Diabetic Care - Some Smart Tips

Diabetic Care - Some Smart Tips

An important part of living with diabetes is to care for your health, there is no cure though. But it can be managed by individuals who play an active role in the maintenance of their own health.

Some smart tips a diabetic should follow includes:

• Take your medications as prescribed by your doctor on time everyday.
• Check your blood & glucose levels regularly. This is a way to prevent complications of diabetes and stay healthy. The levels should be below 120 mg/dl before meals and 180 mg/dl after meals.
• Eat a well balanced diet that includes lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, grains and whole-wheat breads; but reduce their fat intake. Limit alcohol consumption.
• Moreover, never skip a meal because this may cause blood & sugar levels to drop. Your diet should include carbohydrates, fats (healthy fats) and lean protein. Your health care dietician provides you the meal planning guidelines. Your diet plan will not tell you the specific foods to eat, but it suggests mealtimes, food groups to select from, and amounts to eat from these food groups. A healthy diet will also reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and other serious diseases.

 

• Check your feet closely after bath and before you go to bed. Use a mirror to check the soles of your feet, Wash and dry them carefully, especially between the toes. You will need to see a doctor if you have a sore that doesn’t begin healing in couple of days. Wear shoes and socks that are the right size to protect your feet.
• Schedule regular visits to the doctor for the examination of eye and dental problems. Get regular flu shots in winter and stay physically active.
• Keep Hydrated. Drink at least 64 ounces of water everyday. Drink non-sugar, non- alcoholic, non-caffeinated fluids to stay hydrated.
• Brush and floss your teeth to avoid gum diseases. Gum diseases are   often more seen in diabetics. High cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases are also linked to gum diseases.
• Ensure you sleep adequately. The standard recommendation is to sleep between seven and eight hours a day. Go to bed at regularly the same time every night, and get up at a regular time every morning.
• Exercise regularly. Get your body moving since it will help you deal with stress, reduce your blood & glucose levels, benefit your heart, lowercholesterol and will aid in elevating your mood. Take a walk; even walking slowly is beneficial. Some exercise is always better than no exercise at all.
• You should include multivitamin in your healthy living plan. It is important that the vitamin includes antioxidants, betacarotenoids, zinc, and selenium.
• Be prepared with the phone numbers ready before the illness strikes. Consult your physician if your blood & sugar levels are consistently 50% higher than usual and if you experience symptoms of high or low blood sugar that occur two days in a row or three times in one week.

 

Caring for your health is an important part of living with diabetes. Diabetes does not have to mean the end of an active normal life. If does mean that your lifestyle will need to change to be healthier.

Balanced diet

For being healthy and strong, you must eat the right amount of food containing the right amount of each nutrient component. Such a food is balanced food. A meal in which you eat balanced food is called a balanced diet.

Balanced diet has three important qualities

• It is rich in essential quality. Such as vitamins, minerals and certain amino acids.
• It provides enough energy raw materials for growth of cells, tissues, and organs.
• it provides the energy required by the body

Nutrition and the importance of the food

Food and nutrition is necessary for the survival of organisms, because they are essential for the growth of the healthy body. Food and nutrition is also essential for creating resistance against the disease causing germs and for giving energy to the body. Activities like in take of food, digestion, absorption, metabolism and excretion together constitute nutrition. Nutrition enables us to grow well and enjoy good health.

 

Constituents of food.

Everyday, we eat varieties of small food items like wheat, rice, pulses, greens, vegetables, fruits, and milk. The nutrients, like carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, vitamins and mineral salts are present in these food items and they perfume some important functions.

Balanced diet.

A particular type of food itself does not give all required nutrients so, taking different type of diet. A nutritionally adequate diet containing proportionate proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and water are known as balanced diet. It should also contain some quantity of indigestible fiber content food to avoid constipation

  

Balanced Diet Chart

Food Stuffs	Average Man	Average Woman	Adolescent (13-15 Yrs.)	Child (5 Yrs)
Cereals (Rice, Wheat etc…	520	440	420	270
Pulses (Various Dhal-ground nuts, coconut, seeds can substitute)	50	45	45	35
Other Vegetables (Raw or Cooked)	70	40	50	50
Roots and Tubers (Potato, Sweet Potato, Yam Tapioca)	60	50	30	20
Milk	200	150	250	250
Fats and Oil	45	25	40	25
Sugar and Jaggery	35	20	45	40

 

Note : Non-vegetarians can replace pulses = 2 eggs = 50 gms meat = fish

 

Sources from Internet

Engr.Sulthan