Manage diabetes with a healthy lifestyle
SUNNINGHILL - Caring for Diabetes is a non-profit organisation based in Sunninghill which offers care and support to sufferers of diabetes while creating awareness of the disease through educational talks and free screenings.
Naidoo explained that the symptoms of type one diabetes are a sudden change in appetite, dehydration, change in vision, fatigue and excessive urination.
“Type one diabetes can have certain complications,” she said. “Like increased heart attack risk, eye problems that could result in blindness, nerve pain and infections on the skin, especially the feet which can progress to gangrene and could lead to amputation.”
Naidoo said that if someone is diagnosed with type one diabetes they need to observe a healthy lifestyle with a good diet and plenty of exercise.
“Your plate should consist of half steamed vegetables and salad, a quarter starch and a quarter protein,” she said.
She said that people with type one diabetes should eat a little a lot, meaning five small meals a day.
“Don’t skip meals and avoid processed foods,” she said.
Naidoo advised diabetes sufferers to exercise a minimum of 30 minutes a day, three times a week and avoid stress.
“Laugh, read and do gardening,” she said. “You can live with diabetes if you manage it.”
