Practical recommendations are always based primarily on experience and have an empirical basis than theoretical conclusions. Consequently, they are more effective in individual cases where the application of practice is justified. The disadvantage is the difficulty of obtaining a universal model due to the complexity of many factors that can affect the implementation of recommendations: from the variety of demographic data to the patient’s medical history. At the same time, these practices should also be differentiated according to their direct tasks: either to prevent the possibility of a disease or to intervene for treatment. This paper provides a critical analysis of medical prescriptions and interventions for type 2 diabetes.
The most frequent prescriptions in diabetes prevention are physical activity and proper nutrition, which differ in their quantitative and qualitative nature in each case. Lifestyle modification is a proven effective practice for type 2 diabetes. The proposals of the selected plan are primarily about a well-thought-out high-carbohydrate diet, which at the same time consists of easily accessible products, including cow’s milk replacement (ADA, n.d.). The emphasis is on the vegetable and animal origin of the consumed proteins and fats, but the focus is on carbohydrates. Here it is important to point out that the patient’s health education will have no less important role than these prescriptions. Firstly, fast carbohydrates should be clearly distinguished from slow ones since the former are decomposed into glucose and enter the bloodstream, which is categorically contraindicated in type 2 diabetes (Magkos et al., 2020). Secondly, it is difficult to compensate for the critical intake of vitamins and minerals with an exclusive carbohydrate diet; meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products must still be present in the diet.
There are several groups among the active exercises introduced to maintain a healthy lifestyle and prevent disease. First, progressive resistance training significantly decreases HbA1c levels (Magkos et al., 2020). Secondly, aerobic exercise also demonstrates a similar result. Accompanying such interventions with glucose monitoring by various methods is mandatory. In addition, exercise creates a more severe burden on the body of people, which should be accompanied by diet control; otherwise, with incorrect calculations or nutrition, overwork, excessive fatigue, and other side effects are possible. As a result, such exercises require an integrated approach and cannot be used as a separate recommendation without accompanying explanations.
Medical intervention with insulin is also a reasonably effective tool in this care plan. However, an expert must calculate its use since each person requires individual dosage and frequency of use. Consequently, blood sugar monitoring is most critical of this intervention, as opposed to physical activity and diet. In addition, this issue requires a deeper and more responsible understanding on the part of the patient, which makes the stage of health education almost mandatory. Not much attention is paid to this issue in the plan, but the knowledge of a potential patient is a much more powerful tool than the uncontrolled application of the recommended practices described above.
A possible missing item in this practice is the analysis of human behavioral factors. For example, if the patient leads an active lifestyle due to work, physical exercises may not have the desired effect due to the already existing load. Otherwise, one activity may not be enough, and additional walks or other activities involving movement will be required. Individual food intolerance in the preparation of the diet should also be controlled. As a result, this plan lacks emphasis on emotional issues that should be worked out, at least at the stage of health education.
References
ADA. (n.d.). Diabetes Medical Management Plan.
Magkos, F., Hjorth, M. F., & Astrup, A. (2020). Diet and exercise in the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 16(10), 545-555.