Tips & Hints
The internet is full of articles and information about diabetes and how to manage it. Be careful about the sources and the reputation of the information being presented and check to see if the same advice is also repeated by other sources.
Please check all information with your doctor or medical team before contemplating any changes. Please also contact us here at Diabetes Wellington if you're not sure who to talk to. Note that we are not responsible for the information published on other websites
Walking After Eating:
University of Otago research highlights the value of walking after meals as an ''important tool'' in managing type 2 diabetes. The current advice for New Zealanders with type 2 diabetes is to walk at least 30 minutes a day, but no particular time of day is suggested. The UoO study indicates that post-meal exercise is more effective (https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/short-walks-after-meals-may-prove-important-tool-in-managing-diabetes).
The research, undertaken by Dr Andrew Reynolds, as part of his PhD thesis, suggests that people managing type 2 diabetes should walk after meals to gain the greatest blood sugar-lowering benefits. Post-meal blood sugar levels throughout the day dropped an average of 12% when the participants walked for 10 minutes after meals instead of walking at other times.
Most of this effect came from the ''highly significant 22% reduction in blood sugar'' when walking after evening meals, which were the most carbohydrate heavy, and were followed by the most sedentary time, he said. Dr Reynolds, an assistant research fellow in the Otago human nutrition department, acknowledged that New Zealand faced an epidemic of type 2 diabetes, and said the findings were ''pretty encouraging'' and could help to ''break up'' sedentary behaviour.
Corresponding author Prof Jim Mann said post-meal glucose was regarded as an important target in managing type 2 diabetes, given its independent contribution to overall blood sugar control and cardiovascular risk. Prof Mann, and colleagues Dr Reynolds, Dr Bernard Venn and Associate Prof Sheila Williams, wrote that post-meal physical activity ''may avoid the need for an increased total insulin dose or additional mealtime insulin injections that might otherwise have been prescribed to lower glucose levels after eating''.
The research findings suggested current guidelines should be amended to specify post-meal activity, particularly when meals contained a substantial amount of carbohydrate, the researchers said. The researchers had earlier prescribed walking to 41 Dunedin patients with type 2 diabetes. The patients - fitted with accelerometers to measure physical activity and blood sugar measuring devices - walked for 30 minutes a day, or for 10 minutes after main meals. The findings have been published in international journal Diabetologia.
Free Batteries for CareSens Meters:
Diabetes Wellington is pleased to advise that we have free replacement batteries for CareSens meters - just pop into our Information Centre.
Replacing Your Batteries - CareSens N Replacing Your Batteries - CareSens N Pop
How to Deal With Nerve Pain If You Have Diabetes:
What to do about tingling, burning or stabbing in your feet and legs
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-deal-with-nerve-pain-if-you-have-diabetes/
Reducing Blood Pressure Lowers Risk of Complications:
This article reports on recent research that details the benefits of reducing your blood pressure on diabetes complications
