National Diabetes Day

This past week was National Diabetes Day. In honor of that day, msn.com released a list of things that you can do to help prevent or improve your diabetes. Among these items were several things that we talk about regularly and also several items that are a little less known. So, let’s talk about diabetes and what you can do to make life a little easier.

First off, there is that word that so many of us dread…exercise. It has been shown in studies that just 20 minutes of exercise can reduce your HbA1C. Your HbA1C is the number that tells you what your average sugar has been over the past several months. It is a good way to gauge how you have been doing day-to-day as opposed to just an individual number each morning that can be affected by a number of things.

Second, your diet greatly affects what your HbA1C level is. By simply eating more vegetables and less sugar and processed foods, you can decrease your numbers significantly. By choosing a healthy diet, you will also be able to lose weight.

The third one that we always hear is that you should be religious about checking your blood sugar levels. If you are not checking your sugar everyday, you will not be able to know when you need to adjust your food intake. If your sugar levels are low or high, both ends can be very dangerous. In order to prevent this, careful monitoring of your sugars is necessary.

Now, for a more obscure suggestions that were presented. Cinnamon, is said to decrease your sugar levels. However, there have been studies that have shown that too much can lead to dangerously low sugar levels. In order to prevent this, if you choose to use cinnamon as a way to reduce your sugars, then you will need to carefully monitor your sugars.

The most important thing to take home about diabetes is that it is a condition that can lead to many more health conditions. So, it is important to keep your sugar under control in order to prevent these additional conditions. We offer a free book on Diabetes that can be ordered by visiting our website. If you or someone you know has diabetes, our office would be more than happy to schedule you an appointment and you can contact us at (978) 794-8406. Dr. Wachtel serves the Methuen, Reading, Dracut and Tewksbury, Massachusetts areas.