Diabetes at Home Strategies

There are two main types of diabetes—type 1 and type 2—and how you manage your diabetes depends on your type and the guidance of medical professionals. We all need glucose for energy, which is produced from the breakdown of foods in the digestive system and enters our bloodstream. The pancreas produces a hormone that allows the glucose in our blood to enter our cells, but this doesn’t work properly in people living with diabetes.
Diabetes UK have a really useful guide to store cupboard essentials that will help someone with diabetes have all the ingredients they need for making – or for your carer to make – really healthy meal choices. Useful and healthy ingredients to have in the cupboard include tinned fish such as salmon or tuna, tinned chickpeas, beans and lentils, and nuts and seeds.

If you’re struggling to eat well due to your current routine, then changing things around may give you the encouragement to make healthier choices. For instance, if you start the day well and eat healthily for breakfast and lunch but tend to lose willpower for your evening meal, eating your main meal at lunchtime may help. Or, if you’re really keen on takeaways but they contain high levels of fat and salt, you or your carer can try making alternatives. Diabetes UK has some fantastic curry recipes, for example, that are easy and affordable to make, such as chicken and lentil or aubergine and chickpea. You may also have a favourite recipe book that you’d enjoy showing to your carer. If you’re struggling, speaking to a dietician may help, or chatting to your GP or diabetes nurse.

Staying active is important whether you live with diabetes or not, as is keeping a healthy weight. “Physical exercise helps lower your blood sugar level. You should aim for at least 2.5 hours of activity a week,” says the NHS. There are various types of activity that can help, such as climbing stairs, strenuous housework, gardening, or fast walking, in fact, anything that “gets you out of breath.” Whatever your level of ability there will be some kind of activity you can take part in, whether that’s in your own home or out in the community. Your caregiver will be bale to support you to stay active, for instance accompanying you on walks or going swimming together. Some local gyms operate a GP referral scheme that can help you to access leisure facilities at a reduced price, including swimming, special supervised gym classes and gentle toning apparatus. Speak to your GP surgery to see if they offer a similar scheme in your area.

While stress doesn’t cause diabetes, “it can affect your blood sugar levels and how you look after your condition,” according to Diabetes UK. Managing your condition can obviously be a cause of stress in itself, and added to everyday worries, it can make days feel harder to handle. Not understanding exactly what is happening to your body when living with diabetes or feeling depressed because you’re not able to do things you used to will also affect your mental health, which can impact your blood sugar levels. “If you’re feeling stressed, your body releases stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline…(which) actually make it harder for insulin to work properly.”

Your family or friends may already be heavily involved in your care, helping you to eat well, remain active, or stave off loneliness and isolation. They can certainly help you to make the most of your days by encouraging you to manage your diabetes more effectively, whether that’s helping you to eat well and make appetising meals, take medication properly, or enjoy activities at home. Even if they live further away, they can still take an active part in your daily lifestyle, especially if you have a carer with you who is helping you manage your lifestyle. Because Helping Hands have been supporting people with diabetes since we were established in 1989, you and your loved ones can be confident that we will be there, even if they can’t be.

Sometimes, it can be hard to know where to turn when you recognise you need additional help at home. Who can you trust to come into your home and look after you effectively? You and your loved ones need to be sure that the company you choose is experienced, trustworthy, and regulated, which is why Helping Hands are your best option for care at home. We offer both visiting and live-in care to best suit your needs, delivered by amazing carers who put our customers first in everything they do. We also have our own team of clinical nurses who manage every complex care package that we offer. Whether you need us for a few hours a week or 24 hours a day, we’ll always offer the exceptional care you’d expect from a company fully regulated by the Care Quality Commission and the Care Inspectorate Wales.