When diet and exercise alone cannot control the ups and downs in your blood sugar, insulin may be your only option. Insulin is not a miracle cure, and even though it can help maintain your blood sugars, it is important that you do your best to ensure that your dose stays as low, instead of your doctor needing to increase it on regular intervals. Here are some ways that you can help your insulin work for you.
1. Quit Smoking
Smoking is one of the worst habits that any diabetic can have. It is not healthy for anyone, even ingredients inside vape juice, but diabetics cans suffer long term because of the effects it has on their bodies.
Studies have shown that your blood sugar can increase by 30% from the first puff of a cigarette. Your blood sugar will not begin to regulate for at least 30 minutes after the last puff. Nicotine has also been linked to diabetics developing insulin resistance, which means that your options for treatment will be dramatically reduced.
2. Eat Right
Studies have shown that one type of diabetic diet does not always work for everyone. The ideal diet for a diabetic is balancing fats, protein, and carbohydrates so that your body can make the best use of what you eat. At times, the balance may need to be adjusted to ensure that your blood glucose levels stay within normal ranges.
Since the amount of carbohydrate, fat, and protein ratios may change according to your lifestyle, you may need to visit a dietitian to ensure that you are eating right, and balancing your meals and snacks efficiently. Many insurance plans will cover the visit to a dietitian for diabetics, check with your insurance company to find out if they are one of them.
Eating the right foods isn’t always enough. You should always eat at regular intervals throughout the day. Many times, diabetics find it easier to control their blood sugar when they eat six small meals a day instead of three large meals every day.
3. Exercise Regularly
Exercise is very important to help maintain blood glucose levels. It is very important that you only exercise after meals. Studies have shown that exercising before meals can cause your blood sugar to become very high. Exercising after meals can help you maintain a better blood sugar because you are burning off the carbohydrates as energy, rather than allowing them to sit in your blood stream and raise your glucose level.
4. Lose Weight
Even though it sounds cliché, maintaining a healthy weight is essential to ensuring that your insulin will work. The less fat stores you have in your body, the easier it is for your body to remove glucose. Fat tends to hold in whatever it touches, carbohydrates are no different. This means that even if you are eating right, and following your medication plans, these extra fat stores could be at fault for increasing your blood sugar, sometimes to dangerous levels.
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