Five Things You Should Make Part of Your Routine

Here are five things you should make part of your daily routine when living with diabetes:

Create a healthy diet and exercise plan:

Cut down on animal products, refined carbohydrates and sugary foods. Center your diet on eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Engaging in a regular exercise routine can help prevent prediabetes, as well as type 2 diabetes. Even if you have already been diagnosed with diabetes, exercise can help maintain better blood sugar control. Thirty minutes of moderate exercise like brisk walking can do you a lot of good.

Keep an eye on blisters, cuts and swelling:

It is especially important to take care of your feet. Wash your feet daily in lukewarm water, dry them gently and moisturize with lotion. This is a great way to keep blisters, sores, redness or swelling in check. Whenever you see a sore or cut that doesn't seem to heal on it's own contact your doctor.

Maintain good oral hygiene:

It is important to brush and floss your teeth at least twice a day, as diabetes may leave you more vulnerable to infections. Smoking and other types of tobacco should also be avoided because they can increase the risk of various diabetes complications like heart attack, stroke, liver damage and kidney disease.

Don't stress out:

When you are stressed it can be easy to abandon your usual diabetes management routine. Stress affects the proper function of the body. If left unchecked, the hormones your body produces during prolonged periods of stress could prevent your insulin from working properly. A way to avoid this is by finding ways to relax like meditation and yoga.

Carry identification on you at all times:

Make sure that you wear a tag, bracelet or anything on your person that lets others know that you have diabetes in case of an emergency. It also a good idea to keep a glucagon kit packed when you go out or go on any kind of long trip. Remember to make sure that your friends and loved ones know how to use it.

Source: Mayo Clinic