Something To Keep In Mind Before You Start Walking
Every 21 seconds someone is diagnosed with diabetes, people with diabetes are 2 to 4 times more likely to suffer from heart disease than most. And, if you have diabetes and are depressed, you are 4 times as likely to have a heart attack.
But, there’s no need to worry…Because everybody has just what it takes to stay happy and healthy and strong. All you need is one pair of shoes.
Benefits
Walking must be undertaken regularly to have continued benefits. People who regularly exercise cut the risk of developing diabetes in half just doing regular walking.
If you have developed diabetes or any complications of diabetes, you can still dramatically slow the progression if you walk 30 minutes per day 5 days a week. Sometimes it even reverses the progression of this significant damage within the first couple of weeks of walking. You are going to notice that your blood sugar checks are dramatically lowering. You don’t require as much medication. Patients with diabetes who walk every day live much longer and have much fewer complications.
A daily half hour walk helps avoid serious heart problems by lowering high blood pressure and cholesterol levels and improving blood circulation.
Walking is an aerobic exercise. It means walking can increase oxygen flow in the bloodstream and help eliminate toxins and wastes. When you walk, you increase the volume of your lungs because of deeper breathing. You also reduce lung disease symptoms and boost your immune system.
Walking for exercise is a more effective way to prevent diabetes than running is. Walking helps improve your glucose tolerance or blood sugar absorption. The more efficient use of blood sugar, the less insulin your pancreas produce. This will in turn give your pancreas a much needed rest to gather strength.
Diabetics are more likely than non-diabetics to develop standard open angle glaucoma as well as neovascular glaucoma. Though, walking has been shown to help your eyesight and prevent you from getting glaucoma by relieving your eye pressure. This will in turn prevent you from getting vision impairment or diabetes vision loss.
Along with improving your physical health, walking can improve your psychological wellbeing and reduce your medical expenses. To top it off, walking is free and easy.
Something To Keep
In Mind…
Because the feet of a diabetic is at risk due to poor blood supply and circulation, it makes you prone to get numbness in the feet. And, then when the feet are numb, it can rub a blister that you may not even know it. This can quickly become infected which is difficult to clear an infection in diabetics. Anytime a diabetic gets a new pair of shoes, it is recommended to not wear them more than about 30 minutes. You want to slowly break them in over a period of several weeks before they get rid of their old shoes. You want to transition into your new shoes to make sure that they’re gradually worked in
In addition, you should look at your feet when you take your shoes off and take the socks off. You want to look for hot spots, redness on the skin for sores and blisters. If you see that, you need to treat them immediately. You need to lay off the walking for a little bit and reassess your shoes. Diabetics need to take foot care very seriously. You do not want to allow any minor foot problems to progress to the point where it becomes a significant ulceration or infection. It’s because that’s how you may end up having to amputate an extremity in a diabetic.
When you’re not sure if you have a foot problem, you should visit a podiatrist or foot doctor for a thorough foot examination. It is also important that you talk to your physician for your exercise approval.
Tips For Diabetes
The most essential piece of equipment for diabetics to start walking is their shoes. Diabetic shoes are shoes that have been approved by Medicare for reimbursement to diabetics. It means that these shoes meet their standards for protection of a diabetic foot. Shoes for diabetics should have extra depth and width. They come with laces or velcro for secure fastening. They’re in closed toes.
The insides of the shoes are sufficient to protect the diabetic foot, so you won’t get blisters or injuries. Diabetic shoes are constructed with a seamless inside which means that they have no sewing on the inside of shoes. Typically they’re covered with mold skin The whole purpose is to protect your foot since diabetics typically have peripheral neuropathy that causes loss of sensation in the foot. When you have peripheral neuropathy, you can’t feel pain because nerves in the foot are damaged. You want a stable platform to stand on and to avoid any future problems, such as ulcers and calluses, that could lead to amputations.
Bonus Tips
Find yourself a walking partner or join a walking program if possible.
You should always check your blood sugar level before and after exercising, especially if you’re taking insulin or blood glucose-lowering medications.
You should also drink a glass of water about one hour before start walking. Be prepared to have a snack after walking to prevent your blood sugar dropping too low.