Tips to Prevent and Manage Diabetes

If you want to live life to the fullest as you age, you’ll need to practice a healthy lifestyle to prevent or manage illness and diseases like diabetes. Whether you have a history of diabetes or want to protect yourself from developing it, here are some important tips to help improve your well-being.

What is Diabetes

Diabetes is a condition that happens when blood sugar is too high. This sugar, known as glucose, comes from the carbohydrates we consume for energy that gets carried to other cells in the body by blood. Once glucose is in the bloodstream, it needs insulin to help it travel throughout the body. If the pancreas isn’t making enough insulin or the body doesn’t use it properly, glucose builds up in the bloodstream, leading to high blood sugar.

Autoimmune disease, genetic mutations, hormonal imbalance, insulin resistance, or pancreatic damage cause many types of diabetes:

• Type 1 Diabetes: An autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas for unknown reasons.
• Type 2 Diabetes: The body doesn’t make enough insulin or the cells are insulin-resistant.
• Type 3c Diabetes: When the pancreas experiences non-autoimmune damage that affects its ability to produce insulin, such as cystic fibrosis, hemochromatosis, pancreatic cancer, pancreatitis, or removing the pancreas.
• Brittle Diabetes: A form of Type 1 diabetes with frequent severe episodes of high and low blood sugar levels.
• Gestational Diabetes: A temporary diabetes during pregnancy that leads to a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes later in life.
• Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA): Like Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease that affects insulin levels, but at a slower pace.
• Maturity-onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY): An inherited genetic mutation affects how the body makes and uses insulin.
• Neonatal Diabetes: A rare form of MODY that occurs in the first six months of life that may be temporary or return years later.
• Prediabetes: The stage before Type 2 diabetes where blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not enough to be diagnosed as Type 2.

Consider Your Habits

Many bad habits will not only affect your overall health but will increase your chance of developing and worsening diabetes:

• Drinking alcohol leads to low blood sugar
• Eating lots of junk food leads to weight gain, which increases blood pressure and risk of heart disease
• Smoking increases the risk of diabetes, eye disease, heart disease, kidney disease, nerve damage, and stroke

There are many positive things you can establish in a healthy routine to manage your relationship with diabetes:

• Get adequate sleep
• Keep an eye on your feet for any blisters, cuts, injuries, or numbness, and keep them moisturized and covered
• Manage your blood pressure by reducing stress
• Monitor and log your blood sugar and cholesterol levels
• Practice good oral hygiene, as diabetes is linked to gum infections
• Take your medicine and get vaccinated to prevent illnesses

Get Your Exercise

Staying physically active helps to keep your blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol under control, so consider these fitness tips:

• Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate intense activity every week, whether that’s the recommended 30 minutes of exercise five days a week or breaking it up into smaller exercises throughout the day.
• Choose one or more aerobic exercises to engage in, such as biking, running, swimming, or walking.
• Increase your balance, bone health, strength, and ability to maintain your independence with resistance training like weightlifting and yoga.

Eat Well

Food can be a tricky area to combat diabetes, so consider these guidelines when choosing your meals:

• Avoid saturated fats that increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, such as biscuits, butter, lard, and pastries
• Balance your medicine with your meals, as certain combinations may negatively affect you
• Choose healthier carbohydrates like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains
• Choose healthier fats in foods like avocados, nuts, oily fish, and seeds
• Cut down on excess sugar found in coffee, energy drinks, juice, and tea, as well as other sweet treats
• Drink plenty of water above other beverages
• Eat less salt as it increases the chances of high blood pressure
• Find essential minerals, nutrients, and vitamins in supplements if you aren’t getting enough naturally in your food
• Increase your fiber intake with fruits, vegetables, and legumes
• Swap red and processed meat for eggs, fish, and poultry
• Watch food portions and be mindful of what and how much you snack

Visit Your Doctor

Whether you have diabetes or not, it’s important to visit the doctor over any concerns and schedule regular physical and eye exams. Your doctor will help you to be aware of your risk or level of diabetes and create a plan for going forward.

Visit your doctor if you are not diagnosed with diabetes and experience any of the following:

• A BMI higher than 25
• Blurred vision or other eye problems
• Dry and itchy skin, skin infections, mouth dryness or sores, or wounds that won’t heal
• Family history of diabetes
• Increased hunger, thirst, or difficulty eating and swallowing
• Mood swings, exhaustion, or irritability
• Previous gestational diabetes, diagnosed with prediabetes, or have HIV

Visit your doctor if you have diabetes and experience any of the following:

• Changes in your daily health, such as bloating, constipation, lightheadedness, nausea, and trouble with your vision
• High blood sugar with your blood glucose levels remaining above 240 mg/dL or 13.3 mmol/L even after fluid, food, insulin, or medicine intake
• Illness or infections that may affect your ability to heal
• Moderate to large ketones in your urine
• Numbness, pain, tingling, or weakness in the arms, feet, hands, or legs

Looking for some helpful tips on your wellness journey? Check out our ebook, Improve Your Fitness Over 60!

At Life Enriching Communities (LEC), we’re committed to ensuring patrons feel well-equipped to plan their future and age how they wish. Explore more resources on senior living or contact us today to learn more about our legacy of services and programs that bring meaning and purpose to every stage of life.