What Should Elderly Patients with Diabetes Pay Attention To?
Apr 15, 2019
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Shen Yonghua
Introduction
The treatment of diabetes is generally guided by the “three-pronged approach”: diet, exercise, and medication.
1. **Diet**: Avoid highly sweet or high-sugar foods as much as possible.
2. **Exercise**: In diabetes, impaired metabolism and insufficient insulin secretion from pancreatic islet cells lead to elevated blood glucose levels.
3. **Medication**: Strictly follow your physician’s instructions and take medications on schedule. Oral hypoglycemic agents differ in timing—some must be taken before meals, some with meals, and others after meals.
Diabetes management is generally guided by the “three-pronged approach”: diet, physical activity, and medication.
1. Diet: Elderly individuals should avoid highly sweet or high-sugar foods. However, does abstaining from sugar guarantee normal blood glucose levels? Not necessarily. Many dietary components—especially carbohydrates—significantly elevate blood glucose. For example, rice and steamed buns are rich in carbohydrates; excessive consumption of such foods can also raise blood glucose levels.
2. Physical Activity: In diabetes, impaired metabolism and insufficient insulin secretion by pancreatic beta cells lead to elevated blood glucose. Increasing physical activity helps deplete glycogen stores and thereby effectively lowers blood glucose levels.
3. Medication: Patients must strictly adhere to their physician’s instructions and take medications as prescribed. Oral hypoglycemic agents differ in optimal timing—some are taken before meals, others during or after meals—each for specific pharmacological reasons. For instance: certain oral medications are administered preprandially to stimulate insulin secretion from the pancreas; others are taken with meals to inhibit carbohydrate absorption and prevent postprandial hyperglycemia. Some patients require insulin injections. Regardless of treatment modality, special attention must be paid to preventing hypoglycemia—a potentially more dangerous condition than hyperglycemia. Elderly diabetic patients should always carry fast-acting carbohydrates (e.g., glucose tablets or candy) and consume them promptly upon experiencing symptoms such as dizziness, sweating, or general discomfort. However, overconsumption is unnecessary; one standard glucose tablet (or equivalent) is typically sufficient to alleviate symptoms.
