Controlling Diabetes With Diet And Exercise: Everybody should aim to eat healthily but for people who have been diagnosed with type II diabetes a sensible healthy diet could be the difference between life as it is and life with the rigmarole of daily medication.
However because everybody’s diabetes is different there is no single diet that will suit all diabetics. All diabetic diets will have some things in common though, and because around 80% of type II diabetes is associated with being overweight or obese, these diets will all be low in fat and low in calories so that the maximum amount of weight is lost.
Weight loss reduces the degree of insulin resistance in the body tissues of a diabetic meaning that the insulin produced by the pancreas can work more effectively. Weight loss also reduces blood pressure and cholesterol levels so that the risk of cardiovascular disease is also reduced.
Many, if not all, people diagnosed with early type II diabetes will be made to see a dietician so that a meal plan can be discussed and agreed upon however research has shown that around 60% of diabetics find it hard to stick to the agreed plan.
The underlying reason for controlling the diet is so that the blood glucose levels can be kept constantly within the ‘normal’ range. For example, eating large amounts of sweets and drinking fizzy pop will cause the blood glucose levels to raise above normal and in a type II diabetic this will add to their weight problem, not reduce it.
In order to maintain a constant blood sugar level, diabetics should ideally eat approximately the same amount of food per day, with a set number of calories at around the same time of day so that blood sugar levels don’t fluctuate too much. In addition, healthy snacks should be enjoyed to stop the blood glucose levels from dropping too much in between meals. Meals should never be skipped and the day’s food should contain a mixture of whole grains, fruits, lean meat or meat substitutes i.e. Quorn, vegetables and low fat dairy products.
In conjunction with a healthy low fat diet, moderate exercise should be taken at least five times a week for around 30 minutes each session. How a diabetic person chooses to exercise will depend to some extent on their initial level of fitness i.e. obese people will not go jogging or cycling for miles at a time, and any exercise routine should only be performed after consulting a doctor. As an individual starts to lose weight then the level of physical activity can be increased accordingly but overdoing it to begin will undoubtedly lead to even bigger problems.
Millions of type II diabetes sufferers around the world successfully control there illness using a combination of healthy eating and exercise and in some cases people who have lost weight, have also lost their diabetes…for good.
