12 lifestyle tips to avoid diabetes complications

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder, characterized by hyperglycemia, resulting in disturbances in lipid, protein and electrolyte metabolism due to a lack of insulin in the pancreas. Complications can occur at any stage of diabetes and are a major cause of death, disability or severely impaired quality of life. This article will give you 12 useful tips to help you prevent diabetes complications.

The problem that is often concerned for people with diabetes is can you eat starch, how much starch should you eat, what kind of starch should you eat? So what should diabetics pay attention to when eating starch?
You do not need to completely cut carbs, energy from starch should account for 50-60% of dietary energy. Use slow-dissolving starches, providing stable energy (whole grains, legumes, nuts, vegetables, fresh fruits, ...) to prevent diabetes complications. Limiting the fruits that increase blood sugar and lead to diabetes complications in the long term such as custard apple, jackfruit, litchi, longan,.... The excessive reduction of starch leads to a lack of energy in the body, causing problems. Acute complications such as hypoglycemia with fatigue, sweating, anxiety, blurred vision, ...

Start slowly. If you're overweight, losing just a few pounds can improve your body's ability to use insulin and fight diabetes complications. This helps lower your blood sugar as well as improve blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Try to burn more calories than you take in by cutting fat and sugar from your diet.

Some common sleep problems in people with diabetes such as lethargy, difficulty falling asleep, not getting enough sleep, ... Sleeping too much or too little can increase appetite, especially especially starchy foods. That can lead to weight gain, which increases the risk of diabetes complications like heart disease, foot problems, etc. So get seven or eight hours of sleep every night. Follow these tips for a good night's sleep:
Treating sleep apnea can improve your sleep and lower blood sugar. Do not use alcoholic beverages (wine, beer, ..) and stimulants (caffeine, ...) before going to bed Do not use electronic devices before going to bed (phone, computer, television). , ...) Relax to have a comfortable mood, remove the stress of the day.

Pick anything you enjoy – walking, dancing, biking, or just stomping around while you're on the phone – do it for 30 minutes a day. Exercise can help you lower your cardiovascular risk, cholesterol and blood pressure levels, lose weight, reduce stress, and help you prevent diabetes complications.

Checking your blood sugar daily helps you fight diabetes complications (nerve pain, ...) as well as helps you know how foods and activities affect you and how your treatment plan is working. fruit or not. You can test your capillary blood sugar yourself at home by following the instructions here. The times when patients should measure capillary blood sugar are usually before meals, especially before breakfast, or an hour or two after meals.
Your doctor can help you set a target blood sugar level, the closer you are to the goal, the better you feel.

Some of the following signs show that you are experiencing stress: sleep disturbance, unmotivated, irritable, depressed, restless, anxious, headache, tired,... Stress can be causes your blood sugar to rise. Eliminate any physical or emotional stress you can to prevent diabetes complications. You can do the following things for mental well-being:
Exercise Supplement micronutrients Use essential oils, scented candles Chew gum Write down stress Spend time with members family members and friends to relieve stress Take a yoga class, practice mindfulness

Reducing salt lowers blood pressure and protects your kidneys, helping to prevent cardiovascular and kidney complications from diabetes. People with diabetes should reduce their salt intake to less than 2.3g per day or less. So how to reduce the amount of salt you eat every day? You can do the following ways to reduce salt in your daily diet:
Do not salt foods when processing Limit the use of processed foods (sausages, pate, cold cuts, ... ) Add herbs and spices instead of salt when you cook Adults 51 years of age and older and people with high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease should consult their doctor about reducing salt intake.

Cardiovascular disease is one of the serious diabetes complications, which can be life-threatening and lead to death. Always keep an eye on your cardiovascular risk by following these steps ABC:
A1C: A1C level is a measure of average blood sugar control over the last 2-3 months, should be checked regularly. at least twice a year. Your treating doctor will give you an A1C goal that you need to achieve. Blood pressure: the goal is less than 140/80 mm Hg. Cholesterol: Target: LDL less than 100 mg/dl; HDL above 40 mg/dl in men and over 50 mg/dl in women; and triglycerides less than 150 mg/dl.

Diabetes increases the risk of infection and slows down the healing process, so treat even simple cuts and scrapes quickly.
Properly clean the wound and use antibiotics and sterile dressings. See your doctor right away if your condition does not get better within a few days. Check your feet every day for blisters, cuts, sores, redness, or swelling. You should keep your feet moist to prevent cracks and wounds from occurring. Diabetic foot is a serious diabetes complication. However, if diagnosed early and treated promptly, the treatment will be less invasive and more effective.

Diabetics who smoke are twice as likely to die prematurely as non-smokers. Quitting smoking will lower your blood pressure and your risk of stroke, heart attack, nerve damage and kidney disease, as well as prevent diabetes complications. Some people can quit smoking without a specific plan, but some people need a plan and strategy to be able to quit. Be firm that you want to quit, then find support and quit smoking products. Visualize what you will achieve when you quit and set a goal to quit by a specific time.

Diet is a fundamental issue in diabetes treatment with the goal of providing adequate and balanced nutritional components to be able to achieve and maintain weight goals, achieve blood sugar and blood sugar goals. blood pressure and lipids, preventing diabetic complications.
Basic things you need to keep in mind for a sensible diet:
Use vegetables such as sweet potatoes, dark green leafy vegetables See food labels to avoid saturated fats, choose foods contain unsaturated fats like olive oil. Limit alcohol use,...

For early detection and prevention of diabetes complications, regular check-ups 2-4 times a year, if you are taking insulin, you may need to see a doctor more often, specifically you should have an annual eye exam. Check for eye, nerve, kidney damage and other complications, visit your dentist every 6 months.
In short, diabetes is a chronic disease, progressing silently and causing many dangerous complications, affecting the quality of life, even threatening the patient's life if not detected and timely treatment. However, lifestyle changes are the basic measures that can help you prevent diabetes complications, increase the effectiveness of treatment as well as bring more joy to the patient's life.
Currently, Vinmec International General Hospital offers a diabetes screening package - dyslipidemia for customers with signs of diabetes for the purpose of diagnosing and screening diseases based on tests. Quantify blood, apply oral solution test (for customers with suspicious fasting blood sugar results). ...... From there, the doctor will draw conclusions and give advice on disease prevention as well. as appropriate, scientific therapy for the patient.