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New Year’s Resolution: Controlling Diabetes (Video)

(Video: Clair Hefner, R.N., a certified-diabetes educator with the Diabetes Care Center at Mariners Hospital, offers tips for managing diabetes.)

Is taking better control of your diabetes or prediabetes condition a top priority for 2016? Key steps involve adopting a healthier diet and starting a regular exercise program, according to experts at Diabetes Care Center at Mariners Hospital. Careful management of blood sugar levels can help you avoid some of the health complications linked to diabetes, experts say.

For those with diabetes, low-blood sugar levels can cause immediate, life-threatening situations, and a long-term pattern of consistently high sugar levels places you at greater risk for heart disease, strokes and other serious conditions. Diabetes is also the leading cause of new cases of blindness among working-age adults. If you are diagnosed with diabetes, special care should be taken to keep your vision in check.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently recommended that every American over the age of 45 should be screened for both type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, the common condition of having blood glucose levels higher than normal.

Here are recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
• Make a strong effort to follow proven health tips such as quitting smoking, staying on medicine to control blood pressure and cholesterol, and maintaining a healthy weight by taking at least one brisk 10-minute walk, three times a day, five days a week.
• Learn about diabetes and how to prevent type 2 diabetes.
• Eat a healthy diet that is low in salt, low in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol, and rich in fresh fruits and vegetables.

The Baptist Health South Florida News Team spoke to Clair Hefner, R.N., a certified-diabetes educator at Mariners Hospital. Watch now.

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