Reducing the Effects of Diabetes
Diabetes can have both short-term and long-term consequences. Discipline can help you reduce both sets of consequences.
Rapid spikes or dips in blood glucose level can result in several unpleasant effects: dizziness, disorientation, muscle weakness, nausea and others. For some diabetics, it’s very difficult to prevent this from happening at some time. But there are practices that can improve the odds.
Regular and careful monitoring is a must. It’s no picnic to endure a finger prick three times a day. For those who simply can’t muster the will, it is worthwhile to look into some of the newer glucose monitoring devices that don’t require it.
Some contain tiny, powerful lasers that create a hole through which blood oozes. They produce only a mild tingling sensation. One recent device senses glucose level through the skin using an infrared beam, requiring no blood sample at all.
The goal is to keep the glucose-insulin balance as close to normal levels as possible. Non-diabetics have a fasting glucose level under about 99 mg/dL. Even after a heavy meal, when glucose may rise to over 200 mg/dL, insulin is released which brings it back down within a couple of hours. That means that keeping the glucose level right isn’t so much achieving a static number as maintaining the correct dynamic balance.
Monitoring must include periodic doctor visits. An A1C test should be taken every three months. Many tests can measure the blood glucose level at a certain time; the A1C gives an average over a several months. HbA1C (glycated hemoglobin) gives the test its name.
Hemoglobin’s role is to carry oxygen from the red blood cells to the tissues. Hemoglobin is glycated when there is extra glucose in the blood. The A1C test can give an average glucose level, because glycated hemoglobin remains.
The effects of diabetes continue over the long-term. In the past, many diabetics would suffer from kidney damage, blindness, nerve damage and ills within a decade or so of the condition’s onset. Luckily this need not occur. Modern medical knowledge enables most diabetics to lead nearly normal lives, with few ill effects.
Much of this management is disciplined exercise and diet. Many diabetics can keep their glucose-insulin balance nearly normal through diet and exercise, without medicine.
This is possible because the lowering of body fat with exercise and diet helps the body maintain a better balance on its own. Body fat affects hormone production and release and it affects how the body responds to glucose levels. There is a definite correlation between body fat and the degree of diabetes, although researchers don’t understand all the factors involved.
One part of the puzzle is role lowering body fat plays in lowering the blood pressure. Chronic hypertension (high blood pressure) is a major contributor to the cardiovascular and nerve problems experienced by some diabetics.
With care the diabetic can lead a fairly normal life. Checking the blood glucose level a few times a day can mean fewer health problems and less worry in the long-run.
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