce insulin or their cells ignore the insulin in their body. Type 2 diabetes is the more common type of diabetes. A family member who has diabetes may need your help to stay healthy, or to learn how to monitor their blood glucose level. It is also important for you to encourage your family member with diabetes to learn all they can about their disease. It is important for family members to be sympathetic to the family member with diabetes. It is scary and frustrating when you are first diagnosed with diabetes. Individuals who are diagnosed with diabetes usually have to make changes in the way the eat, and in how they exercise. Having diabetes is serious and should not be taken lightly by any family member. Family members should learn the symptoms of diabetic complications so that they can recognize any signs of danger in the person with diabetes.
All family members should encourage the one with diabetes to carefully monitor their glucose level on a regular basis, to attend all doctor appointments, and to make any necessary lifestyle changes that are suggested by the doctor. These things are vital to do if you truly want to help your diabetic family member: Gain knowledge about the disease, have sympathy for the changes the person is needing to go through, be alert to signs or symptoms of diabetic complications. You can encourage healthy eating habits by eating with the diabetic individual and helping them to make wise shopping choices. Diabetics should be limiting their intake of fats and sugars and eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean meats and fish.
Encourage the individual to exercise by joining them in their exercise program. You can walk, jog, swim or dance together. Read up on diabetes at your local library and discover healthy eating and exercise habits. Diabetes and Your Health
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