Many people, when first diagnosed as having type-2 diabetes, are advised by their doctors of the need to modify their daily dietary habits and add exercise to their daily activities. Diabetes is a disease in which higher than normal blood sugar levels exist in the bloodstream. The blood sugars come from the foods eaten each day and some foods contain a higher amount of sugar than others.
Diet modification emphasizes the need to avoid the foods that lead to the higher than normal blood sugars that cause diabetes, especially sweet and sugar laden carbohydrate foods such as cakes, pastries, and pies or high-sugared beverage, usually referred to as soft drinks.
The Diabetic Diet
A diabetic diet routine does not require total abstinence of all sweet foods, but favors the choice of nutritious foods that are low on the glycemic index. The glycemic index is a reference guide that numerically ranks the relative times taken, after food consumption, to derive the simple sugar, glucose, by the body’s digestive system The glucose subsequently enters the bloodstream for use by the cells of the body. For more on the glycemic index, check out Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load.
For a diabetic, a special diabetic diet plan devised with the aid of registered nutritionist provides a range of food choices for the diabetic menu that meets the personal preferences and tastes of the individual. Much more on diabetes and menu planning can be found at Diabetic Menu Guide.
Exercise
Many people, newly diagnosed with diabetes, are unaccustomed to exercise in their daily routines – other than being watchers of, and not participants in, sporting events – and most newly diagnosed diabetics are also overweight.
An added daily exercise routine can be beneficial in two ways. Exercise, when accompanied by an appropriate diet and calorie intake as suggested in a diabetic diet plan, will help burn off excess weight. Secondly, the action of muscles that are involved in exercise activities requires the uptake of additional glucose from the bloodstream.
Exercise can take many forms. Involvement in actual sporting activities is not essential, even the more passive sports, golfing perhaps, about which someone described it as being “just another way to ruin a good walk”.
Another consideration is that many are not young when they learn of their diabetic condition, although in recent years it is being diagnosed earlier in life but normally more often sometime after the age of forty years. So age, added to overweight, might suggest walking, swimming, or bicycling – but it has to be more than a casual stroll in the park, better would be 30 minutes of brisk walking each day of the week if possible but at least four times a week.
There are other reasons that the implementation of exercise can be a problem for some, especially those who suffer from other ailments and age related infirmities. And sometimes the local weather conditions, perhaps too hot, too cold, or too wet, create additional obstacles.
There is no cure for diabetes, the best that can be achieved is to minimize its affects and prevent the many complications that can occur as time passes. A person with diabetes should be cared for by a doctor, but much of the day-to-day management of diabetes and the control of associated blood sugar levels is the responsibility of the individual diabetic.
A suitable dietary modification and at least some exercise, if they can be incorporated into a daily routine, can go a long way to achieving that goal.