Content Sources:
[1] Ni Qing, Pang Qing, Yang Yanan, et al.Guidelines for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus in traditional Chinese medicine[J/OL].Global Chinese Medicine,1-14[2024-04-2
[2] Su Yanmei, Xie Yining, Pan Xiaolan.Correlation between hypoglycemia fear and self-management behavior and self-efficacy in patients with type 2 diabetes[J].Evidence-Based Nursing,2024,10(07):1319-1323.
[3] Hou Jinjie, Xu Rong, You Jiaxin, et al.Meta-analysis of risk factors for hypoglycemia in elderly patients with diabetes[J].Chinese Journal of Clinical Nursing,2024,16(03):133-138.
Liu Dahai is 52 years old this year, the director of an electrical appliance company, he doesn't like to smoke, he doesn't like to drink, and he also takes care of his family, and he is a good man in the eyes of others. But in his wife's opinion, Liu Dahai is a child, and he especially likes to eat sweets. The refrigerator and lockers at home are full of his favorite food. After a long time, Liu Dahai's belly was as big as a balloon.
In June 2021, the unit organized a physical examination, and Liu Dahai's fasting blood sugar was 11.2 and glycosylated hemoglobin was 8%, and he was diagnosed with type II diabetes. The doctor told Liu Dahai that diabetes is a lifelong thing, and he must take medicine on time and change bad habits to control blood sugar well. After Liu Dahai heard the news, he insisted on a healthy life, but he would be very anxious if he didn't eat sweets, and he didn't have any discomfort at present, so he completely left it behind.
In September 2021, Liu Dahai went to the hospital for a follow-up examination, and the glycosylated hemoglobin was 10%, and the fasting blood sugar was as high as 16.3, and the doctor recommended that he be admitted to the hospital to regulate his blood sugar. At first, Liu Dahai was still lying on the bed thinking that high blood sugar was not a big deal, thinking that the doctor was making a big fuss, until another patient limped in with layers of bandages on his feet and walked in with a cane. I heard the patient reply that I had a diabetic foot, and now it has ulcerated inside, and the doctor said that in order to prevent infection, I was advised to amputate my leg.
At this time, the eldest brother next door also said that his eyes were retinopathy caused by not controlling blood sugar well, and now he can't see anything clearly. Liu Dahai was taken aback, and then realized that diabetes is not only high blood sugar, but also can lead to various complications. This time, I decided to quit sweets. Sweets are high-sugar and high-fat foods, and it is difficult to ensure the stability of blood sugar after eating.
After knowing the importance of blood sugar, Liu Dahai deliberately didn't eat much for lunch that day, and only drank a little white porridge. After waiting for the nurse to measure the meal, the blood sugar was found to be 13.5, Liu Dahai was puzzled, why did he only drink porridge and have high blood sugar. The nurse told him that white porridge is quickly absorbed into the blood in the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in a sharp rise in blood sugar, and it is not recommended for diabetics to drink white porridge, and the daily diet of diabetics can refer to the glycemic index.
This indicator can reflect the degree to which the body's blood sugar rises after eating. If the glycemic index is set to 100 points, then less than 55 points are low blood sugar, 55 to 70 points are medium foods, and more than 70 points are high GI foods.
When Liu Dahai heard this, he felt that it made sense, and he immediately felt that he had found a way to lower blood sugar. After learning that rice and white porridge are high GI foods, and almost all beans and vegetables are low GI foods, I made up my mind to eat less rice and more beans and vegetables. The effect was indeed significant, and the postprandial blood sugar slowly stabilized from 13.3 to 7.3. Even the doctor praised Liu Dahai's blood sugar control well during his ward rounds, and he could be discharged from the hospital in two days.
At first, Liu Dahai will also find it very difficult, and diabetics will be particularly hungry because of the loss of glucose from the urine. But at the thought that he would go blind and even amputate, he held back. Increase the amount of vegetables and meat in your diet. After persisting for a month, Liu Dahai found that his pants always wanted to fall off, and it turned out that unconsciously, he also lost 10 pounds. Make up your mind to stick to it.
On September 15, 2022, after Liu Dahai and his wife came back from a walk after dinner, they felt very tired, so they told their wife to go back to the room to rest for a while. Liu Dahai usually snores when he sleeps, but Liu Dahai's snoring sound that day was very strange, and he made a long and high-pitched snoring sound, and soon returned to a short snoring sound, one after another. Liu Dahai's wife felt that something was very wrong, so she planned to take a look, but she didn't know if she didn't see it, and she was startled when she saw it, Liu Dahai's face was pale, and she didn't wake up no matter how she screamed. I immediately called the emergency services.
The medical staff came quickly and immediately checked Liu Dahai's general condition. When checking his pupils with a flashlight, he found that Liu Dahai's pupils had shrunk to the size of a pinpoint, and his blood sugar was 2.1. Two minutes later, Liu Dahai opened his eyes during the call, but as if he didn't know anyone. After 5 minutes, he told his wife what was wrong. His wife immediately threw herself on him and said, "Old man, you really scared me!" Because it was uncertain whether there was a cerebral infarction, the doctor recommended a brain CT.
Fortunately, the CT scan of the brain was unusual, just a false alarm. The doctor asked Liu Dahai about the reason for his coma, and after learning that Liu Dahai had been relying on eating less staple food and eating more vegetables to lower blood sugar, he shook his head again and again, and said to him: Although rice is a high sugar index, it is also an important source of energy for the human body.
Liu Dahai couldn't believe it after hearing it, this seemingly scientific method was not correct. The doctor told him solemnly: it is correct to regulate blood sugar through diet, but it is necessary to pay attention to the method. If you want to truly achieve effective postprandial blood sugar control, you should follow these three principles. This is a good way to really lose weight and lower blood sugar safely!
One is sports
One of the five troikas of diabetes is exercise, which can consume excess energy, increase the body's sensitivity to insulin, and help lower blood sugar and improve glucose tolerance. However, it is not recommended to do it on an empty stomach, as it is particularly prone to hypoglycemia. Fasting blood glucose levels greater than 16.7 mmol/L are also not recommended for exercise and can predispose to acute complications of diabetes.
If you want to lower your blood sugar after a meal, you can choose an exercise that suits you 30 minutes after a meal, such as brisk walking, playing badminton, table tennis, etc. And the longer the exercise time, the better, and the more sweating, the better. You need to exercise for 30 minutes at a time, 5 days a week.
The second is diet
Choosing the right food and controlling the amount of food you eat can stabilize your blood sugar levels. Reasonable dietary choices can try to avoid high-sugar, high-fat foods and choose low-sugar, low-fat, fiber-rich foods. When it comes to fat intake, we should avoid excessive intake of unhealthy saturated fats and trans fatty acids, which mainly come from animal foods.
In your daily diet, choose carbohydrates with a low glycemic index, such as whole grains, vegetables, and legumes, which are slower to digest and absorb, and can help maintain stable blood sugar levels. You can also eat foods rich in fiber, which can promote normal intestinal peristalsis, thereby reducing the occurrence of constipation.
The third is self-test blood sugar
Due to the long course of diabetes, patients need to know how their blood sugar changes so that they can detect problems in time. You can learn the standardized blood sugar measurement method, and after the test, you need to accurately record the detection time and blood sugar value, and you can provide it to the doctor when you need to go to the hospital for treatment, so that the doctor can better diagnose and adjust the hypoglycemic plan in time.
Although there are ways to lower blood sugar, diabetes is a lifelong thing, and it needs to be adhered to for a long time. Elderly diabetic patients should improve their awareness of self-care, change their unhealthy behaviors, maintain good lifestyle and exercise habits, monitor blood sugar on time, and take medication according to the doctor's instructions, so as to control blood sugar and avoid diabetes complications.