Lifestyle Modifications in Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is a growing health problem in today's world. The disease is gradually growing to affect greater number of people. As we know diabetes is more of a lifestyle disease. It is very much influenced by the way we live, the habits we inculcate and the way we deal with the various aspects of our life. Other factors that also play major role are our environment and our genetic make-up.

A lot of things have been said about lifestyle influence on the occurrence of this particular disease. Different ways of living can have different impact, some positive and some negative. More we take up healthy ideas and apply them to our daily living the healthier we shall be. Lifestyle modifications are usually the first intervention that is sought in the treatment and prevention of the disease unless there is an emergency or complication.

Lifestyle means the way of our living. There are a lot of ways that affect diabetes but some of the important ones include diet, exercise, stress and our knowledge about the disease and its treatment and prevention.

Diet- Diet in a diabetic is a very important aspect of treatment. Many aspects of this particular field are important and it has direct and indirect influence on the outcome of the disease. It is always better to work out a dietary plan for every diabetic because of individual variations. A dietician may be consulted.

1. Appropriate control on the caloric intake forms the core of dietary modifications. Foods having high carbohydrate and fat content are to be adjusted so that the intake and utilization balance each other.

2. Foods having high glycemic index are to be avoided in diabetics as it results in greater rise in blood glucose levels after their intake.

3. Foods rich in saturated fats and cholesterol should be restricted due to increased risk of atherosclerotic and coronary heart disease.

4. Foods having greater proportion of Mono- and Poly-Unsaturated Fatty Acids are helpful.

5. Antioxidants, vitamins A, C, E and minerals like selenium and zinc are also thought to be helpful so also fiber containing food substances.Food items like fruits, vegetables, fiber containing foods and fish are good for diabetics.

Exercise- Sedentary lifestyle like office work, lack of exercise are implicated as risk factors for diabetes and are also thought to be responsible for poor blood glucose control.

The American Diabetes Association recommends at least 30 minutes of exercise per day 5 days a week. Exercise benefits by increasing the sensitivity of body tissues to insulin. It also has positive effect on other co-morbid conditions that may be present like cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, obesity. It is always better to start an exercise regime after consultation with the physician as unaccustomed exercise may have adverse effects.

Stress- Stress affects the blood glucose level indirectly by increasing the release of a hormone called ACTH from the pituitary gland which augments the release of cortisol hormone from the adrenal glands. As a result control of diabetes is difficult in times of stress.

Weight loss is also an important aspect in treatment of obese Type 2 Diabetes patients as reduction in weight is known to improve insulin sensitivity.

Education of the patient is of paramount importance as better understanding is always known to improve patient compliance to treatment. Regular blood glucose level monitoring and proper methods of drug administration are also important.

Diabetes is a major cause of suffering and death in both developed and developing countries and with the growing number of diabetics it has almost become a pandemic. As it is always prevention better than cure, why not ring in healthy ways of living than to take pills or injections for diabetes.

Dev Senapati, "Lifestyle Modifications in Diabetes Mellitus.", Associated Content.