Have Diabetes? Reduce Your Risk of Heart Problems

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4 Ways to Manage Diabetes and Help Your Heart

Manage cardiovascular disease while living with diabetes by following a single course of action that benefits both conditions. Focus on the following four strategies:

1. Slim Down
“Losing a few pounds can be a home run to improve your ABCs—your A1C, blood pressure, and cholesterol numbers,” says Linda Delahanty, director of nutrition and behavioral research at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Diabetes Unit and coauthor of Beating Diabetes (McGraw-Hill, 2006). Trimming just 5–10 pounds can improve your ABCs.

Try this: Try eating smaller portions, trimming fat, snacking on fruits and vegetables, limiting desserts, controlling portions, and walking more.

2. Eat Smart
Follow the guidelines for heart-healthy meals, and you’ll be eating right for diabetes. “Cut down on saturated fat and cholesterol,” Delahanty says. “For cheese, you’ll get the biggest bang by eating just small amounts and/or choosing low-fat or part-skim cheeses. Select lean cuts of meat and trim visible fat. Also, remove the skin from poultry.”

Try this: Start with a few small changes or substitutions to cut saturated fat, trans fat, and calories.

• Instead of butter, use a liquid oil, such as canola, olive, or sunflower.
• Eat fish twice a week, especially fattier fish with omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, trout, or bluefish.
• Enjoy more fruits and vegetables.
• Choose whole grains over refined starches and sweets.

3. Get Moving
“The benefits of physical activity are nearly endless,” says Sheri Colberg-Ochs, Ph.D., associate professor of exercise science at Old Dominion University and author of The Diabetic Athlete (Human Kinetics, 2000). She lists the top rewards: reducing inflammation; lowering blood pressure, blood glucose, and LDL (bad) cholesterol; increasing HDL (good) cholesterol; and improving insulin sensitivity.

Try this: The ADA suggests at least 30 minutes of moderate activity five times a week or 90 minutes of vigorous activity three times a week.

As an exercise expert who has diabetes, Colberg-Ochs knows it’s tough to begin. “Just start moving around more,” she says. “You’ll have more energy and be ready to add more activity. Don’t start out with too much gusto. Start slowly so you don’t get discouraged or injured.”

4. Take Your Meds
Medicines will help you hit your ABC targets, so take them if you need them. A statin drug, for instance, can lower your LDL cholesterol. (The ADA says lowering your LDL should be a top priority if you want to prevent cardiovascular disease, and the agency recommends statin drugs for anyone older than 40 who has diabetes.) You may also need medicines to lower your blood pressure and blood glucose.

Worth noting: It’s often possible, however, to reduce some medicines by losing weight, eating healthfully, and being active. Ivan Wright, who has diabetes, can attest to this.

As the number and cost of his prescriptions mounted, Ivan was catapulted into lifestyle changes that resulted in a 40-pound weight loss. “I realized there would be a point at which more drugs would not help,” he says. His ABCs are now on target, and he’s reduced the number of his medications to just two: one for diabetes and one for blood pressure. “Plus I’m saving a bundle of cash,” Ivan adds.