Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition that affects the way that your metabolizes the glucose in your body. It makes your body either resist the effects of insulin or it doesn’t produce enough insulin to regulate your glucose levels. Type 2 diabetes is more common in adults, however, children who are obese have an increased chance of developing this condition. Unfortunately, there is no cure for Type 2 diabetes; however, you can manage the condition through healthy eating, regular exercise, blood sugar monitoring, and diabetes medication or insulin therapy. Read on to find out what you need to know about treatment for Type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Options:
- Monitor Your Blood Sugar Regularly
- Healthy Eating
- Physical Activity
- Diabetes Medication and Insulin Therapy
Monitor Your Blood Sugar Regularly
It is very important to monitor your blood sugar levels regularly. If you are not taking diabetes medication or insulin, you can use your blood sugar levels as a way to understand how certain things like food, alcohol, exercise, illness, and medication effects your blood sugar. If you do use insulin, you would need to check your blood sugar levels multiple times each day to see if you need another dose.
Highlights:
- Insulin pumps regulate automatically
- Test strips are cheaper and more common
- Diabetics often require varying amounts of insulin
Healthy Eating
While there is no specific diet to treat diabetes, you should center your diet on a few low fat, high fiber foods. These include fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. You also need to watch what you eat. It is best to avoid animal products, sweets, and refined carbohydrates. Paying attention to the glycemic index can also help. This is a measure of how quickly food causes your blood sugar to rise. Foods that are low on the glycemic index can keep your blood sugar stable. Most of these foods are ones that are high in fiber. A nutritionist who specializes in diabetes would be able to help your plan a diet that will work for you.
Highlights:
- Fiber aids digestion for diabetics
- Low-sugar foods are vital
- Nutritionists can help build healthy diet plans
Physical Activity
Everyone needs to exercise to stay healthy, and people with type 2 diabetes require even more exercise. Physical activity can lower your blood sugar. Because of this, you should check your blood sugar level before you exercise. If you are taking diabetes medication, you should make sure that you have a snack before your workout. This will keep your blood sugar from getting too low. To keep your diabetes under control, you should start working out for 30 minutes each day, 5 days a week. For the best results, you should do a combination of aerobic exercise, such as running, biking, or using the elliptical, and strength training. Regular exercise can keep your blood sugar levels in check.
Highlights:
- Diabetes doesn’t prohibit an active lifestyle
- Lack of exercise is a diabetes risk factor
- Exercise helps regulate blood sugar naturally
Diabetes Medication and Insulin Therapy
If you cannot stay at your target blood sugar level by changing your diet and exercise regimen, you may need to start taking medication or insulin therapy. What you would need to start taking would depend on your blood sugar levels and any health issues that you may have. There are a few very common medications that prescribed.
- Metformin: This is often the first medication that a doctor will prescribe for your type 2 diabetes. It improves the sensitivity of your body tissues to insulin so that it can use the insulin more effectively. It can also lower the glucose that is produced in your liver.
- Sulfonylureas: These types of medications can help your body secrete more insulin. There are several medications in this family that your doctor could prescribe, such as glyburide, glipizide, and glimepiride.
- Meglitinides: These types of medications work in the same way that Sulfonylureas work, however, they are faster acting and the amount of time that they remain in the body is shorter. A couple of these examples include repaginide and nateglinide.
- Thiazolidinediones: These medications work the same way at metformin, however, they are not prescribed often. They can cause serious side effects so they are usually not a doctor’s first choice of treatment.
Conclusion
The most common cause of type 2 is excess weight, however, it can also be caused by genetics and environmental factors. While this condition can not be cured, it can be controlled. The more you know about controlling the disease, the better your chances are of not having any serious complications that type 2 diabetes can cause. Keeping your blood sugar levels in check is the best way stay healthy.