Healthmark Foot and Ankle sees countless amounts of diabetic patients on a regular basis. Living with diabetes or any type of metabolic disease is not easy. Many people do not realize that some of the first symptoms of diabetes appear in the foot. After diagnosis, diabetes will continue to affect the foot and ankle region as well as the rest of the body.

In continuing our list of healthy, diabetic lifestyle practices, we have been compiling lists of things you can do to make living with diabetes easier and beneficial for your body.

 

  1. Change those shoes and socks- Allowing the foot to experience different types of shoes on a regular basis helps to stimulate the tissue, muscle, and cells within the foot and ankle. Really old shoes can cause the foot to develop odors, bacteria, and fungus. Let's face it, we all feel better in a fresh pair of socks, so do yourself a favor and invest in some new socks to change into at least twice a day; morning socks and afternoon socks.

  2. Sounds like hippie food- Kale? Quinoa? Baba ganoush? I can't even pronounce this stuff, why should I eat it? The next few times you go to the grocery store, try a new fruit or vegetable. Whether it's a plant or fruit you've never heard of, or one you haven't eaten in months (or years), experiment with new types of foods. Think about how defeated you feel by just settling for doritos, cookies, or other filthy processed snacks. If you need to buy that bag of soft batch cookies, comprise with a few apples or avocados in addition to the junk food purchase.

  3. Blood for blood- No, this has nothing to do with fighting or revenge, but you should still look out for your blood, even if it stays inside your veins. Check your insulin and sugar levels on a regular basis. Today there are so many different, non-invasive ways of checking your insulin levels. Understanding how your body reacts to having low blood sugar is important when living with diabetes. If you can read what your body is telling you when you feel low, you can have more control of your diabetes.

  4. Let those feet breathe a little- Give yourself at least twenty minutes of barefoot walking everyday. This does not mean going out in public without your shoes on. It wouldn't be safe to walk around center-city Philadelphia in bare feet. Around the house, or even under your desk in the workplace, pop off your shoes and let your feet just be. Humans weren't made to wear shoes and socks every waking moment of the day, so bring out the ancient-man in you and let your feet feel the earth.

  5. But, but, but...it says it's diet soda- Just because it says it's light or diet cola, does not make it a proper substitute for regular sodas. The label on the side says it only has 100 calories, or even zero calories, but what it doesn't really tell you is how many chemicals and artificial sweeteners are floating around inside. Aspertame, phosphoric acid, and 2-methylimidazole are just a few common chemicals found in light sodas. So while you might be saving a few calories, you're substituting them with a buffet of synthetic liquid molecules that can cause worse long term effects than your type-2 diabetes. Try drinking some water with a lemon in it.

 

Don't let diabetes defeat you. You're strong and plenty able to coexist with your diabetes. The know-how and education starts today. Ask the doctors of Healthmark Foot and Ankle how to get started on the right path towards living with diabetes. With diabetes, “a journey of a thousand miles, begins with the first step.”

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