Letting your diabetes get you down may make the disease more challenging to manage according to results published in this week’s Medical Care. In this study, diabetics that received counseling for depression improved blood pressure, exercise levels and overall quality of life when compared to a similar group that only received physical diabetic treatment.

Depression and diabetes are often found together –The University of South Carolina Center for Health Care Research notes that nearly 75% of diabetics suffer from depression at any given time. The results from this study shows that treating mood allows those with type 2 diabetes to take control of their health –those that received the depression treatment tended to follow through with their health care team’s advice more than those that remained depressed.

Here’s how to combat diabetes naturally and easily…