What’s good for diabetes is good for your heart

Many of the same lifestyle choices that lead to diabetes also lead to heart disease. When you make changes to your lifestyle to help manage your diabetes, your heart wins too!

 Welcome to February, it's Heart Health Month. All this month, we're going to be talking about some aspect of the heart and how to take care of it.

What causes heart disease? Well, some problems with the heart happen before or after birth, and those are congenital issues.  Those are  off the table for our discussion here. But other things that affect your heart are really lifestyle.

What are some of these? Smoking, drinking alcohol, eating and drinking a lot of sugar, unhealthy junk food, not getting enough physical activity or exercise, poor sleep, and more. Some of these may sound a little familiar to you.

These things lead to inflammation. Inflammation in heart disease is going to lead to things like high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke and peripheral artery disease.

In diabetes, those same lifestyle choices affect your blood sugar. They create a lot of inflammation. It creates a lot of visceral fat, which is also very inflammatory. Well, with diabetes, heart attack, stroke, blindness, dialysis, and nerve damage that can lead to a lot of problems, including possibly losing your feet.

So what do we do?

The good news is that anything you do for your diabetes will be good for your heart. By the way, your brain will benefit too.

So let's look at some things that you can do.

First. If you smoke, stop. Think about it. Your breathing will get better. Your lungs will become clear. You won't cough as much. Your clothes won't smell as bad, and you'll feel so much better.

Second, limit or stop alcohol. This will reduce depression and anxiety and  reduce all the extra sugar you're drinking in. And your liver will love you for it!

Third, get active! Even if you're just going for walks with a friend, or taking the dog out for a walk, or riding your bike down to the store. Whatever it is, as much activity as you can get into your day will really make a difference for you. That can lead to a little bit of weight loss, getting a little bit stronger, sleeping better and to, overall, just feeling better.

Fourth, get rid of the junk food.   Once you get off sugar, you will be amazed at how much better you feel.

Finally, if you are taking medication, either for your diabetes and or your heart disease, consider this. Do not stop your medication on your own. When you start implementing these really good lifestyle changes, it's very likely that your medication will need to be modified.

Work closely with your doctor. Let him or her know what your plan is, what you're doing, and work with them to modify your medication.

If you'd like more information about diabetes, feel free to download my free guide, 30 Days to Managing or Reversing Your Type Two Diabetes. The link is below.

https://www.drelainestewart.com/30-day-guide

Thank you so much for listening.

 Dr Elaine

Download my free 30 Day Guide to Manage or Reverse Type 2 Diabetes

This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the medical advice of your doctor or healthcare provider. Please consult your healthcare provider for advice about a specific medical condition.

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