Diabetes and Diet

If you have diabetes, you know that caring for your health is very important. It may be overwhelming at first to learn to control your diabetes, but adding this to your schedule can have big rewards. A few of the keys to controlling your blood sugar levels are taking your medicine at the same time every day, checking your feet, and exercising regularly, but there are other facets to maintaining your health too. Here are a few tips to help you with living with diabetes.

1. Checking your blood glucose levels regularly is the most important thing that you can do to preserve your health. Keeping tabs on your sugar level will help you to prevent complications from your diabetes. Your blood glucose levels should be below 120 mg/dl before meals and 180 mg/dl after meals for proper control.

2. If your doctor has prescribed medications, you need to take them as they have directed. Take them at the same time each day and try to take them close to your regular meal times.

3. It is important that you drink at least 64 ounces of water every day. You can count any drink that is free of caffeine in your total for the day, too. Alcohol and drinks with caffeine need to be consumed in moderation or not at all.

4. A good and varied diet can make a difference in your health. You want to ensure that your diet includes fresh vegetables, carbs, fats (good fats), and some lean protein. This diet will help your diabetes as well as help decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease and other diseases.

5. Take a multivitamin every day. Make sure that your vitamin includes betacarotenoids, zinc, selenium, and antioxidants.

6. If you have diabetes, you need to take good care of your feet. Wear shoes and socks that fit your feet well. While it may seem that this would not be a big problem, it can become one if there are sores on your feet that become infected. Check your feet after you bathe and before you go to sleep at night. Check the soles of your feet using a mirror. Never use lotion between your toes. If you have a sore on your feet that does not seem to be healing, you need to see your doctor. Dry between your toes thoroughly and make sure that you wash your feet carefully.

7. Gum disease can be prevented with brushing and flossing your teeth. Diabetic patients are at a higher risk of gum disease, so take care to help prevent it. Cardiovascular disease and high cholesterol are also connected to gum disease.

8. Sleep well. Sleeping seven to eight hours a night can make a difference in your diabetes. Go to bed and wake up at a regular time everyday.

9. Exercise. Exercise. EXERCISE. Moving your body helps you relieve stress, reduce blood sugar levels, and will help prevent depression. So get moving by taking a walk, playing golf, or even walking in place during commercials. No matter how slow you walk, you will still get some health benefits. The key is to get vertical and moving.

10. Learn more about diabetes. Research is key in learning to live with your diabetes. Do not be afraid to ask questions. By following these ten tips, you will be on your way to living with your diabetes and not being controlled by it!

Khim Lim
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/tips-on-how-to-live-with-diabetes-76521.html

Diabetes is an incurable disease which is caused by high levels of sugar in the blood. When a person has diabetes, he or she will not be able to break down the sugar in the blood on their own. To break down the sugar, extra insulin will be needed at regular intervals, and a special diet to control the blood sugar level in the body is recommended. This disease can be detected and should be detected at the earliest possible time, by means of a diabetes blood test. A normal healthy human being will have the capacity to break down any amount of sugar that is ingested with the help of insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas. In a diabetic person, the pancreas does not produce sufficient insulin and/or the body develops a resistance to insulin.

Either way, the blood does not receive the sufficient quantity required to break down the sugar into glucose, to be absorbed by tissues, muscles and liver. The diabetic person will have a very high quantity of unabsorbed glucose in the body. This is why a diabetes blood test is the easiest way to confirm the presence of the disease. Many people are not aware that there are 3 different types of diabetes. All are detectable through a simple blood test:

Type 1 diabetes – this type usually starts early in childhood. This is a very serious disease and it will require insulin injections throughout life, without which life of the patient can be in fatal danger.

Type 2 diabetes – this type is the most common type of diabetes; more than 90 percent of those who suffer from diabetes, suffer of this type. This diabetes develops in adult stage, and it usually takes a lot of time for the person to recognize the signs and/or diagnose it. This type of diabetes is on the rise because of the increase in the sedentary style of life, junk food and lack of exercise that is prevalent allover the world.

Gestational diabetes – This type of diabetes is a temporary diseases and it usually develops when a woman is pregnant.

There are many problems that develop when a person suffers from diabetes. You will find that there is excessive thirst, sometimes blurry vision, constant fatigue, and continuous hunger with weight loss. The type 2 diabetes sometimes causes impotence in men. Whenever there is the slightest doubt that diabetes may be present, a diabetes blood test should be carried out so treatment may start at the earliest possible time.

Kerry Ng
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/diabetes-blood-tests-127343.html

4 wks ago was diagnosed with pre-diabetes; 56 y/o North American caucasian F/. No family hx of diabetes; FBS 123; A1c 6.5; BMI <20. Never over weight. I eat a lot of grains; I do not eat enough fruits and vegetables. Do not eat fried foods, meat, or junk food. Drink cow’s milk for years. Walk a LOT– no car.. Any ideas of cause of pre-diabetes?

I am a 45 yr old male that was just diagnosed with pre-diabetes as well.

I wish I had known sooner to be honest.

My Dr. now is treating me as if I have full diabetes. She mentioned my weight is probably partly to blame. I am 6’2 and 240lbs…but my frame is large. I would like to drop off 20 lbs however.

My sugar levels have been at the highest 142. I am currently taking metformin X-2 a day. Plus lisiniprol to protect my kidney’s.

I was adopted so family history is out….I don’t smoke or drink and don’t eat much sweets either.

I want to get it under control. I work in a hospital now and see many dialysis patients come in and don’t want to have to do that.
Besides, diabetes can cause other worse things as well.

Looks like we are in the same boat! Good luck!

He’s 18 years old and a construction worker. He’s always refused to eat fruits and vegetables since I’ve known him. I bought him some men’s multi-vitamins from GNC, but he isn’t very interested in taking them. He eats fast food atleast once a day, sometimes as many as three times a day. His reasoning is that he is not overweight, therefore it can’t be too bad for him. I’ve tried to talk him into eating some kind of fruit or vegetable, but he thinks they all taste bad or have no taste at all. His family has never been adamant about eating right. I’m worried that in the future he may suffer from cardiovascular disease or diabetes or one of the various kinds of cancer that result from not eating right. I’ve told him this and he basically dismisses my worries. What is this doing to his body and what should I do/say to him?

Here’s the thing, foods that are processed, and all made of some artificial flavors need to be taken under moderation. I mean he can eat the fast food, but he has to have some sort restrictions on how much and how many. Some people might tell you, "Oh it’s okay I’ll just burn it off". That’s true, but you can’t burn off the Sat Fat, Trans Fat, Carbs or sugar. Not mention the countless other ingredients not printed on the back of the label. He’s raising his chance to get Diabetes, High Blood pressure, certain types of cancers etc. Trust me I use to weight 254 and now I’m down to 215, 90 percent muscle, with a killer six pack. He needs to slow down.