cholesterol – Diabetes Under Control

Maintaining an optimum weight has obvious health benefits, two of the most important being better management of type 2 diabetes and prevention of heart disease. According to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), losing weight can phenomenally help in improving your blood sugar control and lowering your risk of developing diabetic complications such as high blood pressure and build-up of plaque in your arteries. Both these complications increase the risk of developing heart disease. Therefore, weight reduction offers dual benefits: for both diabetes and heart disease.

Let us now take a further look into how weight reduction helps those with diabetes and prospective heart disease.

Improvement In Insulin Resistance

In those with type 2 diabetes, the body fails to respond properly to the insulin that is produced by the pancreas, causing a subsequent increase in blood glucose levels, according to NIDDK (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases). This is known as insulin resistance, and it is frequently linked to excessive weight, according to the CDC.

According to Joelle Malinowski, RD, CDCES, who works with Ellis Medicine in Schenectady, New York, losing weight will make your body more sensitive to insulin, thus reducing insulin resistance. According to another study, there occurs improvement in insulin sensitivity due to weight reduction because there is a decrease in the inflammatory responses in the muscles.

Management of diabetes becomes easier when insulin resistance decreases. Thus, when it comes to the question, “does weight loss help type 2 diabetes?” the answer is a definite “yes.”

Lowering Your Blood Pressure

Weight reduction has a wide range of benefits for cardiovascular disease, too. It can help you significantly avoid the conditions that are associated with being overweight, which increases your risk of developing heart disease.

Losing excessive weight can help lower your blood pressure levels. When you are overweight, your heart needs to work harder to pump blood throughout your body. The harder your heart pumps, the higher will be your blood pressure, which can lead to vision problems, kidney damage, and heart disease, all of which are the same as diabetic complications. Thus, maintaining a healthy weight has benefits not only for the heart but also for those with diabetes.

Lowering Cholesterol Levels In The Blood

Obesity can lead to a surge in cholesterol levels, and these high cholesterol levels can cause heart disease. Being overweight is not the only reason for elevated cholesterol levels. Environmental factors, hormones, and genes, too, impact your cholesterol levels. That said, if you are overweight and you consume a lot of unhealthy food items such as processed meats, sugary foods, or fast food, you, too, could be at risk for high cholesterol. Weight reduction can lower your cholesterol levels, which helps in a proper balance of fats in your bloodstream, thereby ensuring a healthy heart.

Association Between Diabetes And Heart Disease

There is a link between diabetes and heart disease, with both high blood pressure and high cholesterol being common conditions among those with type 2 diabetes. This is according to the CDC.

High blood pressure can end up causing damage to the walls of the arteries, and too much low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol and triglycerides (another type of fat) can worsen the damage to artery walls, thus resulting in additional complications.

Excessive weight heightens the problem because obesity is a known risk factor for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and coronary artery disease.

Diabetes leads to high blood sugar levels and increases the risk for heart disease. Weight reduction can help in managing your blood sugar levels, thus improving your chances of avoiding heart problems.

On A Final Note

It is highly advisable to choose lifestyle changes that you can successfully sustain rather than dependence on fad diets for weight reduction and weight management. By consuming a healthy diet and living an active lifestyle, you will be a pro when it comes to managing not only your weight but also diabetes and heart disease.

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The importance of managing blood sugar levels to deal with diabetes is widely recognized. However, proper management of blood sugar levels is also important because it can help to lower the risk of diabetes complications, including high cholesterol and heart disease. The importance of keeping cholesterol levels in check cannot be understated as research has shown that diabetes often lowers HDL (good) cholesterol levels and raises triglycerides and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Both of which result in an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

What Diabetics Need To Know About Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a type of fat that can develop inside the arteries, which over time becomes hard This causes narrowing of the arteries, which then forces the heart to work harder to pump blood. This is why high cholesterol levels can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. However, not all types of cholesterol are bad and it’s important to understand the difference between the two.

Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) – LDL is often referred to as ‘bad cholesterol’ because this type of cholesterol can build up in blood vessels.

High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) – HDL is often referred to as the ‘good cholesterol’ because it helps to clear excess LDL out of the blood.

According to a study published by The Journal of Lipid Research, blood sugar, insulin, and cholesterol can interact with each other, although we still don’t understand precisely how this works. Based on what we do know, there are some recommendations that can help keep both diabetes and cholesterol levels in check.

Tips To Keep Cholesterol Levels In Check

Monitor blood sugar and cholesterol levels

Regular monitoring of both blood sugar and cholesterol levels is most important as this allows doctors to tweak your treatment plan. Medications can be prescribed to lower cholesterol and other changes may also be recommended. LDL cholesterol level of 100 or less is termed as ideal.

Adopt a healthy lifestyle

Simple lifestyle changes can have a huge impact on heart health, lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease. These include maintaining healthy body weight through diet and exercise, quitting smoking, and limiting alcohol consumption.

Get Regular Exercise

A disciplined fitness routine can help not just with weight management, but it also helps to control blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Aerobic exercises like walking, jogging, cycling, or swimming can also have a huge impact, raising HDL or good cholesterol levels.

According to a 2014 study that appeared in Sports Medicine, intense aerobic activity can be as effective as high-intensity exercises when it comes to optimizing cholesterol levels.

Follow a healthy diet

A diabetes diet that restricts intake of high glycemic foods, as well as unhealthy fats from red meat, processed meat, and fast food, will also help to keep cholesterol levels in check. In addition, you should increase your intake of healthy fats from fish, nuts, and seeds, as well as soluble fiber, which is found in most fresh fruits, oats, beans, and veggies.

Get Regular Health Checks

Despite efforts to control blood sugar and cholesterol levels, diabetes can affect other organs of the body, requiring constant vigilance. This makes it necessary for you to go for regular eye check ups and dental visits. You should also follow a strict foot care routine because of the risk of foot complications associated with diabetes.

Diabetes can feel overwhelming because of the amount of effort that you need to put into managing blood sugar levels, as well as safeguarding against other complications like high cholesterol, heart disease, and so on. However, taking steps to better manage your health, especially with diet and lifestyle changes, can help to prevent complications, allowing you to enjoy a higher quality of life.