When you have diabetes it is important to eat a healthy diet, be physically active, and losing extra pounds if you are overweight or obese or maintain your target weight if you are already there. Checking your blood sugar, taking your diabetes medicines, and seeing your medical providers on a regular basis are also a part of managing your diabetes.
This section gives you guidance on how lifestyle interventions, along with insulin therapy (for type 1 diabetes), can help control your blood sugar.
When you have diabetes, how do you stay healthy?
- Find a medical team to help you understand and control your blood sugar.
This includes medical providers such as nurses, educators, dietitians, pharmacists and doctors. Consult your team regularly, and get your questions answered. See your health care providers even when you are well, so that you stay well. - Learn about diabetes.
Everyone with diabetes needs diabetes education. Why? Because everyday activities affect your blood sugar. For example, what you eat, when you eat, how much you eat (and what you are doing at the time), all affect your blood sugar. Similarly, if you exercise, what exercise you do, how long you do it, and when you do it will also affect your blood sugar. Insulin also affects your blood sugar. The dose, the type of insulin and when it is taken in relationship to eating, exercise and resting all change your blood sugar levels. The more you know, the easier your health will be to maintain.These are just a few of the topics covered in this website curriculum, as well as in the self-care classes at UCSF’s Diabetes Teaching Center. Diabetes treatment is evolving all the time. Keeping up to date with the latest information will help you make better choices, prevent complications and get early treatment if complications do arise. - Maintain a healthy lifestyle
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle will help you control your blood sugar. Your food choices, level of activity and weight can make a critical difference in your blood sugar. - Recognize how emotions, illness and travel affect you blood sugar
Stress and any change in your daily routine can affect your blood sugar control. You need to understand how to stabilize your blood sugar when you are emotionally upset, sick or traveling. - Keep up to date with diabetes research
Diabetes treatment is evolving all the time. Keeping up to date with the latest information will help you make better choices, prevent complications and get early treatment if complications do arise.
In this section, you will learn key strategies for managing your diabetes and reasons to control your blood sugar:
- Diet and nutrition:
Choosing a balanced diet - Activity and exercise:
Starting an exercise regimen - Coping with your emotions:
The psychological aspects of living with diabetes - Tips for daily living:
What to do when you are sick or traveling - What trial research shows:
Landmark studies showing the importance of good glucose control - Managing your weight:
Tips for managing your weight