Oh well, I decided to write this article addressed to those of us here on Steemit as you are my immediate audience. I wrote two days ago of my visit to the hospital on Friday for routine medical checkup. So this morning before leaving Nasarawa to Abuja, I stopped by the hospital to get my test results and talk to a doctor.
Good news, everything clicked well but my blood sugar level seems to be on the mark towards the excess side. Though it is not high enough to be alarmed but the doctor had a little discussion with me and ask me to make conscious efforts to reduce my sugar level.
Source
If you are a full time Steemian, then you may be at risk of having increased sugar level due to the nature of work we do. High blood sugar occurs when your body can't effectively transport sugar from blood into cells. When left unchecked, this can lead to diabetes and diabetes can lead to a whole lot of complicated medical issues - one being high possibility of developing erectile dysfunction in your later years (far be it that I sell my future for a bottle of coke and Pepsi). Well, I don't want that, neither do you, so how can we manage our blood sugar level?
Check Your Sugar Level
There are two types of medical test for sugar level; FBS (fasting blood sugar) taken in the morning before you eat or RBs (random blood sugar) taken after you have eaten. I'm not a medical lab expert but I learned any of them you take is okay. You can get a glucose test meter from the pharmacy next to you. But personally, apart from pregnancy, I believed every other lab test should be done by the pro as a single mistake can give false reading.
Exercise regularly
Yea, as full time bloggers who work from home we tend to reduce much of physical activities since we sit in one place and look into our computer screens. I'm guilty of this as I haven't really been exercising in the last four months as I used to.
Regular exercise can help you lose weight and increase insulin sensitivity. Increased insulin sensitivity means your cells are better able to use the available sugar in your bloodstream. Also when you take heavy exercise, your body use the sugar for energy and muscle contraction. So make sure you have at least 20-30 minutes of exercise daily. For me, I'll be hitting it hard for the next few days.
Reduce Sugar Intake
I think I should have written this as number one. You can only kill Caesar by killing Caesar and there's no way around it. I'm cutting down totally on main sugar intake in the next two months. Please if you know of other sweeteners available in Nigeria that doesn't increase glycemic index, let me know.
Apart from sugar itself, it's very easy for us who work from home to take a lot of coke, Pepsi, fanta and the rest. Well, you are just a stone throw from the fridge, why not bury yourself in there. So you must consciously monitor the way you consume sugar.
Drink Some Water and Drink Some More Water
I'm not sure anyone needs to be told how important it is to drink water. Drinking enough water may help you keep your blood sugar levels within healthy limits. In addition to preventing dehydration, it helps your kidneys flush out the excess blood sugar through urine. So, always keep water close to your work desk and have a lot of it everyday.
Reduce Carbs Consumption and Increase Fiber Intake.
What are carbohydrates? Simple answer is, they are sugars. Carbs breakdown to sugar (glucose mainly) and then insulin work on moving them to cells. Eating too much carbs produce too much sugars which overwork insulin. A low Carb diet is good for your sugar level in the long run.
Fiber, on the other hand, slows carb digestion and sugar absorption. For these reasons, it promotes a more gradual rise in blood sugar levels. Eating plenty of fiber can help with blood sugar control, and soluble dietary fiber is the most effective. Foods that are high in fiber include vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains. So for the Nigerians reading this, take it easy with the rice, garri, fufu, akpu, etc.
Reduce Stress and Get Some More Sleep.
Yea, you know how it is. You might not be carrying blocks at construction sites but looking at the computer for hours can be stressful too. Sometime I can be carried away and bury 18-20 hours on Steemit everyday for weeks. There's need to take it easy. A month from now I'm going to take a full weekend vacation from electronics. I'm still looking for where I'll travel to. When I do I'll only carry a paper novel and leave my phone and electronics totally out for two full days. The brain needs that to heal you from the effect of Nomophobia (go find the meaning buddy)
So that's all I can think of now, if you know any other options I might need to take, please let me know. I have heard of some Yoruba blood detoxifiers which can help de-sugarized the body faster. But since I only hear of them in buses (planted in Jerusalem and harvested in Lagos) and I don't like taking herbal products that lack scientific backing, I'm skeptical about taking any of it. If you know more about these, let me know in the comment and don't forget to let me know of any other sweeteners available in Nigeria which do not increase Glycemic Index. Thank you.
Excellent!
Mark my words, sugar will come to be regarded as the plague of the millennial generation.
James, if your blood glucose levels were high on a fasting BG Test (first done in the morning, after not eating for a minimum of 8 hours), try to not eat ANY carbs within 2 hours of going to sleep.
Your body will store those carbs away (into fat stores) for later use if you eat them before bed.
Powerful Lord James sharing health knowledge!
Cut out all sugar in your diet and you'll look better, feel better, and age better,
for the REST of your life!
I'm glad I ran this test now before things got bad. I'll start doing that right now, monitoring progress to see how I'm doing.
That's a good move man.
Far easier to fix minor problems than to try and turn back the clock on health problems that may have been building for years.
You look fit and healthy, I'm sure you'll stay that way for many decades to come!
I started reading Dr. Furhman, and he has these books where he recommends eating a pretty strict diet. No fats, salt, meat or breads.
But it works. No dairy, but I still eat Greek yogurt, unsweetened. No sugar. But I still eat a little honey. I mostly gave up meat ,but still eat fish.
Gave up eggs mostly, instead of milk I use Soy Milk or Almond milk.
He recommends Fruits, nuts and seeds, to live to be 100 yo...
salads and black beans, potatoes an
I'll definitely take a closer look at my diet. I haven't read the book before, I'll check if I can get a PDF file. It's quite important to watch out things for now. I also talk to a dietician earlier today in Abuja, he gave some advised which goes similar to your suggestions. Thank you very much for this info, I try to monitor things from now.
Health is more important than others.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Thanks for the tip @lordjames
I'm a type 2 diabetic, some good advice there
Oh o. I hope you are taking all the right steps to keep your sugar level low enough.
Hello @lordjames
You made a good call, indeed increase on blood sugar level is risky, some likes of excess sugar could lead to diabetes:)
Thank you for the intiative and sharing at this hour sir...you are on point.
Kudos!!
Hello! I find your post valuable for the wafrica community! Thanks for the great post! @wafrica is now following you! ALWAYs follow @wafrica and use the wafrica tag!
@lordjames thanks for this great piece of information.
Health is wealth and this is even more practical if healthy lifestyle is adopted.
Exercise and rest amongst the many others highlighted are truly vital
In India, we intake the steamed rice a lot in our daily food which injects a large quantity of carbohydrates into the body. And personally, I love farming and indulge in activities related to cardamom cultivation in most of the time. So I hope my body is doing good.
Spend atleast an hour a day to indulge in exercises. It rejuvenates our mind and also body. And if possible, learn yoga and practice it daily. Health is our wealth. It will last for long. All the best bro!
Yoga? I've always read that only on papers. I'll take a look at it deeper.
This was such an informative post. Thank you!
I think I do need to exercise regularly:)
Yes, regular exercise should not be toyed with.
This is powerful.
Am happy you are in the health sector now.
Thank you for participating in WAFRO Sunday discord party. Do make it a date this Sunday by 19:30 GMT.
... @lordjames