The 14th of November is World Diabetes Day, dedicated to the awareness of a disease that currently affects 537 million people worldwide. According to the International Diabetes Foundation, over 4.5 million South Africans are diabetic – and many more live with the condition but are undiagnosed.
Diabetes occurs either when the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin, or when the body doesn’t respond properly to the insulin that it does produce.
There are three main types of diabetes:
- type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children or young adults
- type 2 is usually lifestyle related and develops in adults
- gestational diabetes develops temporarily during pregnancy
Unfortunately there’s no such thing as ‘mild’ diabetes – it’s a chronic condition that requires lifelong management to prevent complications such as blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks and lower limb amputation. However, if it’s properly managed through lifestyle and/or medication, having the disease doesn’t have to mean you can’t live a normal life. For those living with – or just diagnosed with – one of these three types of diabetes, what kind of lifestyle changes would they need to make?
- They’ll need to watch their diet
One of the most important lifestyle adjustments for diabetics is to eat a healthy diet. Particularly in type 2 diabetics, losing weight can have a hugely positive effect on keeping blood sugar levels under control. There are hugely differing opinions on what a healthy diet means, but a good rule of thumb is to eat plenty of whole foods that are unprocessed, including vegetables, good quality protein (whether that’s meat protein or plant-based protein such as lentils or nuts) and low GI starches such as sweet potatoes and brown rice that are high in fibre. Healthy fats such as olive oil or full fat dairy should also be included. At the same time, it’s also important to limit the intake of sugar and refined carbohydrates which can negatively affect blood sugar levels.
- They’ll need to exercise
Even for non-diabetics, the benefits of exercise are now well known in helping everything from lowering blood pressure and controlling weight, to reducing stress and boosting the immune system. For diabetics, engaging in regular exercise is vital in controlling the disease – besides affecting blood sugar levels, it can also boost your body’s sensitivity to insulin. While the exercise you do doesn’t have to be strenuous, it should be done regularly, even if it’s walking daily, or doing low impact exercises such as swimming and yoga. The one caveat here is that diabetics need to time when they exercise with when they eat and/or take insulin: generally, the best time to exercise is between one to three hours after eating. If you do take insulin, it’s also important to test your blood sugar before you exercise.
- They’ll need to take regular medication
All type 1 diabetics need to take insulin to regulate their blood sugar, and while this is not always the case with type 2 and gestational diabetes they may need to take other types of medication on a regular basis. If you’re on a medical aid, you’ll most likely be covered for medication under your scheme’s chronic disease benefit. To avoid any co-payments, be sure to use medications that are on the scheme’s formulary. If you think you may be at risk of diabetes (for example you’re overweight, or the condition runs in the family), this can be detected via a simple blood test. Some medical aids, like Fedhealth, offer a screening benefit that includes a health risk assessment to identify risk factors for diseases such as diabetes. The test for gestational diabetes is an oral glucose tolerance test that is done at around 28 weeks of pregnancy.
- They’ll need to deal with the emotions
Managing diabetes often focuses on the physical aspects mentioned above – but there is also a huge mental impact from the disease that many diabetics need to deal with. Living with a permanent and chronic illness can be isolating, and can lead to anxiety and depression. Then there’s the chance of burnout due to having to manage diabetes on a daily basis, particularly for type 1s. Thankfully there’s lots of support available these days online. In South Africa there’s Sweet Life, a community for South Africans living with diabetes, as well as various international Facebook groups such as Diabetes Strong and The Diabetic Journey.
Being diagnosed with diabetes can be overwhelming – but by educating yourself properly, you’ll learn what lifestyle changes you need to make in order to manage your disease properly. The knock-on effect of making positive lifestyle changes like eating healthily and exercising regularly is that you’ll improve your general physical and mental health at the same time, which can make living with a chronic disease that much easier to cope with.
