Nutrition

Woman pricking finger

Why Controlling Your Blood Sugar is Important

Those recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes sometimes don’t take their doctor’s recommendations seriously. All they hear is what they can’t do.

They can’t have desserts, bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, and a host of other carbohydrates. Even some fruit is off-limits!

One 2016 study suggests convincing patients to take blood sugar-reducing medications is challenging because they don’t see immediate benefits.

Forty percent of patients said they were less likely to take medication when it would be up to 10 years to see the benefits.

The tendency is to give up thinking that high blood sugar is no big deal. Except that it is. 

Think Long-Term Health

Health experts at the University of Chicago said the first year after a diagnosis is the most crucial time for someone with diabetes.

Controlling your blood sugar that the first year will reduce your risk for complications years down the road. 

Diabetes has some serious complications like blindness, heart failure, stroke, kidney disease, and even amputation of limbs due to poor circulation.

It doesn’t have to be this way. A lack of blood sugar control for a long time changes your cells.

Your body produces less insulin and is struggling to manage glucose. This affects how your blood vessels are formed, which leads to circulation issues. 

What Do You Do?

See your diagnosis as a wake-up call for your future. Review changes to your diet and educates yourself on how to have healthy meals that also taste good. 

  1. Take your medications. It may not make sense to you know but it will in the future. 
  2. Add exercise to your routine. This is a key way to reduce blood sugar. 
  3. Take regular blood sugar level tests. 

A blood sugar machine helps check your blood sugar throughout the day. Keep notes (many machines have where you can add notes) and then you know what foods and activities affect you most. 

Getting a diabetes diagnosis may be upsetting but it doesn’t have to ruin your life. Use it as a way to start new routines and behaviors to create a healthy, better life.

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