Avoiding Diabetes Complications
Millions of people have been diagnosed with diabetes. The most common type of diabetes is type 2. This is the type that usually hits during adulthood whereas juvenile diabetes has an onset in children. Regardless what type diabetes you have, you need to be aware that there are serious diabetes complications if you do not take certain actions to prevent them.
It is important for you to take action immediately if you want to avoid diabetes complications. The sooner you get started on managing your diabetes and changing your lifestyle, the healthier you will be.
The first thing you want to take control of is staying on top of your blood sugar level. This means regular testing every day. The most accurate levels can be determined by checking both before and after you eat. This will tell you how well your body is handling the intake of food. It is at this time you can make adjustments to your diet.
Determine to eat healthy. This means you must stop eating foods that are high in sugar or foods that produce sugar. A close check on the levels of sugar in the blood after eating certain foods should help you determine what foods are safe for you to eat.
Diabetes Complications to Avoid
There are some serious diabetes complications which can occur if you do not stay on top of your health. Serious eye sight problems can lead to blindness. It is very important for you to have regular eye exams with dilation. This way your doctor can detect any possible problem areas and correct them before they get out of control.
Two of every three people with diabetes will die from a heart attack or stroke. This is a scary statistic but one that needs to be carefully monitored. Blood sugar levels are not the only concern when you look at this complication. Blood pressure and BMI is also a very important factor. People who are overweight are already at risk for heart attacks or strokes but when you factor in a high blood sugar your chances are greatly increased.
Another serious diabetes complication is kidney damage. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to kidney damage to the point the kidneys will no longer provide the filtering which is needed to take the toxins out of the blood. In this case the person would have to go on dialysis in order to survive. If the kidneys completely quit functioning the only way to live is dialysis or a kidney transplant. Often a person with severe diabetes is not a good candidate for transplantation.
Diabetes complications can be serious and even life threatening but there are things you can do to prevent them in most cases. Eating the right foods and getting daily exercise are two very important factors in controlling diabetes.
