Wise Dieting Plans

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Stop Smoking

Another important health decision is to stop smoking.  While smoking doesn’t cause diabetes, it certainly can complicate it.  And it definitely causes diseases such as emphysema, cancer, heart disease, and stroke.

Smoking is highly addictive and there’s a good reason why it’s so hard to quit.  And although it’s difficult, it’s not impossible to stop smoking.  There are many methods for smoking cessation including:

• Quitting cold turkey
• Tapering off
• Nicotine replacement therapy
• Pharmaceutical help
• Smoking cessation classes/support groups

Talk with your doctor or check with a local hospital to find out about help with quitting smoking.  It may take time to be able to kick the habit, but your health will begin to improve almost immediately after quitting.

The cost of continuing to smoke goes beyond the money you spend on cigarettes (although that’s substantial, too).  It can permanently alter your health, make it difficult to live an active lifestyle, and take away precious time with family and friends.

Get the Big Picture

It’s possible to become so focused on diabetes that you forget to pay attention to the other areas of your health.  It’s important to make sure you get screened for other types of health conditions that can leave you feeling bad.

You need to make sure you get a wellness checkup at least once each year.  If you’re a woman, you also need to go to the gynecologist every year to make sure your female organs are in good health.  Sometimes a family practice doctor will take care of female exams as well.

There are several health screenings that you need to make sure get done yearly.  These will give you a picture of your overall health.  Diabetes isn’t the only disease that can affect your health – and it’s also related to problems with heart disease and stroke.

Make sure to talk to your doctor about the following health screenings each year in addition to diabetes screening:

• Cholesterol testing
• Thyroid testing
• Blood pressure
• Heart rate
• Eye exam
• CBC (complete blood count)
• Men over age XX  need PSA screening for prostate cancer (younger if you have risk factors)
• Women need a breast exam yearly and over age 40 a mammogram yearly (or younger if you have risk factors)
• Women need a Pap smear yearly (more if risk factors for cervical cancer)
• Urinalysis
• Weight and BMI check
• Stay current on vaccinations such as the flu and pneumonia shot

Taking care of your overall health will help you to know if something is changing and help prevent problems before they arise.  Diabetes goes hand in hand with other problems, so these screenings can help you to discover it earlier as well.

Related posts:

1. How to Prevent the Development of Blood Sugar Problems (Part One)
2. How to Prevent the Development of Blood Sugar Problems (Part Two)
3. How to Prevent the Development of Blood Sugar Problems (Part Three)
4. Understanding the Risk Factors for Diabetes (Part Three)
5. The Ins And Outs of Getting Tested For Diabetes (Part One)