The flu is something that affects us all at some point. Whether you are healthy or have problems with your immune system, there are times when the flu catches you unexpectedly and makes you feel sick. Healthy people generally have an immune system that can effectively fight against the influenza virus, but some people do struggle to recover. If you have diabetes, then there is a chance you may find it hard to recover from the flu, especially if your blood glucose levels remain consistently high. We’ll take a closer look at what people with diabetes should know about the flu and how you can minimize your risks of complications.
Flu And Diabetes: What You Should Know
While the flu can affect anyone, people with diabetes are at a greater risk. This risk does not only lie in the chances of getting the flu but also in experiencing complications that are related to the viral infection. Studies show that about 30% of people who are hospitalized with flu have diabetes. This accounts for all types of diabetes, including type 1, type 2, and gestational.
The connection between diabetes and the immune system is quite complex. When you have diabetes, you generally experience periods of high blood sugar. During these periods, your immune system responds by sending out inflammatory signals. With consistently high blood glucose, the inflammation becomes low-grade and chronic. The problem here is that the inflammation caused by the immune system’s response, as well as macrophages and adipocytes that are located in fat tissue within the body, then damages the beta cells in the pancreas. This causes problems with insulin production, further contributing to the effects of diabetes.
Improving Immunity With Diabetes
While diabetes does have a significant impact on the immune system, there are ways in which you can maintain healthy immunity and still give your body the ability to fight back against viral infections and other infectious illnesses.
The most important factor here is to ensure you properly manage your diabetes. Consistent high blood glucose levels lead to poor management of diabetes, and this causes problems with your immune system. If you can implement a program that helps you be more efficient with your diabetes management, then you can also maintain a healthier immunity.
Watch Your Weight
There is a strong relationship between diabetes and obesity. People who are obese have a much higher risk of developing diabetes, with a particular focus on type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, obesity can also influence existing diabetes and make the condition worse. Due to excess fat storage, particularly at the liver, it is harder for the body to store glucose for future use. This leaves more glucose circulating through your blood system.
If you are obese and have diabetes, then it is crucial to lose weight. There are various strategies that you can use, but the most important is to implement a calorie deficit in your daily diet. This means eating fewer calories than you burn through your exercise and physical activity routines. As a diabetic, you should consider including snacks throughout the day that won’t cause a miscalculation with the calorie deficit. This can help to prevent hypoglycemia from happening during the day.
Give Up Smoking
Smoking is known to be bad for the human body, yet an estimated 30.8 million adults in the United States continue with this habit. There are several ways in which smoking impacts the body – and this includes adverse effects on immunity.
Regular smoking can cause levels of B-carotene and vitamin C in your blood to decline. This is due to the cadmium that is found in the tobacco that forms part of cigarettes and many vaping products. The chemical also causes the bioavailability of both zinc and selenium to decrease. These nutrients play an important role in keeping the immune system healthy and functional. When you give up smoking, your immunity will start to improve within as little as 30 days.
Limit Your Alcohol Consumption
While having a drink now and then is usually not a problem, overindulging with alcohol can also dampen the immune system. Even when you use diet soda or another low-calorie drink with no added sugars to mix your alcohol, it is still important to consider how these drinks will affect your immune system.
Alcohol can disrupt your gut microbiome. This microbiome consists of good bacteria that contribute to various functions, including gut health and immunity. Furthermore, alcohol is also known to trigger inflammatory responses in the body.
These are all factors that can harm your immune system. Men should try to have a maximum of 15 drinks a week and the upper moderation limit for women is around 10 drinks per week.
Don’t Overlook The Role Of Sleep
It is also important to understand the role that sleep plays in your overall health and your ability to maintain your immunity. A large number of people experience poor sleep. A loss of sleep can have a significant impact not only on your immune system but also on other elements of your health. Poor sleep can also contribute to an increase in stress – and this becomes a vicious cycle, as stress can make you lie awake for hours at night.
The idea here is to ensure you get at least seven hours of sleep every night. This is a sufficient amount of sleep to ensure you are well-rested and your body gets a chance to recover and prepare for the next day. Proper sleep can help to boost your immunity naturally and help you stay focused throughout the day.
Conclusion
If you have diabetes, then your immune system may be compromised. This is especially the case among people who have uncontrolled diabetes, which also makes you more susceptible to the flu. Properly managing your diabetes and taking care of your body can help to keep your immune system in good health, thus giving you better immunity against the viruses that cause the flu.