Winter health guide for diabetics

As the weather turns cold, the cold winter is coming, and winter is the season when the condition of friends with diabetes is very likely to worsen and complications occur. So let's learn about the winter health care for diabetes and spend a healthy and safe winter together.

When it comes to the health management of diabetes, we still have to repeat the "five carriages" that we have always talked about. Today we will learn about the limited edition carriage of winter. First of all, it is the most important diet carriage. In winter, because of the cold weather, we will want to eat some high-fat and high-sugar diets. At the same time, with various festivals, there are also a wide variety of tonics. Although winter is a season for storage, the physical condition of most people will be more depleted. At this time, it is necessary to supplement enough nutrition in time to have enough nourishment for the body in the second year. However, people with different physiques need to be treated differently when nourishing. For diabetics, the function of the pancreas is more or less reduced. If the blood sugar is very high and the diet is still not controlled, the function of the pancreas will be worse, the insulin secretion will be less, and the condition will inevitably be more serious.

So how should people with diabetes eat in winter? First of all, it is still the basic principle of our diabetes diet to control foods with high starch, fat, and sugar content, so as to prevent them from quickly converting into glucose and raising the blood sugar index. Here is a reminder for those who like to eat hot pot and stew in winter, you need to pay attention, because when eating these fatty and sweet flavors, the body's blood sugar and blood lipids will increase significantly. You can stew soup without drinking soup and eat less meat. For staple foods, you can eat coarse grains such as buckwheat, oats, whole wheat flour, and purple rice. You can't eat staple foods, but you need to choose staple foods reasonably. Eat more vegetables such as cabbage, celery, bitter melon, cucumber, lentils, etc., tofu, mung beans, soybeans, etc. in soy products are all edible, and apples, pears, oranges, peaches, and grapefruits in fruits can also be eaten in moderation. In addition, high-quality protein such as fish, chicken, milk, etc. should also be eaten every day.

Secondly, diabetic patients should refuse to take hot tonics when taking tonics in winter. Because diabetes is a chronic disease, it is generally manifested as yin deficiency and qi deficiency, such as fatigue and shortness of breath, thirst and desire to drink water, dry skin, etc. Therefore, when taking tonics, we should pay attention to the principles of nourishing yin and replenishing deficiency. Generally speaking, diabetic patients are not suitable for choosing warm foods, which will aggravate the condition of diabetic patients. Deer antler belongs to the category of warm tonic foods, and it contains adrenocortical hormone-like effects, which can lead to increased blood sugar. At the same time, substances like licorice also contain glycyrrhizin, glycyrrhetinic acid, etc., which can cause increased blood sugar. In most cases, diabetic patients like to take tonics in winter. This is because after the consumption of spring, summer and autumn, the yin and yang, qi and blood of the internal organs will be somewhat weak. Therefore, timely supplementation will enable the body to effectively resist the invasion of severe cold and make less sick in the second year. It is recommended that people with weak constitutions can take tonics in time, but people with normal constitutions can eat normally.

Next is our sports car. Although we strongly recommend that diabetic patients exercise at a moderate intensity for more than 30 minutes every day, there are many precautions for diabetic patients to exercise in winter. First of all, we must keep warm. Cold stimulation can increase the catecholamine substances in the body of diabetic friends, promote blood pressure, coronary artery spasm, and easily induce cerebral hemorrhage, myocardial infarction and other diseases. Therefore, for diabetic friends, especially the elderly, when choosing outdoor sports, they must take good warming measures. The second is to prevent infection. We all know that diabetic friends are very prone to complications and infections compared to normal people, and winter is the season when various bacteria, viruses and microorganisms are rampant. Therefore, while exercising appropriately, we must take good protection to avoid respiratory and skin infections.

We also need to persevere in these aspects, even though the weather is cold and travel becomes more difficult. But we should also go to the hospital for follow-up examinations on time, and the doctor should adjust the medication and diet according to the results of blood sugar monitoring. Never make decisions on your own and increase or decrease medication or stop medication at will.

Finally, let's talk about the most common complications of diabetes in winter, the prevention and maintenance strategies of diabetic foot. Winter is cold and dry. Due to complications of blood vessels and nerves, diabetic patients may have narrowed arterial lumens and insufficient blood supply to the lower limbs, which can easily induce dry, cracked and bacterial infections of the foot skin. In severe cases, it can cause inflammation and ulceration of the lower limbs, which may not heal for a long time or even lead to amputation. This is medically known as diabetic foot. Diabetic foot is a chronic complication of diabetes and the main cause of disability, death and loss of working ability in diabetic patients.

So how should we prevent and treat diabetic foot? First, keep warm. Diabetic patients need to keep their feet warmer than normal people. If your feet are cold in winter nights, you can use multi-layer socks to keep them warm to improve local blood circulation and maintain a good blood and nutrient supply. But avoid using electric blankets, hot water bottles, etc. to warm your feet, because diabetic foot makes the senses dull due to neuropathy, and the feet are severely burned before you feel the pain. Shoes should be soft, breathable, moderate in size, and have wide toes. Don't walk long distances. Secondly, pay attention to hygiene. Wash your feet 1 to 2 times a day with warm water. The water temperature should be appropriate and not too hot to prevent scalding the skin of your feet. After washing your feet, be sure to dry them with a dry towel to prevent moisture from inducing or aggravating tinea pedis. You can also massage your feet after washing. You should be careful when dealing with existing small wounds. Clean the wound thoroughly with disinfectant and cover it with sterile gauze. If it does not heal for a few days, you should seek medical attention in time. Speaking of bathing, I would like to emphasize it separately here. Due to long-term high sugar constitution and the cold and dry winter climate, diabetic patients are prone to dry and itchy skin in winter. Some patients tend to take a comfortable hot bath, which is wrong. We do not recommend high-temperature and long-term bathing for diabetic patients. The water temperature should be controlled below 40℃ as much as possible, and alkaline or neutral shower gel should be used as much as possible. After bathing, wipe the body lotion in time to lock in moisture.

These are some tips for diabetic friends to maintain their health in winter. I hope everyone can adopt and follow them reasonably. Have a happy, healthy and safe winter.

References:

[1] Chinese Diabetes Society. Guidelines for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes in China (2017 edition)[J]. Chinese Journal of Diabetes, 2018, 10(1): 4-67.

[2] Chen Haozhu, Zhong Nanshan, et al. Internal Medicine, 9th edition, [M], 13th Five-Year Plan textbook.

[3] Diabetes Nutrition Working Group of Chinese Nutrition Society. Dietary Guidelines for Type 2 Diabetes in China