Diabetic? Tips to keep your blood sugar levels in check amid a pandemic

Worldwide around 422 million adults and about 85 lakh people in Bangladesh have diabetes. The disease is a significant cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, and lower limb amputation.

To control the disease, maintaining sugar levels and fitness are the most critical aspects of keeping it at bay.  

However, Covid-19 has made it harder for people with diabetes by disrupting their treatment and putting a break on walking – an essential aspect of their daily life. 

Besides, people with diabetes need to remain even more careful as they are at higher risk of contracting coronavirus infection and a lower chance of survival after re-infection.  

Professor AK Azad Khan, chairman of the Diabetes Association, told The Business Standard that "One will have to follow a controlled lifestyle as well as maintain health guidelines including maintaining social distancing and wearing masks to stay safe from Covid."

Here are some tips people with diabetes can follow to take care of their diet, exercise, and mental health during a pandemic:

Keep a check on your diet

• Maintain a balanced diet plan and follow it thoroughly.
• Eat calculated amount of calories to meet the body's requirement. This will help achieve required body weight.
• Eat high fibre foods i.e. whole grains, pulses, and all green vegetables as well as greens and vegetables. During meals, it is important to take equal quantity of grain, dal, cooked vegetables and salads.
• Eat diet which is low in glycemic index to keep blood sugar levels within desired range.
• Use filtered mustard oil, groundnut oil, rice bran oil and gingelly oil. Olive oil is best used for salads.
• Drink sufficient amount of water. 250 milliliter per 10 kg body weight.
• Sleep before 11pm. 

What type of exercises can diabetics do?

Diabetics should do more on exercise in order keep their blood sugar in check. Some of the exercises are: 

• Stair climbing — two hours after meals brings blood sugar under control rapidly (100-300 steps)
• Skipping ropes (if knees are in good shape, and weight under control)
• Walk 15-20-minute everyday. If it not possible to do outside for social distancing norms, try to do it on rooftop.  
• Minimum 30 minutes of workout should be included in daily routine. 

The pandemic has taken a huge toll on the mental health of millions of people. Hence, it is necessary to keep yourself out from all negativity and practice to stay positive.

For that, one can try breathwork and soul-mind-body healing meditation which are useful tools for dealing with stress and negativity.   

Some information of the article was taken from The Indian Express