Lifestyle and home remedies

Diet, exercise and self-management are essential for controlling blood sugar levels and high blood pressure. Your diabetes care team will help you with the following goals:

• Monitor your blood sugar level. Your health care provider will advise you on how often to check your blood sugar level to make sure you remain within your target range. You may, for example, need to check it once a day and before or after exercise. If you take insulin, you may need to check it multiple times a day.
• Be active most days of the week. Aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise — such as brisk walking, swimming, biking or running — on most days for a total of at least 150 minutes a week.
• Eat a healthy diet. Eat a high-fiber diet with lots of fruits, nonstarchy vegetables, whole grains and legumes. Limit saturated fats, processed meats, sweets and sodium.
• Quit smoking. If you're a smoker, talk with your doctor about strategies for quitting smoking.
• Maintain a healthy weight. If you need to lose weight, talk with your doctor about weight-loss strategies. For some people, weight-loss surgery is an option.
• Take a daily aspirin. Talk with your doctor about whether you should take a daily low-dose aspirin to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.
• Be vigilant. Alert doctors unfamiliar with your medical history that you have diabetic nephropathy. They can take steps to protect your kidneys from further damage by avoiding medical tests that use contrast dye, such as angiograms and computerized tomography scans.