• Taking your medicines as prescribed
• Participating in a physical therapy or stretching
• Exercising regularly by swimming, riding a stationary bike or walking to build muscle strength.
• Getting enough sleep every night
• Trying self-massage or trigger point massage therapy
• Getting a professional massage.

Check out AOL Health for more information on diabetes care.

• Monitor your blood sugar. Practice good blood sugar control by monitoring your blood sugar levels regularly. You should also have a glycosylated hemoglobin test ever three to six months.
  
• Practice good health habits. Visit your doctor and dentist regularly, exercise often and eat a healthy, varied diet.
  
• Have an annual eye exam. This should be done from the time of diagnosis in people with type 2 diabetes, and starting five years after diagnosis in people with type 1 diabetes.
  
• Avoid illness by staying up-to-date on your immunizations.

Recognizing the symptoms of diabetes can often help you get a proper diagnosis and treatment. There are currently 5.7 million people who have undiagnosed diabetes in the United States, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Symptoms of type 1 diabetes usually come on quickly within days or weeks. The following can be signs of type 1 diabetes:

• Your appetite has increased, and you're still losing weight.
• You're fatigued or irritable.
• Your vision is blurry.
• You're dehydrated.

Once diagnosed, you will still experience high and low blood sugar levels. High blood sugar levels develop slowly. Low blood sugar levels can develop in minutes. Symptoms of low blood sugar include sweating, weakness and hunger. Symptoms of high blood sugar include increased thirst and urination.

Most people make resolutions to lose weight in January. For diabetics, sticking to a meal plan is more about staying healthy than looking great.

Your diet should be low in saturated fats, cholesterol and sweets. It should also be high in fiber, fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Your dietitian can help create an individualized meal plan, but the basics will be the same regardless of your health status.

People with diabetes should get most (45-55%) of their daily calories from complex carbohydrates including vegetables, whole-grain breads and cereals. The simple sugars found in low-fat dairy and fruit are included as healthy carbohydrates, too.

It's important to remember that blood glucose levels can be affected by how foods are prepared. Raw veggies are digested more slowly than those that have been cooked. Fruit juices will affect your blood-sugar level faster than eating a piece of fruit.

Make sure to limit your sugar and alcohol as well as fats. Diabetics can consume sugar as long as they plan for it and adjust their insulin dosage accordingly. Alcohol must be treated in a similar way.

Those with diabetes should opt for polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats reduce LDL cholesterol and increase HDL cholesterol.

Dietary goals are different depending on the type of diabetes you have. Check AOL Health for more information on how to improve your diet.

There was no link between job stressors and diabetes risk in men. In women, 10 percent of all type 2 diabetes cases would have been prevented had the women had more control over their work and less stringent demands placed on them. Social support would have helped the women in the work environment, too.

Most medical professionals agree: People need to find ways to reduce stress in their lives and view it as a health risk factor similar to obesity, low physical activity, and poor diet.

If you're thinking about skipping your regular visit to your dentist, think again.

A New York University nursing-dental research team has discovered that those who have periodontal (gum) disease are also at high risk for diabetes. The same researchers concluded that dentists should consider offering diabetes screenings in their offices.

Using guidelines established by the American Diabetes Association, the team determined that 93 percent of subjects who had periodontal disease were considered high risk for diabetes and should be screened for the disease.

Dentists won't hand out diabetes diagnoses; but, researchers are encouraging dentists to screen patients for diabetes by evaluating other risk factors: obesity, belonging to a high-risk ethnic group, having high blood pressure, having a relative with the disease or having given birth to a baby weighing more than nine pounds. Dentists could also use a glucometer - a tool that measures blood glucose - to analyze blood samples.

At the end of the diabetes evaluation, a dentist might recommend that the patient see a doctor for a true diabetes screening.

Visit AOL Health to learn more about diagnosing diabetes.

• Breast size: If you're a size D or larger at age 20, you may be up to five times more likely to develop diabetes than your flat-chested friends.
• Birth month: If you're a spring baby, you're more likely to develop type 1 diabetes in the U.S., according to a CDC study.
• Slow-healing cuts: If your cuts stick around longer, it could be a symptom of type 2 diabetes. That's because your blood vessels are a little thinner than they should be while the vessel walls are a little thicker. That means your blood system can't carry infection-fighting white blood cells to the site of the cut, which delays healing time.
• Tooth Loss: If you have periodontal disease or tooth loss, your likelihood for diabetes increases 14 to 29 percent.

Diabetes can be unpredictable. Your blood-sugar can drop too low fairly quickly and the long-term consequences of diabetes aren't pretty. Still, with good self-management, you can minimize your chances of developing complications. To stay healthy and avoid the complications that can arise over time, it is important to follow some basic health guidelines. Like anyone else, you should eat a healthy diet, exercise and visit your doctor regularly. Check out AOL Health for other self-management tips.

In the holiday season's hustle and bustle, it's easy to forget to take care of your health. Low blood sugar isn't uncommon. Ignoring it, however, can lead to trouble. Make sure that you pay attention to your body and the warning signs that you might have low blood sugar like dizziness when standing.

Also, remember to carry a medical identification card and wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace at all times. Make sure your friends, family members and co-workers know what to do in an emergency.

Severe hypoglycemia, ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar coma are among the most common diabetic emergencies. Check out AOL Health's guide to diabetic emergencies.

The holidays are a hard time for anyone to maintain their weight. Between the cocktail hours, appetizer buffets, family dinners and packed dessert trays, there are diet hurdles everywhere. For those with diabetes, the diet traps can be down-right dangerous.

Instead of staying home, stick to several dining-out basics:

• Avoid hidden oils, carbohydrates or quality of the nutrients you are eating.
• Watch portion sizes. One appetizer is okay. Making a meal out of them isn't.
• Limit dressings, dips and other condiments. They can be high-calorie traps.

The healing continues. From laughter, that is.

As we wait with great hope for a cure for diabetes, we do so with a smile thanks to humor to be found on the new website LOL Diabetes (www.loldiabetes.com). I've posted before about this site, which itself is part of the popular diabetes website Six Until Me (www.sixuntilme.com). Nevertheless, things have become waaaaaay to funny over there for me to not highlight some of my favorites.

These would be my Top 5:

5 - The Insulin Monkey. This picture features a stuffed animal, a monkey to be exact, with dozens of syringes sticking out of it, much like a pin cushion. The words "You're Doing it Wrong" that are printed on the picture sum it up perfectly.

4 - iPump. A play on the now famous iPod silhouette ads, this mock version of this campaign features people wearing insulin pumps in place of iPods.

3 - Thumbtacks. A photo of a child's Spider Man poster fastened to the wall with -- Thumb Tacks? No, no, no. Look again...those are lancets! As someone aptly commented on the entry, what a great use for all those extras!

2 - Wanted! In this Old West style Wanted poster, there's a bounty for bringing in Twinkie the Kid. Turns out "The Kid" is wanted for Shootin' Up High Blood Sugars.

1 - The Enemy. By far my favorite, Short, simple, and hilarious. The photo features no other than Willy Wonka himself, with the words "The Enemy" written below. Very true. And very funny.

There are a whole bunch more that could have made a Top 10 list (namely: Soundtrack to a Low, Is This the Remix?, My Pump Makes Me Look Like a Cross-Dresser, Ah! Needle Landslide, and What's Better Than a Cookie).

Be sure to check out LOL Diabetes. Think you have something funny to add? I say go for it!!

There's a workout, and then there's a Work Out. And THEN, there's a BOXING WORK OUT. Trust me, there's a reason why boxers are able to spend over a half an hour in a ring exchanging punches and not go into cardiac arrest. It's because these guys and gals have trained their butts off for months before ever stepping foot in that arena, let alone that ring. But, you don't have to be Rocky Balboa to get the benefit of a boxing workout, which is why I am this week highlighting some of the basic boxing moves that you too can add to your fitness routine.

First of all, be sure to always maintain a proper stance. This means keeping your feet a little more than shoulder width apart, with your dominant foot in the back (in other words, if you're right handed/footed, than you want your right foot in the back and for your left foot to lead). Try your best to stay on the balls on your feet, which will allow you to do all your fancy stutter-stepping footwork (or for now, just keep you balanced). Your hands should be made into fists and kept close to your face. Your elbows need to be tucked closely to your body. From here, you're ready to start dotting some imaginary bad guy's eyes.

There are four basic punches in boxing: the Jab, the Cross, the Hook, and the Uppercut. To keep things easy, we're going to only focus on the Jab and the Cross. To throw the Jab, you need to flick out your lead hand (which should be the hand that is not dominant -- again, if you are right handed/footed, that hand/foot is kept toward the rear, whereas the weaker hand/foot leads...which, in this case, is your left). As you extend your arm to throw your Jab, your hand should twist like a corkscrew at the end of the punch. Once you have extended your arm, be sure to immediately bring your arm back, tuck your elbow back into your side and return your fist to the side of your face. To throw a Cross, you take your dominant hand and throw a straight punch with it, twisting at the waist as you do. Again, you want to twist your wrist at the end of the punch, adding more 'snap' to the motion. Once the punch is thrown, bring your arm back right away, tuck your elbow back in, and bring your fist back next to your face.

By combining these two punches, you are doing a 1-2 combination. A lot of times people will throw a few jabs before throwing a cross, which of course is fine (and very much the case in an actual boxing match). Use this punch combination on a large heavy punching bag (the cylindrical kind that hangs from the ceiling or stand) while wearing what are known as bag gloves (lightweight boxing gloves that can be purchased at most any sporting goods store or even Wal-Mart).

Boxing is broken into three-minute rounds with one-minute rests in between each round. In accordance with this design, that is how you will also train. Three minutes of, say, shadowboxing -- using the 1-2 combination I just taught you, followed by a round or two of jumping rope, followed by three or four rounds of hitting the heavy bag, and then finishing off with a few rounds of abdominal work.

Even if you take it slow at first (which I really suggest you do), you'll find that the boxing workout is absolutely exhausting. This is exactly why so many health clubs now offer "cardio-boxing" as a group aerobics class. You'll burn far more calories doing this workout than you will on a stair-stepper or walking on a treadmill, and you'll do so during less time. Intensity is the key. Like I said, there's a workout, and then there's a Workout. And then there's a BOXING WORKOUT. Try this routine and, before long, you'll be wearing a grey track suit and running the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

For a great video demonstration I found online that features the basics of boxing, click HERE.

Note: The content presented in this post is for informational purposes only. Please consult your doctor or fitness professional before starting a physical fitness program.

Why is diabetes an imperfect science? The last 22 years of my life with diabetes have disproved as much (or more) than it has confirmed in conventional diabetes wisdom. The facts were in the studies - but researchers didn't know what to do with them, at the time. Here's where the mysteries will unfold..

The last year blogging with The Diabetes Blog has been an in your face demonstration of the imperfect science of diabetes. Many undisclosed details of studies from days gone by have proven to be a reason why diabetes has been an imperfect science. Since when has science been imperfect? When you don't complete your homework. Don't get wrong - science has done the homework, but you - the diabetic - have not been privy to every fact found in these studies. Nowadays, there's no excuse. The dog doesn't eat my homework.

It's time these facts made it to the light of day. I am taking my investigative curiosity and hanging a shingle over LoveDiabetes.com - because that's who I am: Allison Love Beatty! Let's buddy-up with the researchers and their homework. It's about time we solved the universal mysteries of diabetes. The facts are available. With combined knowledge, existential and pathological, we can make more of these studies from yesteryear and the days to come.

Someday soon we will see the trend of diabetes reverse - less diagnosis, less complications, and reduced costs. I've got Internet access, unlimited long-distance, and plenty of time. The fun is just getting started! This is my invitation to you - what's your diabetes mystery? Leave me a comment on LoveDiabetes.com so I know what's on your mind. Together we will prove there is no such a thing as an imperfect science.

Love always,
Allie B

A type 1 diabetic mystery is why do some Type 1s get complications and others seem to never get them? A massive Japanese study of Type 1 diabetics found that those with fulminant diabetes developed complications much faster and more severely than those with non-fulminant diabetes.

The difference between fulminant and non-fulminant is the speed and intensity at which the disease develops. Fulminant Type 1 diabetes typically develops suddenly with near total loss of beta cell function. This type of diabetes is confirmed with testing c-peptide levels. Non-fulminant type 1 diabetes has residual c-peptide levels that eventually taper to undetectable. Sometimes this is seen through many years of the Honeymoon Period.

This study may be the antithesis of conventional wisdom for preventing complications. Staking all hopes on blood sugar control is heavily optimistic. Yes controlling blood sugar does lessen the workload for existing beta cells, and thus extends the lifespan of each beta cell. Research suggests that c-peptide offers protection to beta cells, both from apoptosis (cell death) and encourages new cell growth. This new cell growth applies to beta cells and other cells of the body that endure long-term Type 1 diabetes complications.

Diabetics are instructed that maintaining normal blood sugars is the Holy Grail of preventing long-term complications. Yes and no. The truth is controlling your blood sugar will not allow complications of Type 1 diabetes to develop as quickly, presuming you still had some level of beta cell function upon diagnosis (i.e., c-peptide). That doesn't sound like a reward as much as it does a delayed punishment. I'd like c-peptide with my insulin, please. It's off the à la carte menu? That's fine - serve it up! I want to thank Klausen for bringing this study to my attention.

Insulin not only moves glucose into the cells, but it also escorts Vitamin C. Blood sugar hogs the seats on the bus in most diabetics, therefore reducing the amount of Vitamin C we can absorb. This is the premise of The GAA Theory: high glucose levels hinder vitamin C entry into cells.

Vitamin C is vitally important for many functions throughout the body - a big one being metabolism. Glucose and Vitamin C are similar in the way they enter the cells. Both molecules require help from insulin. The name for the process that brings glucose and Vitamin C through cell membranes is insulin-mediated uptake. The insulin-mediated uptake of glucose and vitamin C uses white blood cells. White blood cells have more insulin pumps and they may contain 20 times the amount of vitamin C as ordinary cells.

So does increasing your Vitamin C help boost your glycemic control? Diabetes Health cited a study that confirms daily doses of 2,000 mg of absorbic acid improved both fasting blood glucose and HbA1c readings in patients with type 2 diabetes. Next time you swing by the store - see if some Emergen-C can help you achieve better glycemic control. With 1,000 mg of Vitamin C per packet - their homepage says: Feel The Good. Little did they know how good it could be for Type 2 diabetics!