Don’t Let Diabetes Control You

By Dr. Saibal Chakravorty in Diabetes & Endocrinology Internal Medicine

Nov 12, 2022

Diabetes is a common lifestyle disease that can be prevented and controlled by making healthy lifestyle choices. It affects nearly over 11% of the Indian population today. However, it is possible that a person with diabetes can live a healthy & successful life. You would be surprised to find that some famous and successful people have it. For example, actor Amitabh Bachchan and Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram suffer from diabetes, but it has not stopped them from leading successful lives. Making small changes to your lifestyle can have a big impact on your health by controlling this disease or preventing its onset. Let’s understand its different aspects.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a condition in which our body doesn’t produce enough or properly use insulin, a hormone that helps the body convert starches, sugar, & other food into energy needed for daily life. Insulin regulates blood sugar level, without which both an extreme spike or dip in blood level sugar can be fatal. 

Who gets diabetes?

When we know where diabetes can hit, we can stop and control it better. Diabetes is of three kinds, and these kinds roughly affect different people. 

• Type-1 diabetes, previously known as insulin-dependent diabetes or Juvenile diabetes, occurs when the body produces little or no insulin. People with Type-1 diabetes need insulin every day to live. Sometimes an accident can make Type 1 diabetes turn into type 2 diabetes.
• Type-2 diabetes, which used to be called adult-onset or non-insulin-dependent diabetes, occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or doesn’t use the insulin properly. They can regulate their blood sugar levels through lifestyle changes and diet monitoring.
• During pregnancy, some women can develop gestational diabetes. It can happen when your body is unable to produce optimum levels of insulin to meet the needs of the developing baby. Gestational diabetes usually ends after the baby is born, but it may increase the risk for type-2 diabetes later in life.
• Diabetes is a hereditary disease, so if anyone in your family has it, then you might be susceptible to getting it. Race & ethnicity also affect its prevalence. Asian Indians are thrice as likely to be diabetic than other Indians. African Americans are more prone to get diabetes than Caucasians. 

Once we know who is more likely to get diabetes, we can control its onset altogether by bringing a healthier lifestyle into the picture for those in the danger zone. 

Ways to Control Diabetes

Diabetes is in no way debilitating when you decide to take matters into your hand – making healthier choices at even the micro-level every day can help immensely. Let’s look at the ways diabetes can be controlled:

• Monitor your blood sugar levels. This can be done by checking your blood sugar levels at home with a glucometer. Always remember awareness is key to prevention. 
• Eating a healthy diet. Making small changes to diet can go a long way in controlling diabetes successfully. This means eating plenty of vegetables and whole grains and strictly controlling food with a high glycaemic index. The glycaemic index measures how quickly the body processes the carbohydrates present in a food item. Foods with a high glycaemic index raise blood sugar levels more than foods with a low glycaemic index. Sticking to fruits low in glycaemic indexes like apples, citrus fruits, berries, peaches, papaya, and kiwi. Avoiding processed foods, sugary drinks, and unhealthy fats is part of it. 
• Exercise is another important way to control diabetes. Exercise helps to lower blood sugar levels and improve insulin sensitivity. Increasing your physical activity to just 30 minutes 3-4 times a week shows drastic health benefits. Exercise also releases endorphin, the mind-boosting hormone, and dopamine, the happy hormone, that beats stress – the diabetes aggravator.
• Managing your weight. Staying within a healthy weight range helps the body regulate blood sugar levels and does not stress the system.
• Managing your stress level. Stress is bad for our body and mind, but it can worsen the diabetic problem. Stress produces Cortisol, which can cause blood sugar levels to spike. Cortisol levels are at a peak in the morning and decline as the day progresses. When cortisol levels are high, blood sugar levels also tend to be high.

Conclusion

Diabetes is a manageable disease, but it requires a lifelong commitment. With the right diet, exercise, and medication, people with diabetes can live longer & healthy lives. All it needs is vigilance about diet, exercise, and medication to prevent complications.