Reality sneaked-in. I was informed that my sugar level is elevated. My doctor decided to monitor it and I ended up having to prick my finger two hours after each meal. My level has maintained between 6.4 mmol/L-6.9 mmol/L. At some point, where I consume at every meal carbs and all the other delicious good stuff 😉 then it shoots up to 7.4mmol/L. A healthy blood sugar level maintains typically at below 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L).
After monitoring this for 6- 8 weeks, my doctor was leaning towards the diagnosis that my digits indicates Type 2 diabetes.
My additional symptoms:
Shortness of breath
Pain in my feet or legs
Dry skin
Weakness or Fatigue
The need to urinate a lot
What to do:
Its simple actually.
Keeping a healthy diet and consuming less carbs is first on the list.
Regular activity is most important.
Exercise helps because it:
1. Lowers the blood sugar level without medicine
2. Manage weight by burning extra calories and fat
3. Improves blood flow and blood pressure
4. Increases energy level
5. Improves one’s ability to handle stress
My diet consist mostly of rice, rice and more rice. Even my hubby noticed that if I don’t eat rice, then I become depressive and moody. Wait-I let me correct that: I am moody when I get hungry and I seem to be always hungry when I do not have rice in my meal…at least every other day.
So, I was browsing and scrolling through my 6 year old smartphone 😉 and found something interesting: something that might help even if I eat rice all the time: A “low sugar rice cooker”.
Amazon sells several brands. I got one just last month. It’s teeny-weeny, actually just enough for hubby and myself. Instead of cooking 4 cups of rice each time, this one can makes 1.5 cups to 2 cups at most. So, it already forces me to minimize our rice intake. The rice also tastes somewhat better that usual. Although it has less starch now, it tastes sweeter and more loose. Mind you, I did not change the type of rice that I am used to. I just changed the way of cooking it. I have to admit I like it better now than before.
And I have been eating rice all my life! Oh, the exercise part will be in my next blog… 😉 😉 😉