Self Improvement
Prevention Of Diabetes
Knowing what are the risk factors involved in diabetes
is already the first step to its prevention. However, knowing is
different from doing. You may know a lot about the disease now but if
you do not use this new knowledge you garnered in order to protect
yourself from the ravages of diabetes, then that knowledge is useless.
Now, therefore, is the time for you to take action – do something.
The good news is that the most common type of diabetes, Type 2,
is easily manageable by maintaining a proper diet and exercising
regularly. The Diabetes Prevention Program, a study conducted by the
American Diabetes Association, has just been completed and the findings
showed that people with pre-diabetes (those that exhibit the risk
factors as well as increased blood sugar levels in the blood but without
the actual onset of the disease) can prevent the development of Type 2
diabetes through diet change and exercise. Proponents say that the
patients’ blood glucose levels may even return to normal as a result of
proper diet and regular exercise.
The study also showed that
medications can significantly delay the development of diabetes.
However, diet and exercise worked better in preventing the full onset of
the symptoms.
The American Diabetes Association recommends 30
minutes a day of moderate physical activity, coupled with a five to ten
percent reduction in body weight.
How do You Treat the Symptoms?
In
treating diabetes mellitus, the primary goal is to maintain the balance
of glucose levels in the blood, keeping it within normal range. By doing
this, you have a far better chance of lessening, delaying, or even
preventing the complications of the disease.
The most common
methods used for treating diabetes include the following:
1) Weight loss
2) Healthy diet
3) Regular exercise
Another option
you have, and one which is fairly common, is the intake of
glucose-lowering medications. Usually, the first line of treatment that
diabetics have is medications that are implemented orally. Their effects
vary from increasing the sensitivity of cells to insulin to blocking
glucose in the digestive tract from entering the blood and increasing
insulin production.
Sometimes, mere oral implementation of drugs
may not be enough to treat diabetes. In this instance, insulin is
needed. Insulin cannot be made into pill form, hence, it must be
injected. If your doctor has recommended insulin injections for
treatment of your diabetes, it would mean a difficult and time consuming
treatment plan that involves injecting insulin several times a day plus
frequent blood glucose monitoring. However, with proper planning, diet,
and exercise, living with diabetes is manageable.