Diabetes Self-Care Plan:
7 Steps to Reduce Your Risk

1. Follow a Mediterranean Plan

Eat real food, in control, with a focus on foods that help stabilize blood sugar. Review the foods that are best for blood sugar control.

2. Move, and keep moving

To help keep your sugars in line, you don't have to be an athlete, but consistent activity of any kind can help.

3. Take Your Meds

Based on the type of diabetes and severity, your doctor will prescribe a medication that needs to be followed.

4. Check Yourself

Self-monitoring your glucose is a key tool to help you understand just what drives your glucose up, and what keeps it stable.

5. Be a Problem Solver

Your condition evolves, and so your symptoms will evolve as well. Be aware that any given day may give you a high or low reading that you have to react to immediately.

6. Prevention Trumps Treatment

Easy things you can do to help include stopping smoking, getting regular eye, foot, and dental exams to catch the diabetes complications before they get out of control.