If you’re living with diabetes, you’d know that your condition changes over time, as does some of the information and ideas for living well with diabetes. Here are a few ideas on how to live a good, healthy life with diabetes, or even prevent or delay it if you’re at risk. Whether you are a diagnosed diabetic or looking to prevent diabetes, each of these tips are equally relevant.
Eat well and eat smart! 
“What can I eat?”, “What can’t I eat?”, “How much is enough?”, “How much is too much?”, “How will this food affect my blood glucose levels?”
If you’re living with diabetes, these questions are possibly going through your mind every time you eat. Here are a couple of ideas to keep in mind when planning meals:
- Try to eat 2 serves of fruit and 3 serves of veggies EVERY day (one serve is about what you fit in the palm of your hand)
- Vegetables and or/salad should cover HALF of your plate for your main meal each day
- Eat low GI (Glycaemic Index) foods whenever you are eating any carbs. If you don’t know what we’re talking about, pop into Community Care Chemist and our staff can run through this concept with you. It’s easy to do when you know what you’re looking for
- Drink plenty of water
Exercise, Exercise, Exercise!
A healthy diet is only half of the solution. You need to be burning off the excess sugar, glucose and carbs you are eating. Currently, most healthcare professionals recommend half an hour of exercise per day to help maintain a healthy lifestyle and reduce blood glucose levels. If you’re not used to exercising, this can be a daunting idea, but don’t worry, we have lots of tips and ideas to make exercise part of your daily routine:
- 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise, 5 days a week, is the current recommendation:
Moderate exercise is more than just a stroll to the letter-box and back. The heart rate needs to be slightly raised to burn off excess blood glucose. For example, a brisk walk around the block, lifting light weights, pedaling an exercise bike (or even better: a real bike along the bike track!).
- Exercise can be done in one block of 30 minutes or broken down into smaller lots:
3 lots of 10 minutes a day
6 lots of 5 minutes a day etc.
When it’s broken down like this, it doesn’t seem as much and can be easier to keep up every day.
- Some exercise is better than no exercise. If you struggle to do 30 minutes a day, start off doing what you can, then build it up over time to the recommended amount.
- Even if you have trouble with mobility, there are plenty of other ways to exercise. We even have equipment available in store to help you exercise.
- If you have heart problems or other health conditions, always see your doctor before starting an exercise program.
Get a Medicine Checkup
When was the last time you had a checkup with your GP? I’d guess recently, if you are living with diabetes. When was the last time you had a checkup or review of your medication, by your pharmacist? Possibly never.
Pharmacists are experts in medications, and it’s always worth getting a checkup to make sure that what you’re taking is working effectively for you and that you aren’t experiencing any unwanted side effects from your medicines. We can also keep you up to date with what is available for treating and managing diabetes, whether it is the latest medications on the market, or natural medicines which may also help.
Regular self-monitoring: “Know Your Numbers”
“What number is too high?”, “What number is too low?” and “What do I do if my reading is this?” are all questions our pharmacists and diabetes educator can help you with. Getting the right machine for you is the first step, and with so many on the market, this can be a difficult task. Self-monitoring blood glucose levels is an important part of diabetes management and prevention. We have a large range of machines in store and can help you choose the best one to suit your individual needs. The next step is to know what your numbers mean, and these are different for different people, so it’s important to speak to your doctor and diabetes educator to get the latest information on what your readings should be.
Come and see us at Community Care Chemist North Geelong for all the latest on diabetes
At Community Care Chemist, we believe in a “Whole Health with Whole Heart” approach. Our pharmacists, naturopath and diabetes educator have natural medicine options which, used in conjunction with conventional medicine, diet and exercise, may help control blood glucose levels. Working on all of these areas of your diet and lifestyle will make managing your diabetes a whole lot easier, or prevent/delay the onset, if you are at risk. Come and see us at Community Care Chemist North Geelong to chat to our friendly, experienced staff about your diabetes and how to live well while managing your blood sugars.
Things to remember:
- Diabetes, with good management, may have no detrimental effects to the body
- 30 minutes of exercise, at least 5 days a week
- Have a healthy balanced diet including 2 serves of fruit and 3 serves of veggies EVERY day
- Make sure any carbs in your diet are low GI
- Know your numbers when testing your blood glucose levels