Are These Habits Healthy for Diabetics?
By Sara Butler
When you have diabetes (or pre-diabetes), cultivating healthy habits is important. You need to get regular exercise, watch what you eat, and keep track of your blood sugars. But what do you do when you’re doing everything you should but not seeing an improvement in your condition? That might be an indication that some of the choices you’re making aren’t as healthy as they seem. Here are some habits that could be sabotaging the management of your diabetes.
You Buy Sugar-Free Food
It sounds like a good idea to buy your favorite treats sugar-free but it’s not as good as you might think. Just because food doesn’t have sugar in it doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Sugar-free food can still have an impact on your blood sugar since it still has carbohydrates in it. The carbohydrate count for anything you eat far outweighs the amount of sugar in it. If you follow carbohydrate counts, then you should be in good hands.
Forgetting the Fat
Fat has a bad reputation but it’s important to remember it’s essential to your body. Not all fats are created equal. You should avoid saturated and trans fats but keep polyunsaturated fats in your diet. They help to protect your heart and keep you feeling fuller for longer. Add nuts, green leafy vegetables, grass fed animal products, and flaxseeds in your diet to make sure it’s well-rounded and to ensure you’re getting the fat you need.
You Skip Snacks
Snacks are an important part of keeping blood sugar steady. You can snack – you just need to be smart about it. Have only one to two snacks a day and make sure it’s something healthy, such as veggies or cheese. Don’t forget to include your snacks in your carbohydrate count for the day!
Too Much Exercise
Getting your body moving is important to help control blood sugar and help your body utilize glucose appropriately but you don’t need to push yourself to exhaustion in order to get the benefits to your health from it. Pushing too hard can cause you to burn out or worse – get injured. Make sure you build recovery days into your workout schedule.
Make sure to care for yourself appropriately when you have diabetes! If you are newly diagnosed, make sure to work with your health care providers to fully understand what you need to do. If you have had it for a while, then avoid unhealthy habits!
To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Sandy Springs, Ga.