We need to rethink our whole treatment strategy. Doctors have increasingly prescribed insulin and incretins over the past decade, reflecting the consensus that blood sugar levels should be kept under tight control. However, there is little evidence that strict blood sugar control prevents health problems linked with diabetes.
Potential side effects of common diabetes drugs*
Sulfonylureas: low blood sugar, upset stomach, skin rash or itching, weight gain
Biguanides/Metformin: sickness with alcohol, kidney complications, upset stomach, tiredness or dizziness, metal taste
Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors: gas, bloating and diarrhoea
Thiazolidinediones: weight gain, risk of liver disease, anaemia risk, swelling of legs or ankles,
Meglitinides: weight gain, low blood sugar
Insulin and Incretins: cause longer-term problems, such as weight gain and nausea.More dangerously, they can also cause “hypos”, when blood sugar drops too low, causing disorientation and fainting. In severe cases, people can fall into a coma.
Can prediabetes, Type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes be prevented?
Although diabetes risk factors like family history and race can’t be changed, there are other risk factors that you do have some control over. Adopting some of the healthy lifestyle habits listed below can improve these modifiable risk factors and help to decrease your chances of getting diabetes:
Eat a healthy diet, such as the Mediterranean or Dash diet. Keep a food diary and calorie count of everything you eat. Cutting 250 calories per day can help you lose ½ pound per week.
Get physically active. Aim for 30 minutes a day at least five days a week. Start slow and work up to this amount or break up these minutes into more doable 10 minute segments. Walking is great exercise.
Lose weight if you are overweight. Don’t lose weight if you are pregnant, but check with your obstetrician about healthy weight gain during your pregnancy.
Lower your stress. Learn relaxation techniques, deep breathing exercises, mindful meditation, yoga and other helpful strategies.
Limit alcohol intake. Men should drink no more than two alcoholic beverages a day; women should drink no more than one.
Get an adequate amount of sleep (typically 7 to 9 hours).
Quit smoking.
Writer Note: Relying on lifetime medication for Diabetes is not at all a remedy. Consider medication as an option you can choose for a help for a transition time. Make healthy life style habits that will reduce the risk factors
Check out what Dr. Marlene Merritt's Smart Blood Sugar plan Video has for you
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