May 6, 2003 By Jan Hawkins 4 min read

Are you a woman at risk for diabetes? You are if any of the following applies to you:

– You’re overweight.

– You get little exercise.

– You have high blood pressure.

– You developed gestational diabetes when pregnant.

– You delivered a baby that weighed more than nine pounds at birth.

– You are African American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian American or Pacific Islander.

The following has been excerpted, with permission, from Take Charge of Your Diabetes, published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes

You may have some of these warning signs of diabetes: excessive thirst; urinating a lot, often at night; occasional blurred vision; feeling tired much of the time; losing weight without trying; extremely dry skin; sores that are slow to heal; an unusually high number of infections; tingling sensation in the feet; vomiting.

Keeping a Balance

Those with diabetes must continue to maintain healthy lifestyles and stick to daily routines that involve regular exercise, good nutrition, glucose monitoring and regular visits to health care providers.

To keep your glucose at a healthy level, you need to keep a balance between what you eat and drink, how much physical activity you do and what diabetes medicines you take (as prescribed by your doctor.)

A Few Things About Food

– Eat regular meals. Your dietician may suggest you eat three meals and a snack or two every day at about the same times. Eating every four to five hours can help control blood sugar.

– Eat a variety of foods. Your body needs the nutrition from many different foods. Ask your dietician for help.

– Eat less fat. Avoid fried foods. Eat foods that are baked, broiled, grilled, boiled or steamed. Eat meats that have little fat. Choose dairy products (cheese, milk, yogurt) that have little or no fat.

– Eat less sugar. You may find that eating less sugar helps you control your blood glucose level. To eat less sugar, eat more high-fiber foods like vegetables, dried beans, fruit and oatmeal. Drink water and other drinks that have no added sugar.

– Eat fewer foods that have extra sugar, like cookies, cakes, pastries, candy, brownies and sugared breakfast cereals. Sweeten food and drinks without using sugar.

– Eat less salt. Eating less salt may help you control your blood pressure (a risk factor for diabetes). Use less salt when you prepare foods. Cut down on processed foods such as foods you buy in cans and jars, pickled foods, lunchmeats and other “cold cuts” and snack foods like chips.

– Taste your food before adding salt – you may not need to add any. And use herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor food.

– A word about drinking alcohol. Alcohol can cause health problems, especially for diabetics. It adds calories and doesn’t give your body any nutrition. Drinking alcohol may cause dangerous reactions with diabetic medications. Your blood glucose can go too low if you drink beer, wine or liquor on any empty stomach. If you want to include a drink in your food plan once in a while, ask your health care provider how to do so safely.

A Few Things About Physical Activity

It’s important to be active. Physical activity has many benefits. It can help you control your blood glucose and your weight. Physical activity can help prevent heart and blood flow problems, two very real complications of diabetes.

Start with a little. If you haven’t been doing any physical activity, talk to your health care providers before you begin. Walking, working in the yard and dancing are good ways to start. As you become stronger, you can add extra minutes to your activity. If you feel pain, slow down or stop and wait until it goes away. If the pain comes back, talk to your doctor as soon as possible.

Do some physical activity every day. It’s better to walk 10 or 20 minutes each day than one hour once a week.

Choose an activity you enjoy. Do an activity you like, and you will be more likely to stay with it. It’s also good to exercise with a family member or friend.

We’ll continue with this series next week with information on keeping track of your blood glucose and how to handle special situations such as illness and travel.