5 Easy Ways to Control Diabetes

“Diabetes” has been an ordinary word and a common disease today. According to the IDF, the number of diabetics in the world stands at 365 million people, representing around 8.5% of the global population. National health and Morbidity survey stated that one in five adults has diabetes. Well, it’s no secret that type 2 diabetes is on the rise all around the world.

“Diabetes can strike anyone, from any walk of life”.

Diabetes Mellitus (DM), usually referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic disorders in which there is high blood sugar (blood glucose), either because the body’s cells do not respond properly to insulin or because insulin production is insufficient or both. There are 3 types of diabetes in which Type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and Gestational diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is a disorder in which the pancreas cannot longer produce insulin. It used to be called juvenile diabetes and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Type 2 diabetes, occurs when the pancreas can produce insulin, at least initially. But the body doesn’t respond to it or use it effectively. This is called insulin resistance. Over time, the ability of the pancreas to make insulin decreases. Type 2 is the most common type of diabetes. Gestational diabetes develops during pregnancy in woman. Most of the time, it goes away after the baby is born. But even if it goes away, these women and their children have a greater chance of getting diabetes later in life.

Although diabetes has no cure, you can take steps to manage your diabetes and stay healthy. Getting to know the ways to control diabetes would be efficient in overcoming blood glucose spike (hyperglycemia) or low blood glucose (hypoglycemia).  

The best way to lower sugar intake is to reduce the amount of carbohydrate. Go for alternative carb source such as whole-grain foods, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

Watching over glycemic index in foods are very much important as well. Carbohydrate is an essential part of our diets, but not all carbohydrate foods are equal. The Glycemic Index (GI) is a relative ranking of carbohydrate in foods according to how they affect blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates with a low GI value (55 or less) are more slowly digested, absorbed and metabolized and cause a lower and slower rise in blood glucose and, therefore usually, insulin levels. They are three classifications of glycemic index which is low, moderate and high. Low: 55 or less, Moderate: 56 – 69 and High: 70+

The tips are to swap high GI food with lower GI foods. If you’re a potato lover than you can swap it with sweet potatoes, or lower GI potato. Instead of choosing white breads, you can actually choose whole meal bread or grainy breads. You can even start your day with a good and healthy breakfast where you can focus replace cereals with muesli, porridge oats or granolas. Moreover legumes can be added as part of meals as well such as dried and canned beans, lentils, and chickpeas which are all low GI foods. When it comes to snacking, go for fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts and yoghurt. Avoid refined flour products like cookies, crackers and biscuits.

 When we actually spend hours sitting on the couch and watching TV, we are actually preserving all the consumed calories in us! This makes us unhealthy and also to gain weight faster. Thus, Get active! Being overweight or obese are one of the risk factors in getting diabetes. Being active makes our body to be more sensitive to insulin in a way that it helps to manage diabetes. Physical activity does also help to control blood glucose and lowers risk of heart disease and nerve damages. Moreover, exercising does help us to shed all the fats in our body, especially abdominal fat.

Where your fat is distributed also affects your diabetes risk and management. People who carry most of their fat in their belly (referred to as having an apple-shaped body) are more prone to type 2 diabetes than those with fat mostly in the thighs, hips and buttocks (having a pear-shaped body).

A woman whose waist measures more than 35 inches and a man with a 40-inch waist need to lose weight for good diabetes management regardless of what their body mass index (BMI) may be, says McLaughlin, adding that a healthy diet and regular aerobic exercise will whittle away weight in the stomach area.

Fiber aids in slower carbohydrate digestion and sugar absorption. This is because fiber-rich foods take longer to digest and thus result in an increased feeling of fullness and satiety. In addition, the more gradual absorption slows the entrance of glucose into the blood stream, thereby preventing large blood glucose and insulin spikes. There are two types of fiber that we eat may play roles, which is soluble fiber and insoluble fiber.

Soluble fiber is a soft type fiber that helps to control blood glucose (sugar) and reduces cholesterol. It presents in oat bran, oatmeal, legumes such as dried beans and lentils and fruits. As for insoluble fiber, it does not absorb or dissolve in water. It passes our digestive system in close to its original form. It may benefit to intestinal health, including a reduction in the risk and occurrence of constipation and hemorrhoids. Most of the insoluble fibers come from the bran layers of cereal grains. Thus, adding more fiber to diet can be beneficial as it is.

Following a good diet and a healthy lifestyle, help us to control diabetes. Simple lifestyle changes will improve how you feel today and help ensure a healthier future. Controlling blood sugar levels requires a lot of dedication. Don’t get too upset if your blood sugar levels appear to be beating you. Take any difficulties as a lesson to learn, and you'll soon have returned to prevail upon the battle your glucose control.

There are many common herbs and spices claimed to have blood sugar lowering properties to make them useful for people with or at high risk of type 2 diabetes. There are numbers of clinical studies that have been carried out in recent years that shows the potential links between herbal therapies and plant-based therapies with improved blood glucose control. This has led to an increase used of natural ingredients in diabetes patients to manage their condition.  The commonly used ingredients are such as garlic, cinnamon, okra, bitter melon, fenugreek, apple cider vinegar, guava, ginger, turmeric and many more.

According to NIH, algae can potentially reduce blood glucose level as well. For instance, there are 100% bio-organic algae called Crypto PPARs that had proven its effectiveness in lowering blood glucose level within the 45 minutes upon consumption. Many studies were done on PPARs-gene against diabetes, insulinaemia and insulin resistance. The study’s results showed significant association of the gene with the lowering risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus, lowering serum insulin, and greater sensitivity to insulin in overweight individuals.

Following a good diet and a healthy lifestyle, help us to control diabetes. Simple lifestyle changes will improve how you feel today and help ensure a healthier future. Controlling blood sugar levels requires a lot of dedication. Don’t get too upset if your blood sugar levels appear to be beating you. Take any difficulties as a lesson to learn, and you'll soon have returned to prevail upon the battle your glucose control.