Diabetic Home Care and Monitoring (cont.)
Exercise therapy
Regular aerobic exercise improves blood circulation and lowers blood glucose levels.
Exercise also strengthens the heart and helps maintain an ideal body weight. The
chosen aerobic exercise should use large muscle
groups. Running, walking,
biking, and swimming are
excellent activities for most people. The frequency, type,
and duration of exercise depend on the individual's age,
treatment goals, and physical ability. An exercise program
should be designed with the help of a healthcare provider.
Exercise increases or decreases blood glucose levels
depending on the concentration of glucose and insulin in
the blood at the time of the exercise. If blood glucose is
low or normal, exercise may cause hypoglycemia (low blood
glucose) due to the utilization of glucose by the active
muscles. On the other hand, exercise may cause
hyperglycemia (high blood glucose)
if there isn't enough insulin to allow the active muscles to utilize blood
glucose. As a result, the muscles signal the body to produce more glucose, and
the glucose accumulates in the blood. Therefore, food intake and insulin doses should be
adjusted based on the intensity and duration of the
anticipated exercise.
Diet therapy
Diet is another very important part of the
management of diabetes. Some adult onset (non–insulin
dependent or type 2) diabetics can be controlled with diet
and exercise alone. The right diet can help control blood
glucose levels, reduce blood cholesterol, maintain an ideal
body weight, and delay the complications of diabetes. Like
exercise, diet therapy is tailored for each person. A
successful diet should ideally take into consideration the
person's ethnic background, financial situation, and
lifestyle. It also should be simple since it may be more
difficult to stick to diet plans with complex food
exchanges.
Diabetics are often advised to use
alternative
("artificial") sweeteners. Sweeteners are either nutritive
or non–nutritive. Nutritive sweeteners such as sorbitol and
fructose provide calories but may not raise blood glucose
levels as much as regular sugar. Non–nutritive sweeteners
such as saccharin and aspartame do not contain calories.
Both types of sweeteners are acceptable, but the caloric content of the
nutritive sweeteners should be considered when calculating the daily intake of
calories. In addition, large quantities of sorbitol can cause diarrhea, and
fructose may contribute to some of the complications of
diabetes.
Next: Diet therapy (diabetic diet) »
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