It is important that your dad makes the necessary lifestyle changes to help him keep diabetes at bay.
Diabetes is a serious condition bringing with it increased risk of some very unattractive complications such as cardiovascular disease, kidney problems, eye problems to name but a few.
Once you develop diabetes all you can do is manage your disease to reduce the risk of developing these complications; there is no cure. This is why your dad needs to take control now to keep diabetes away.
He should do any or preferably all of the following:
- lose any excess weight
- increase level of physical activity. Regular Low intensity aerobic exercise such as brisk walking for about an hour daily should help reduce glucose levels
- he needs to change to a healthier diet, no processed food, and particularly needs to limit not only sugar but other carbohydrates as well. Carbohydrates such as grain products, potatoes, rice particularly in white processed form are the main culprits in raising blood sugars.
The best way to learn how different foods affect his sugars is through self monitoring using a glucose meter. He should measure glucose before and two hours after each meal. He should aim for his after counts to be within 2mmol of his before. If a food causes higher two hour readings than this then he should either avoid it or have less of it in the future.
Even if he has to buy his own meter and strips it is an investment worth making. As are all the sacrifices he may have to make to avoid diabetes while he still can
Pavlos
Type 2 - Diagnosed 2009; Latest HbA1c 5,8%; Diabetes Medication: metformin 2x850mg; Other medication: Aspirin 75mg, Valsartan 80mg, Rosuvostatin 20mg, Ezetimibe 10mg; Exercise: One hour walk daily, tennis weekly, swimming when warm enough