Smarter Ways To Beat Type 2 Diabetes With Diet & Lifestyle Changes
Contributing Writer – Jorge Gonzales
Type 2 Diabetes is one of the major health concerns in the world. It is a condition in which an individual’s body is unable to use insulin effectively, resulting in high sugar levels. Well, the key to treat the condition isn’t found in a pill. The best way to treat it is by making a healthier diet and lifestyle changes.
So, if you are struggling from Type 2 diabetes and want to beat it, here’s how you need to get started:
Exercise on a Daily Basis: Engaging in physical activities such as walking, running or jogging helps in pushing sugar out of blood to the cells. This eventually results in better sugar levels. Even workout involving weightlifting help to manage blood sugar levels. So, make a habit of doing exercise on a regular basis. Have a walk/jog of at least 30 minutes a day.
For men suffering from Type 2 diabetes, we recommend you to wear diabetic shoes before you kick off your workout sessions. These extra wide shoes for men are designed to improve the health of your diabetic foot by eliminating risks of skin breakdown.
Improve Your Diet: Another way to beat Type 2 Diabetes is relying on a healthy diet. A perfect diet plan for diabetics includes fruits and vegetables, fiber-rich foods, whole grains, and Magnesium and chromium-rich foods such as nuts, egg yolks, beans, high-bran cereals, broccoli, and bananas.
Stay away from starchy food items, refined carbohydrates, dairy products and anything that is high on the glycemic index (GI). Do not include fast food and sugary stuff in your meals. Try to intake more of proteins in your diet.
Ditch ‘bad’ habits: Ditch alcohol and quit smoking if you want to treat your diabetes. These habits increase adrenaline levels which eventually can shoot up the body’s sugar levels.
Keep a Check on your blood pressure: Type 2 Diabetes is often associated with high blood pressure. To control your blood pressure, exercise frequently and eat healthy. Maintaining a healthy weight is also essential to keep a check on one’s blood pressure. Control Sleep Apnea
Control Sleep Apnea: Most overweight people with diabetes also have sleep apnea. This is a condition in which their breathing will start and stop repeatedly while they are asleep. Such people are more prone to death from diabetes complications including stroke and heart attack.
So, control your sleep apnea if you are suffering from it. While a less severe case can be managed by weight loss and healthy lifestyle choices, a more severe one may need to be treated with a special device or surgery.
Have Enough Quality Sleep: Having inadequate sleep contributes to impaired glucose tolerance which eventually leads to Type 2 diabetes. So, having enough quality sleep is crucial in managing your blood sugar levels.
Adults are recommended to sleep for about 7 to 8 hours every day.
De-Stress: Talking too much stress makes sugar levels harder to control. To keep stress at bay, indulge in relaxation techniques, deep breathing exercises, meditation, yoga, and massages. Good music is also said to help people de-stress in an effective way.