<p></p><h3>Live Healthier With Your Diabetes</h3><p></p>

Diabetes is a common illness that can affect men and women, boys and girls, right around the world. For centuries, diabetes was regarded as one of a dreaded disease, but modern medicine allows patients to live full, vital lives in spite of the condition.

If you want to control your diabetes and keep it from controlling you, the first step is to learn as much as you can about the disease. Once diagnosed, it's your responsibility to seek out as much information as you can from trusted resources, and educate yourself to the best of your ability.

Having diabetes means staying in close contact with your doctor. You need to see him or her regularly to ensure that your current treatment regime is being properly administered, and is working effectively. Diabetes can cause physical and neurological deterioration in other areas of the body, so it is important to have regular physical checkups to rule out other possible complications.

Performing a regular glucose level check is the best way to control diabetes. Your clinic nurse or doctor will explain how often you should perform these tests. Follow the schedule as closely as possible, and be sure to take all of your medications as prescribed.

There is a definite correlation between a healthy lifestyle and a successful existence with diabetes. Proper exercise and a healthy diet are very important factors in controlling diabetes. Work with your doctor to set out a dietary plan that you can live with, and do your best to follow it, especially during the early stages of your treatment regime. You can perform your own dietary investigations, but under no circumstances should you abandon your doctor's advice. Monitor your activities and your food choices, and note any increases or decreases in your glucose levels. Discuss these changes with your doctor.

As with many illnesses, you'll find good advice and bad advice. There are conflicting opinions in several areas of diabetes control and treatment. One such area that's under great debate is the effect of fats and carbohydrates on diabetes. Even doctors are divided into several different areas of thought. There are only theories at this point, and no medical or scientific evidence on the effects of carbs and fats in the diabetic diet. Go ahead and read what you can about these theories, but continue to follow the advice of your doctor. Use the guidelines you've been given and explore alternatives with caution. Any dietary experimentation must be done on the advice of a medical professional.

If you suffer from diabetes, restrict or avoid your alcohol intake. Alcohol is known to aggravate the illness, so try to limit it to small amounts with meals. If you suffer with Type 2 diabetes, try to avoid alcohol altogether, as it can have adverse reactions with taken with many Type 2 diabetes prescription medications.

High stress levels will also make diabetes worse. Try introducing relaxation techniques into your everyday routine to increase your overall well being. Stress increases many different hormone levels in your body, including adrenaline. The hormone adrenaline prepares the body for fight or flight, and an important part of these preparations is the release of glucose from the muscles and liver. This glucose is used as immediate energy. What your body cannot understand is that modern day stress levels are not usually induced by a physical threat, so these high levels of glucose are not required. As a result, high stress plays havoc with glucose levels and can make it almost impossible to control diabetes. For this reason, it's essential that people with diabetes learn how to relax and reduce the stress in their daily lives.

The most direct way to control your diabetes is by controlling your diet. Understand which foods affect your condition, and be in control of what you eat. You may feel as though you're making sacrifices, but your good health is definitely worth the effort. There are many ways to prepare delicious foods that fit in with your diabetes lifestyle. See the website cldia.allrecipes.com for main courses, beverages, appetizers, and desserts that you can enjoy, guilt-free.

Taking steps to control your diabetes can be as easy as making a few lifestyle changes. Eat right, keep your stress levels down, and follow your doctor's advice. Your body, mind and spirit will all be better for it.

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Aldrich Cusens contributes to a variety of web sites, on family health and health news topics.
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