Managing your diabetes well diminishes the impact this chronic disease has on your daily life. Diabetics enjoy full, active lives—just ask tennis star Billy Jean King or NFL QB Jay Cutler. There are several tactics you can take to ensure your diabetes doesn’t take over your life. Here are just a few.

Education. If you suffer from diabetes, odds are you’re already fairly educated about diabetes control and treatment. But are you current? Clinical trials are starting on promising new diabetes drugs at diabetes centers across the nation all the time. Keep your knowledge up to date.

Monitor/Manage Your Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, and Blood Glucose Average. Work with your doctor to determine your target levels and then maintain them through exercise and diet.

Stop Smoking. Aside from the well-documented dangerous side-effects of smoking, this habit is particularly hazardous for diabetics. The plain fact is diabetics who smoke are three time more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than those diabetics who don’t.

Take an Aspirin Each Day. Aspirin is a strong anti-coagulant. By helping to prevent your blood from clotting, a daily aspirin reduces your chances of stroke and heart attack, both of which are particularly hazardous to diabetics.

In the next blog entry, we’ll detail four more ways to manage your diabetes.