A manual for diabetes patients to survive scorching summer: Avoid sun burns & eat more salads, fruits

Summer heat can spell doom for diabetic patients, it not only dehydrates the body and raises blood sugar levels, but also makes exercising and staying active (which is a must for diabetes patients) very challenging. Also, for those patients who take insulin injections, this is a difficult time because when a person’s body is dehydrated, it slows down blood supply to the skin and hinders a person’s ability to absorb insulin from outside.
However, fear not. Here are some simple tips to help you manage the summer heat along with your diabetes.

Avoid Dehydration
Summer wrings us out from the inside, it sucks out water from our system and can elevate our blood sugar levels. Therefore, one has to always ensure that he/she stays hydrated, especially if he/she is diabetic. However, be sure to skip any sugar-sweetened beverages, and drink lots of water. Also, caffeinated beverages and alcohol lead to dehydration as well, so try to avoid them too.

Monitor Your Blood Sugar Levels Diligently
In summer, dehydration happens in sneaky ways. For instance, the heat causes a lot of sweating, and also raises your heart rate, which can in turn affect your blood sugar level. Therefore, there is a need to constantly monitor your blood sugar levels.

Take Care Of Your Feet
Make sure that you do not wear sandals or any other kinds of footwear that leaves your feet exposed to summer heat burns or cuts. If you do have a cut, nurse it properly so that you do not get an infection. Diabetes patients are more prone to infections, and things can escalate pretty fast. Therefore, constant care is necessary. Similarly, when you get burns due to heat, your skin stretches out, causing your body to dehydrate, which again leads to elevated sugar levels.

Stay Physically Active But Stay Away From The Sun
It is important to stay physically active if you are a diabetes patient. However, exercising in the heat may not be the best option for you. So, ensure that you are indoors when you exercise or while going for walks wait for the sun to go down, and the day to get cooler.

Include Fruits & Salads As Snacks
Do not skip meals, and if you do not get time to have a complete meal, at least have some fruits or salads as snacks. Incorporate watermelon, avocado, oranges as well as berries, these are high in nutrients, are naturally sweet but do not increase your blood sugar levels and gives you the required energy to navigate hot summer days.