Today 14th November, is World Diabetes Day. This year's theme is 'Healthy living and Diabetes'.
Some of us are diabetic, or we may have parents who are diabetic.

These are the 10 ways of living long with diabetes.

1) Accept the disease
You will never live long if after being diagnosed with diabetes and you decide to live in denial. Some patients will say, 'God forbid, its not my portion or back to sender'. These are the patients that resort to prayers and fasting and unknowingly worsen thier diabetes, only to present in hospital again after years with serious complications.
2)Know your blood sugar.
There's a good bit of debate out there in the
diabetes world about the value of tightly
controlling blood sugar. Some say that tightly
controlled blood sugar is the best way to
manage diabetes, while others disagree.
This topic is something to work out with your
doctor -- but one thing that is for sure is that
you should know what your blood sugar is. You
should have a good idea of the highs and lows of
your blood sugar, as well as how to check it.
Extremes in blood sugar can be dangerous and
even life-threatening. Pay attention to your
blood sugar and understand how your body
responds to different foods, activities, and
situations. Own a glucometer, its not costly and very easy to use.
Some glucometer can store previous reading for up to 3months. This helps your Doctor monitor your progress.
3) Know the warning signs
There are a lot of complications in diabetes --
you should pay special attention to infections
(which may heal slower) or any problems with
your feet. You should also know the signs of low
blood sugar like profuse sweating, dizziness etc, and have a plan in place (and food
nearby) to correct it. Take some time and
memorize the signs of trouble for diabetics.
4)Get Screened
Screenings are an important part of longevity for
anyone, but people with diabetes have special
screenings that they should do to be able to
take early action if necessary. Screenings such
as having your feet and eyes checked frequently, blood pressure and measuring of glycaeted haemoglobin can go a long way toward preventing
complications. Check out this list of screenings
for people with diabetes and talk them over with
your Doctor.
5)Lose weight
Regular exercise helps you lose weight.
Exercise helps you live longer -- no news flash
there. But if you have diabetes, you really
should take the time to learn about exercising.
Don't let diabetes be the reason you skip a
workout -- exercise is even more important than
ever. Talk with your doctor about developing an
exercise program that suits your situation.
6)Stop Smoking
Smoking is dangerous to health, and it worsens your sugar. Smoking also prediposes you to hypertension which worsens diebetes.
7)Stay up to date
New findings are constantly coming out about
diabetes and the ways to control it. For
example, there are a few studies out there that
show that cinnamon may help control blood
sugar. While these findings are not conclusive,
the studies are a good reminder that there is a
lot to be learned yet about diabetes and the
body. You should try to stay up-to-date on the
latest research and findings -- some
breakthrough may be just around the corner.
Love your heart
Diabetes is hard on your heart. Heart disease is
the number one killer (of everyone) with diabetes.,
and people with diabetes are at a greater risk of
heart disease than people without the disease.
You need to do everything you can to keep your
heart healthy. Here's a list to get you started:
Control your blood pressure, watch your
cholesterol, and get some exercise.
9)Understand how food affects your body
A diagnosis of diabetes means that your body
processes food differently than people without
the disease. You need to understand and
become intimately familiar with how food
impacts your blood sugar in the short- and long-
term. It may take a while to learn everything you
need, but understanding food in a new way may
be the single best thing you can do to manage
diabetes and live longer.
10)Get closer to your Doctor and join a Diabetic club
Being closer to your Doctor helps you in getting better understand of diabetes. If you have any difficulty, just a call to your Doctor who has being managing you could save your life.
Joining diabetic club gives you the opportunity of knowing that thousands of people are living with the disease. It also raises your morale to be compliant with your medication, also its an avenue to know what dietitic modifications others are practising.
This club will motivate you in attending your diabetic clinic because apart from seeing your Doctor you also have hope of meeting your diabetic friends.
Never miss your appointment though.


After keeping the above 10 measures, the ultimate measure is getting closer to God in prayers. There is nothing God cannot do.
HEALTHY LIVING AND GOD REMAINS THE SECRET TO LIVING LONG WITH DIABETES.
HAPPY WORLD DIABETIC DAY.

Reference
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-life-expectancy.html

http://longevity.about.com/od/diabetesandhealthaging/tp/live-long-well-with-diabetes.htm