Diabetes Management for the Sportsman

You love playing sports; and feeling the adrenaline rush every time you’re on the field. But along with the adrenaline rush, comes another rush – the urge to pee, or the urge to check your blood sugar level. Oops! That doesn’t sound like too much fun, does it?

Is diabetes getting in the way of your sports? If it is, then you might want to read through these tips that’ll tell you how to keep diabetes from interfering where it shouldn’t.

• Gorge up on the protein and carbs just before every game that you play. The protein will help by sustaining your blood sugar levels; and the carbs will help you up your energy levels. Whereas, if you choose to eat after the game, you might want to go for the proteins. They will help in giving your body the chance to heal and rebuild the muscles.
• Right before a game, you do not want to be sinking your teeth into any food items that high on fat. These kinds of foods will cause your body to have a delayed reaction time, which isn’t exactly a boon for a sportsman. If you do end up giving yourself a full dose of the insulin, you might end up experiencing a crash point during the game. This will happen for one simple reason – the insulin will end up absorbing faster than any of the fat will.
• Every time you’ve played a game, opt for a sugary drink that night by the bed. Most sports are vigorous in terms of the exercise that they provide your body with; and the body might tend to go low after that kind of level of activity. The rate of metabolism gets affected; and tends to become slower. It may or may not come back to normal soon after you’ve indulged in some strenuous activity. This is one of the reasons why you need that blast of sugar to keep things in check.
• Even while the game is going on, you want to be ‘proactive’ about keeping a tab on your sugar levels. The reason is simple – you don’t want to have your vision blur out on you in between a game. Neither is a pair of shaking hands of too much help, when you need to say; dribble a ball. Delayed reactions might end up ruining your game. Do not let too high or too low sugar levels take away a perfectly good game.
• Do not give yourself a lower dose of insulin on the last meal just before a game just because you’re afraid of hitting a low on the field. This wouldn’t be too smart. The blood in your body is already going to be running at a rate that is higher than its usual speed; and this will be due to the adrenaline and stress combination, that the game provides your body with. This is adjustable after the game; so quit worrying!
• The good news is that if you do experience a low even after a game, it gets nullified by the increase in appetite. Try to eat in moderation; because you don’t really want those blood glucose levels shooting out of the roof. The worst thing to happen would be to experience a low and then spike up your levels insanely because of eating a wrong meal after the game.
• Experiment until you find that perfect routine meal for before your games; and once you’ve found it, stick to it. Over a period of time, the calculations will all be at the back of your mind; and life will seem much easier.