HEALTHY LIVING

Personal solutions for everyday life.

A healthy lifestyle

SImPLE STEPS TO A HEALTHY LIfESTYLE

Eat a healthy diet

Lose weight if youre overweight

Take regular exercise

Drink alcohol in moderation

Keep your blood glucose (sugar), blood pressure and cholesterol levels as normal

as possible - follow the advice of your diabetes team

Stop smoking (smoking increases the risk of circulation problems)

Look after your teeth and maintain oral hygiene (people with diabetes are at

risk of having problems with their teeth and gums)

Also:

Have your eyes checked regularly (at least once a year) for signs of retinopathy

and other eye problems

Have your blood glucose, HbA1c, blood pressure and cholesterol checked regularly

Attend regular diabetes reviews (you should have a review at least once a year)

Your diabetes teamA diabetes team is a group of healthcare professionals with specialist knowledge

and experience of supporting people with diabetes. For example, teams may

include diabetologist / endocrinologists (hospital specialists who deal with

hormone disorders such as diabetes), family doctors, specialist diabetes nurses,

dieticians, ophthalmologists (for specialist eye care) and podiatrists (for foot care).

The advice for healthy eating is the same for people with diabetes as

for those without.

Eat regular meals based on starchy carbohydrate foods (e.g. bread, pasta,

chapatis, potatoes, rice and cereals)

Cut down on saturated fat (from meat and dairy products):

- choose lean cuts of meat and trim off visible fat

- grill, steam, microwave, boil or bake food instead of frying or roasting it

Choose low-fat dairy products (e.g. semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, diet

yoghurt, and low-fat spreads)

Eat oily fish regularly

Check food labels (a low-fat food may have more glucose than you think)

Eat more fruit and vegetables (at least five portions a day)

Cut out sugary foods such as cakes and biscuits

Use less salt - try experimenting with different herbs and spices to add flavour

Drink 1-2 litres (2-4 pints) of water a day

Healthy eating

Losing weight

If youre overweight, your body cant use insulin as well as it should, which means

that your diabetes control may not be as good as it could be.

Losing weight involves making permanent changes to what you eat and drink.

Doing more exercise can also help. Remember, small changes can make a real, long-

lasting difference.

Dont feel downhearted if your weight loss slows down as you go on - losing weight

takes time. Try to keep focused on the benefits of losing weight:

your diabetes control should improve

you may be able to take fewer tablets or inject less insulin

you may enjoy exercise more

youll feel more confident

Being more active

Taking more exercise is another step towards a

healthier lifestyle. It can be as simple as taking

the stairs instead of the lift, or walking to the

next bus stop.

Increasing the amount of exercise you do

can help you:

lose weight and keep the extra weight off

improve your diabetes control and

blood glucose level

feel more confident and improve your

sense of well-being

cope better with stress

reduce the risk of developing brittle bones.

Stopping smoking

Smoking increases your risk of having a heart attack or stroke, and doubles the risk of

illness and death. If youre pregnant, smoking can harm your baby. Its not easy to stop

smoking, but there are methods that can help you to stop - talk to your diabetes team.

Stopping smoking will save you money, and youll feel fitter and look better.

Drinking

Alcohol is not out of

bounds to people with

diabetes, but you

need to follow

some simple advice.

Life assurance

If you held life assurance before you were diagnosed with

diabetes, you do not need to declare that you have diabetes to your

insurer for that policy.

Diabetes may present problems for people looking for a new policy, including higher

premiums, because of the increased risk of poor health. The good news is that your

premium may go down as your condition stabilises.

Choose your insurance company carefully to get the best deal. Contact Diabetes UK for

more information or ask your diabetes team for advice.

Alcohol advice Alcohol can increase your risk of getting a hypo, so eat your

regular meals before you drink and when youre drinking

Some low-alcohol beers and lagers are very high in glucose

A hypo can be mistaken for drunken behaviour and vice

versa, so make sure you have identification with you if

youre drinking Test your blood glucose and have a snack before you go to

sleep - hypos can happen some time after a drinking session

Mix spirits with low-calorie drinks and try alternating alcoholic

drinks and diet soft drinks

Alcohol advice Alcohol can increase your risk of getting a hypo, so eat your

regular meals before you drink and when youre drinking

Some low-alcohol beers and lagers are very high in glucose

A hypo can be mistaken for drunken behaviour and vice

versa, so make sure you have identification with you if

youre drinking Test your blood glucose and have a snack before you go to

sleep - hypos can happen some time after a drinking session

Mix spirits with low-calorie drinks and try alternating alcoholic

drinks and diet soft drinks

Contact numbers and notesFurther information is available from Customer Care

Lilly UK AnswersLilly HousePriestley RoadBasingstokeHampshire RG24 9NL

Tel: (01256) 315000

www.lillydiabetes.co.uk/patients

Provided as a service for patient care

UKDBT01180 June 2012

Other information

Other leaflets in this series include

specific explanations of some of the

terms used here. Leaflets on blood

testing, hypos, travel, impact on sexual

health, driving and employment, illness,

and complications may be particularly

helpful for you. Ask your diabetes team

for the ones you want.