Ensuring a Better Life for the Diabetic

If you're a person afflicted with diabetes mellitus, a team approach in your treatment would be the best way to handle your affliction. Your doctor, a certified dietitian, a licensed nurse, health care professional and diabetes educator should work hand in hand to have a systematic approach in the evaluation and management of your diabetes.

Their goal is to correct your metabolic irregularity and to prevent the development of complications. Hence, they will provide you with a set of diabetes treatment guidelines which you should keep in mind to ensure good diabetes care and therapy.

Below is an example of the basic guidelines you should observe in undergoing diabetes treatment:

1. Eat nutritional foods based on the planned meal to help attain the following:nna. Blood glucose will be maintained within the targeted level.The planned diet will eliminate sugar or simple carbohydrate which has the ability to raise the blood glucose (sugar) upon ingestion.nnb. Reduce the risks of possible complications brought by unhealthy meals. The use of Glycemic Index (GI) of foods as a measurement of how each meal will raise the level of blood glucose.nnc. Ensure control over blood pressure by avoiding foods that can trigger its occurrence. nnd. Manage the levels of lipids to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.nne. Weight management to improve insulin sensitivity.

2. There should be a routine physical exercise approved by your doctor in order to:nna. Lower the level of blood glucose and cholesterol.nnb. Improve the blood.circulation.nnc. Attain the ideal weight being targeted.nnd. Liven up insulin sensitivity.nne. Strengthen the heart, bones and toning of the muscles.nnf. Unwind to get stress relief and make you feel better.

3. Take medications as scheduled, be it insulin or diabetes pills. This will work well with the planned meal and physical exercise. Improper intake of medications may damage the nerves and blood vessels which can result to heart problem, gum infection, leg and feet problems and various diseases to the eye, kidney and nerve.

4. Constant monitoring of blood glucose to equip you with the important information in managing the diabetes on a day to day basis. Also, this will reduce the complications related to diabetes. Normally, checking is done two hours after each meal, when waking up, before and after doing exercise and before going to sleep. When under insulin injection, monitoring is usually done three times a day at the least.

Based on the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the ideal blood glucose goal for people with diabetes are; 70-130 mg/dl before meal, less than 180 mg/dl two hours after each meal and less than 7.0% A1C.

However, a recent test conducted by the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes or ACCORD, showed that intensive glucose-lowering treatments resulted to more deaths when they tried this treatment to participants with type 2 diabetes with known heart disease.

5. Learn to cope up with stress and worries because they will only give rise in the blood glucose level.

Many people have difficulty in following the diabetes treatment guidelines because it will keep them away from the things they have been used to doing and still want to do in life. They tend to forget that this is not an option but a must, in order for them to live longer in this wonderful world.