Why Covid-19 is a big threat to diabetic

It has been almost 2 years since the world is dealing with the Covid-19. Most of these people are experiencing mild to severe respiratory problems. People suffering with co-morbidities are at the greater risk of developing covid complications. Amongst these comorbidities, Diabetes is one of the biggest challenges for everyone. If you are Diabetic then you should be more cautious and alert. It is not like that you are at higher risk of catching the infection, the probability of catching infection for a diabetic individual is the same as any normal individual but if you have diabetes the symptoms or the complications that you have can be worse or more dangerous as compared to any normal individual.

Usually when a person with diabetes develops a viral infection, it is harder to treat this infection due to fluctuations in blood glucose levels. It is also observed that any kind of virus thrives more in elevated blood sugar levels.

Various symptoms apart from basic covid symptoms like dry cough, cold, breathing difficulty and other respiratory issues, Such patients also observed –

• Uncontrolled blood sugar levels
• Frequent urination
• Extreme weakness
• Inability to fight infections

The basic cause of these complex symptoms in diabetic patients is Lack of Insulin response.

When diabetic patients suffer from covid, the insulin resistance increases thereby reducing the insulin secretion which controls the blood glucose levels. Thus to fight this infection, a nutritious diet along with a healthy lifestyle is very important.

So now let’s quickly discuss about various dietary solutions in order to keep blood glucose levels in check during Covid –

• Have small and frequent meals to maintain your blood glucose levels and to avoid sudden spikes in these levels.
• Include complex carbohydrates to your diet since complex carbs take longer time to digest, thus reducing the chances of sudden fluctuations in blood glucose levels. So include foods like quinoa, oats, jowar, pulses and legumes.
• Make sure to include Vitamin D as it helps in improving the insulin resistance thereby regulating blood sugar levels. Get your dose of Vitamin D from natural sunlight, eggs, seafood, fortified foods.
• Add a dose of Zinc to your diet in the form of flax seeds, legumes, pumpkin seeds, and seafood. These food items are said to improve the glucose levels and further reduce the complication with diabetes, thereby helping in managing diabetic symptoms.
• Have a diet rich in fiber since it helps in reducing insulin resistance thereby by controlling blood glucose levels. Include your fiber dose in the form of fruits, vegetables, whole grains like oats, jowar and bajra.
• Practice SMBG or Self-monitoring of blood glucose levels to keep blood glucose levels in check, to monitor the fluctuations and to avoid any complications with diabetes. Thus it is always recommended to monitor your levels regularly and keep your medications handy.
• You should also get your hba1c levels tested to keep in track of your levels.

Footnote:

Follow above mentioned tips to stay fit and healthy during these difficult times. Also make sure to practice covid appropriate behavior of maintaining social distancing, wearing mask and self-isolation even during mild symptoms.