My father, who has type 2 diabetes, started eating a more plant-based diet and walks about an hour every day. Since then, he’s lost over 20lbs and lowered his hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) — average blood sugar over 3 months — to less than 7.0. Therapeutic lifestyle changes have improved my father’s health and could help you better manage your diabetes too.
Lifestyle changes like proper diet and exercise can improve blood sugar levels and help you prevent bigger problems from diabetes later on down the road.
Type 2 Diabetes Diet
What the research says
What you eat is important to overall health and can also play a role in Type 2 diabetes, so researchers perform studies to figure out how improving diet can help people with diabetes.
One study showed that people who changed their diet saw improved HbA1c, blood pressure, and HDL or good cholesterol. Blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels directly affect your risk of heart disease. In this particular study, participants who changed their diet ate a plant-based diet. These results suggest that if you have Type 2 diabetes, changing your diet can help lower your risk of heart disease.
Diet recommendations
Now the question becomes: how do you change your eating habits? Here are some suggestions you might find helpful:
- Aim to eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
- Choose nonfat dairy and lean meats — for example, skim or 1% milk instead of whole milk, and chicken or fish instead of red meat.
- Limit foods that are high in sugar, salt, and fat.
- Carbohydrates turn into sugar, so watch your carb intake and try to keep it about the same from meal to meal.
Is Alcohol, Okay?
Alcohol is risky for people with diabetes because it can lower blood sugar shortly after you drink it and for up to 24 hours afterward. Over time, drinking too much alcohol can also cause diabetes complications, such as nerve damage and eye disease. But if your diabetes is under control, your doctor may okay an occasional drink. Talk to your doctor to make sure it’s okay for you to drink alcohol in moderation.
Moderate alcohol intake is defined as no more than one drink a day for women of any age and men over 65 years old and two drinks a day for men under 65. Don’t drink alcoholic beverageson an empty stomach. If you take insulin or other diabetes medications, be sure to eat before or while you drink alcohol to prevent low blood sugar.
Family influence on diet
Family participation can improve the effectiveness of lifestyle changes that are a part of diabetes self-management. People enjoy meals together as a part of family routines and rituals, so your family’s beliefs, perceptions, and habits can affect your eating habits. Sometimes, family or others disagree with certain dietary changes, which can make it harder for you to make the improvements.
Family participation can also lead to improvements in blood sugar levels and diabetes self-management overall when you share positive health-related activities. It provides observation over changes in their clinical status or progressing complications. Finally, it enhances motivational skills for self-sufficiency, positive behaviors, and independent attitudes towards disease.
Type 2 Diabetes Exercise
Of course, in addition to dietary changes, getting some type of physical activity is key! An active lifestyle helps you manage diabetes by:
- Controlling your blood sugar levels
- Lowering your risk of heart disease
- Losing weight
- Reducing stress
And you don’t need a gym to get moving. Walking, riding a bike, or playing active video games are all forms of exercise.
Here’s a simple goal: On most days of the week, do 30 minutes of activity that makes you sweat. That adds up to the ideal amount of at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity per week. Try not to go more than 2 days straight without moving your body.
Weight Management
If you are overweight and have type 2 diabetes, managing body weight can be helpful. Studies show that modest, persistent weight loss can slow the progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes and also helps you manage type 2 diabetes if you are already diagnosed.
Modest weight loss is defined as a lasting loss of 5% of your starting body weight. This level of weight loss can help you improve blood sugar levels and could even reduce your body’s need for diabetes medications. But you would need to talk to your doctor before making any medication changes.
Sustaining weight loss can be hard. You and your healthcare provider should consider your starting body weight and how many calories per day you should eat in order to lose weight. Aim for weight loss of at least 5% of your body weight.
Summary
Overall, healthy diet and exercise determine the success of therapeutic lifestyle changes in diabetes management. Remember these tips:
- Limit sugar, salt, and fat intake.
- Talk to your doctor to make sure it’s okay for you to drink alcohol.
- Get at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity per week.
- Aim for weight loss of at least 5% of your body weight.
