The moment a person is declared having Diabetes, his very first reaction is..... “How can I get diabetes?
In the initial stages, he has difficulty accepting the fact that he has, unfortunately developed diabetes. Gradually with time, he comes to terms with the fact that he has to live with it lifelong. This can lead to depression among many diabetes patients as they find it difficult to cope with the demands of diabetes management. It’s like a whole new life with a new set of issues to deal with, apart from everyday life’s problems. Many patients find it overwhelming to manage diabetes as they have to see so many specialists regularly. This includes a Diabetologist who prescribes drugs/ adjusts insulin dose to control sugar, an eye specialist to prevent retinopathy, a nephrologist to detect early kidney disease, a cardiologist to prevent cardiovascular complications resulting from uncontrolled diabetes. All this only adds to the emotional and financial burden of a diabetes patient who in the end gives up all hopes to manage diabetes.
Diabetes mellitus is a lifestyle disorder which cannot be cured but can be controlled with a disciplined lifestyle and dietary habits. It’s a hormonal disorder that results when pancreas fail to produce adequate amounts of insulin or the insulin that is released is ineffective in controlling blood sugar levels due to loss of its functional capacity. Diet, medicine and exercise are the cornerstones of diabetes management. Anyone of these alone is not sufficient in controlling diabetes. Hence, one must control their food habits, increase physical activity and take medicines as prescribed by the doctor regularly to manage diabetes effectively.
When it comes to diet, many people with diabetes become depressed with the idea of limiting their diet to certain foods and excluding all their favourite foods like fried stuff, fast food and bakery products. But today, the concept of limiting one's diet in order to control diabetes has become obsolete. Many diabetes patients can now enjoy a wide range of foods and have more flexibility in their diet if they learn to balance calorie intake with expenditure. The thumb rule is to burn the calories consumed through the food by means of physical activity. If you try to stay physically active throughout the day, you are more likely to control blood sugar without restricting your diet too much. Of course, you must adopt a healthy eating schedule and must avoid irregular mealtimes and overeating. Having your favourite foods once in a while is fine as long as you do it in moderation. Do not skip any meals. By skipping meals one cannot control diabetes but can only increase the risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) which results when a person is on insulin but doesn't eat on time or doesn't eat adequately. Try to include foods which are rich sources of fibre as fibre helps in not only controlling blood sugars but also prevents weight gain by limiting the intake of calories. Fibre rich foods provide early satiety and keep one feeling full for a longer period thus controlling the amount of food one eats. Foods which provide fibre are whole grain cereals like whole wheat flour or atta, wheat bran, oats, brown rice, whole pulses, legumes, fruits and vegetables. Diabetes patients must include fruits with skin and avoid fruit juices which lack fibre and raise blood sugar levels too quickly.
Exercise is an important part of diabetes management and is often the most neglected aspect due to tight schedules and busy working hours of most people. People often complain that they do not have any time for exercise and thus get demotivated easily when blood sugars are out of control. Having a structured exercise regime is not required for controlling diabetes. If you do not have time for exercise, then you must try to change your lifestyle by doing simple things like walking more and depending less on vehicle especially for short distances. Taking stairs instead of lift and walking down to the nearby grocery store, going to parks and garden with your family for an outing instead of spending 3 long hours in a movie hall. All these changes can make a huge difference to your activity levels! Try to spend less time in front of TV and computer and go for a short walk for 15 minutes whenever you take break from work.
If you try to make small changes in your lifestyle and take your medicines regularly, you will find it easier to control your diabetes than you ever thought before. Diabetes management is in your hands more than your doctor, so take charge of your diabetes before it gets too late. Do not let diabetes control you, but control your diabetes with simple lifestyle changes.
In the initial stages, he has difficulty accepting the fact that he has, unfortunately developed diabetes. Gradually with time, he comes to terms with the fact that he has to live with it lifelong. This can lead to depression among many diabetes patients as they find it difficult to cope with the demands of diabetes management. It’s like a whole new life with a new set of issues to deal with, apart from everyday life’s problems. Many patients find it overwhelming to manage diabetes as they have to see so many specialists regularly. This includes a Diabetologist who prescribes drugs/ adjusts insulin dose to control sugar, an eye specialist to prevent retinopathy, a nephrologist to detect early kidney disease, a cardiologist to prevent cardiovascular complications resulting from uncontrolled diabetes. All this only adds to the emotional and financial burden of a diabetes patient who in the end gives up all hopes to manage diabetes.
Diabetes mellitus is a lifestyle disorder which cannot be cured but can be controlled with a disciplined lifestyle and dietary habits. It’s a hormonal disorder that results when pancreas fail to produce adequate amounts of insulin or the insulin that is released is ineffective in controlling blood sugar levels due to loss of its functional capacity. Diet, medicine and exercise are the cornerstones of diabetes management. Anyone of these alone is not sufficient in controlling diabetes. Hence, one must control their food habits, increase physical activity and take medicines as prescribed by the doctor regularly to manage diabetes effectively.
When it comes to diet, many people with diabetes become depressed with the idea of limiting their diet to certain foods and excluding all their favourite foods like fried stuff, fast food and bakery products. But today, the concept of limiting one's diet in order to control diabetes has become obsolete. Many diabetes patients can now enjoy a wide range of foods and have more flexibility in their diet if they learn to balance calorie intake with expenditure. The thumb rule is to burn the calories consumed through the food by means of physical activity. If you try to stay physically active throughout the day, you are more likely to control blood sugar without restricting your diet too much. Of course, you must adopt a healthy eating schedule and must avoid irregular mealtimes and overeating. Having your favourite foods once in a while is fine as long as you do it in moderation. Do not skip any meals. By skipping meals one cannot control diabetes but can only increase the risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) which results when a person is on insulin but doesn't eat on time or doesn't eat adequately. Try to include foods which are rich sources of fibre as fibre helps in not only controlling blood sugars but also prevents weight gain by limiting the intake of calories. Fibre rich foods provide early satiety and keep one feeling full for a longer period thus controlling the amount of food one eats. Foods which provide fibre are whole grain cereals like whole wheat flour or atta, wheat bran, oats, brown rice, whole pulses, legumes, fruits and vegetables. Diabetes patients must include fruits with skin and avoid fruit juices which lack fibre and raise blood sugar levels too quickly.
Exercise is an important part of diabetes management and is often the most neglected aspect due to tight schedules and busy working hours of most people. People often complain that they do not have any time for exercise and thus get demotivated easily when blood sugars are out of control. Having a structured exercise regime is not required for controlling diabetes. If you do not have time for exercise, then you must try to change your lifestyle by doing simple things like walking more and depending less on vehicle especially for short distances. Taking stairs instead of lift and walking down to the nearby grocery store, going to parks and garden with your family for an outing instead of spending 3 long hours in a movie hall. All these changes can make a huge difference to your activity levels! Try to spend less time in front of TV and computer and go for a short walk for 15 minutes whenever you take break from work.
If you try to make small changes in your lifestyle and take your medicines regularly, you will find it easier to control your diabetes than you ever thought before. Diabetes management is in your hands more than your doctor, so take charge of your diabetes before it gets too late. Do not let diabetes control you, but control your diabetes with simple lifestyle changes.