Living With Diabetes Does Not Mean Just "Masking" the Symptoms...

Living with diabetes and controlling the disease (i.e. doing it successfully) requires a wholistic approach. There is no single component of a well-balanced lifestyle that we can afford to neglect.

My experience of "painful" trial and error has taught me the importance of the basic choices in the life of someone who has type 2 diabetes. This section has links to a list of issues that are common concerns (related health issues, included) of every person with diabetes.

The list of related topics includes the following in no particular order of importance:

• Physical Exercise - something that even the physically challenged can incorporate in a daily routine
• Weight control - do it successfully, even without leaving home
• A wholesome, healthy diet - and this is not even as complicated as the popular diet makers make it look
• Adequate Rest - I finally learned how to sleep my way back to health; this may have been my main weakness.

Again, it has been my experience and conviction that it is not worth trying to rank the above factors by order of importance. They are like the wheels of a car - none is a spare! Every diabetic must underscore the importance of these factors especially. Ignore any one and you do not really have control over the condition - it controls you.

Shock Habits of Most New Diabetics

After diagnosis, the initial "shock" usually drives most new diabetics into trying exercise routines, changes in diet (sometimes expensive changes), and other behaviors that are really impractical to maintain for the rest of their lives.

For me, dieting means selecting the right foods (including a good amount of complex, high-fiber carbohydrates) that my body needs. In fact, it is the same diet that everyone in my family - preteen through "whatever" - is on. In other words, a wholesome, healthy diet is for everyone and it include all necessary nutrients for optimal health.

The key to living with diabetes is to consistently practice the good habits and avoid the bad ones. It is now known how eating habits can cause the development of adult onset diabetes.

The good news for diabetics

The good news is that, since the onset and experience of the symptoms of type 2 diabetes is dependent on lifestyle behavior, there is a lot of things we can do to control (and even reverse) this condition. These articles will focus on some important considerations for living with diabetes. It might just be appropriate to begin on a light note about exercise.

The typical "profile" of most type 2 diabetics usually includes weight control issues, poor diet, and lack of rest - and these are all inter-related. Beginning with moderate exercise is a great first step since it influences weight control, rest, and ultimately the diet. Knowing and paying attention to how these factors are related to the metabolic syndrome is very important. [Note: The term "metabolic syndrome" has been used by some people to refer to the whole rance of conditions related to the factors being discussed here. It would include, hypertension, high cholesterol, etc.] Let's begin with the exersice of living with diabetes.

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