Diabetes: 3 Ways to Improve Diabetes Care in 2023

What if you could prevent, reverse or control diabetes?

That’s the goal of The Standards of Care in Diabetes - 2023 published by the American Diabetes Association.

In the United States…

• 37 million people have diabetes
• 96 million have prediabetes
• Diabetes is among the top 10 leading causes of death

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Diabetes is largely preventable and manageable with healthy lifestyle habits and medication. The top three strategies to control your diabetes and improve your care in 2023 include:

1. Improve weight management

Maintain a healthy weight or lose weight if you need to. That’s long been a mantra to help people with diabetes. But how much weight should someone with diabetes lose?

The new standards recommend setting a more aggressive goal of losing up to 15% body fat with healthy lifestyle habits and medications, says ADA chief scientific and medical officer Dr. Robert A. Gabbay.

Eating Diabetic-Friendly meals and getting regular exercise can help tip the scale in the right direction.

2. Control blood pressure and cholesterol

Did you know the number one killer for people with diabetes is heart disease?

It’s also the leading cause of death in the United States.

Updated goals recommended in the Standards of Care in Diabetes include:

• Lower total cholesterol
• Boost HDL (good) cholesterol
• Lower LDL (bad) cholesterol
• Achieve and maintain a healthy blood pressure

Interestingly, in many cases people who lose weight also see improvements in blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

And the best path to achieve this, medications and healthy lifestyle habits, says Dr. Gabbay.

3. Improve access to diabetes care for vulnerable populations

Did you know vulnerable populations are more likely to develop diabetes?

Many people with diabetes lack access to health care, have low health literacy, and don’t get regular check-ups or screenings.

That’s a problem. Because diabetes is a progressive disease. Left unchecked it can lead to kidney damage, vision loss, poor circulation, heart disease, stroke, amputations, and early death.

Helping vulnerable populations manage diabetes may include:

• Telehealth services for diabetes care and check-ups
• Health education on managing and testing blood sugar levels
• Improved access to healthy foods for a Diabetic-Friendly diet

“The ADA’s Standards of Care are the gold standard for diabetes care and prevention that allows clinicians around the world to remain abreast of the rapidly changing health care landscape,” says Dr. Gabbay.

Hungry for more help to manage diabetes? Check out the complete list of Diabetic-Friendly meals here.