1.Simple carbohydrates tend to elevate blood sugar levels. Simple sugars, have molecular structures which are absorbed readily through the lining of the stomach and small intestine. Because they are so readily absorbed, simple sugars will cause your blood glucose to rise, which is why you would need to avoid corn syrup candies, table sugar, pastries, cakes, cookies, and other foods laden with sugar.

Refined carbohydrates are not the wisest choice when you are trying to maintain normal blood sugar levels. Refined carbs are those found in white rice, white bread, white pasta, and those sugary breakfast cereals. You can replace these refined carbohydrates with healthier complex carbohydrates, such as whole grain breads, whole wheat pasta, and brown rice.

2.You can still have sweet treats, but they cannot be made of sugar. You can modify most any recipe that calls for sugar, and substitute the sugar with a pourable granulated sugar substitute, such as Splenda or the store brand that is equivalent to it. There are some other brands out on the market now also that are pourable just like sugar.

3.Portion control is very important when you are managing your type 2 diabetic diet. When you think of a portion size, what do you think of? Do you think of a portion as how much you put on your plate? If so, you may need to rethink what a portion size is. According to the Diabetes Food Pyramid, serving sizes are very specific. For example, a serving of orange juice is 1/2 cup, so if you free pour an 8 ounce glass of orange juice, you have two servings of juice. If you have a serving of whole wheat pasta 1/3 cup is a serving, so if you load a plateful of pasta, you may have as much as 3 or more servings. When eating bread, keep in mind what a serving is. A serving of bread is 1 slice, a serving of whole wheat English muffin is 1/2 muffin. You may be able to have up to 6 to 11 servings of complex carbs per day, according to the number of calories you are allowed.

4.Substituting healthy fats for saturated fats is important, when you are following a type ii diabetic diet. When preparing meals, you should use olive, canola, sunflower, flaxseed, or safflower oil. These oils contain Vitamin E, and they have essential fatty acids, which may lower your risk for heart disease. Be sure to read labels when you are buying prepared foods. Pay attention to the kinds of fats being used. If the labels mention partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, put it back on the shelf, because this is an unhealthy fat. If the labels say “no trans fat,” look again, if it mentions partially hydrogenated and hydrogenated vegetable oils contain trans fats. You will see cookies and snack foods say “no trans fats,” but they will mention hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats, so beware.

In order to get accustomed to controlling your blood sugar levels, you will benefit by staying away from simple carbs, and substituting them with sugar free equivalents. You will also benefit by substituting the refined carbs for the more complex carbs, because these foods stay in the digestive tract longer and you stay satisfied longer. You also burn more calories by digesting complex carbs, because of complex carbs are less refined. You may need to measure your food portions for awhile, until you get accustomed to what your portion sizes are supposed to be. It is also a good idea to track your food and calorie intake each day to be sure you are staying within the daily calorie intake your doctor prescribed for you.

Diabetic neuropathy is a common condition among type 2 diabetics. The feet are often the first place where type ii diabetics lose feeling, which is why it is important to check the feet daily. Most people check their feet before going to bed; it is important to take a good look at your toes, your toenails, the tops and bottoms of your feet. Make note of any differences in the feel and appearance of your feet, ankles and lower legs. Since your sensation may be impaired, it is important to examine your feet with your hands and your eyes. Spread your toes apart and look between your toes, and check the underside of your toes also.

When you bathe, it is important to pay special attention to your feet. Wash them gently, and dry your feet well. If any moisture is left between your toes, this can cause a fungal infection to set up between the toes. You may not feel the itching from a fungal infection if you have diabetic neuropathy. After drying your feet, it is important to moisturize your feet, but be sure not to put the lotion in between your toes, because you need to keep those areas dry.

If you notice any sign of infection, redness, irritation, broken skin with drainage, elevated temperature, and chills, you should contact your doctor immediately, so that your doctor can evaluate the condition of your feet and treat you accordingly. It is important to contact the doctor as soon as possible, because infections can set up very quickly in the feet of type 2 diabetics. Circulation is often impaired in the feet, and the tissue of the feet can become necrotic (dead tissue). In just a short time serious tissue injury can be caused by impaired circulation to the feet and toes.

Another word about shoes: since you may not have much sensation in your feet, it is important to check your shoes to see that they fit properly. Feel where your toes come when you stand in your shoes. If you toes come close to the end of your shoes, they may be too short. If your shoes are too narrow, or have stitching on the inside, they could injure your feet. If your feet slide within your shoes, this could case shearing of the skin, which could result in bruising and tearing of the skin. You may be the only person to notice when something isn’t quite right with your feet. By caring for your feet daily, you should notice any changes that should be reported to your health care professional.

Type 1 and type 2 diabetics have to take special care of their hands and feet, which includes nail care. Many people with type ii diabetes mellitus are susceptible to bacterial and fungal infections; therefore, it is very important that fingernails and toenails are trimmed properly. It is important to make sure you don’t cut the skin with the nail clippers, because microorganisms can enter the body through the opening in the skin.

Before clipping your fingernails you will need to have everything you need at your fingertips before you start. Be sure you have some cotton balls, nail polish remover (if you are wearing polish), nail clippers, styptic powder, hand soap, and nail file. It is imperative that you prepare the skin and nails before clipping to prevent infection. If you have on any nail polish, it is important to remove it before clipping. After removing nail polish, wash your hands really well and dry them before clipping. It is important for individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes to prepare their hands for clipping to prevent infections. If you should cut the skin accidentally, any bacteria harboring in the crevices between the fingernail polish and the skin could invade your body through the skin.

It is important for type 1 diabetics, type 2 diabetics and kids with juvenile diabetes to be very careful when slipping their nails. You may be better at clipping with one hand than the other; therefore, when clipping your fingernails, you may want to start with your awkward hand first. Be sure to have a firm grip on the clippers, but not so tight that they flip out of your fingers. Very carefully place the end of your fingernail between the cutting edges of the clippers and then gently squeeze the clippers so that the blades cut your nail. Follow through with the rest of your fingernails in the same way. It is better to clip a little at a time to prevent cutting your fingernails too short. Being a type ii diabetic, you are at risk of cutting your skin if you clip your nails too short. If you should clip the skin, use the styptic powder to stop the bleeding as quickly as possible. Lastly, file your nails so that they are smooth after clipping them, so that the nails are smooth.

How to clip toenails

Clipping your toenails is done much the same way as you clip your fingernails. Just like with your fingernails, you need to prep the nails, by taking off nail polish, if you are wearing any. Be sure to soak your feet prior to clipping your toenails, because the toenails will be softer to cut through. You will need to gather the same materials as you would for cutting your nails. Be sure to have the styptic powder handy, in case you accidentally snip your skin around your toenails.

It is important to trim the toenails straight across according to the shape of the toes. Don’t cut them too short, because if you cut into the quick you could get an infection. Be sure to file your toenails when you have finished clipping them. When you trim your toenails, do it after a bath or shower, because your toenails will be softer and easier to trim. Don’t try to trim into the corners, because this can cause ingrown toenails. If you notice ingrown toenails do not try to cut them out yourself. Contact your health care professional and let him/her deal with any nails that are in-grown. If you are not sure how to cut your toenails safely, you need to allow a health professional to show you how. If you are unable to trim your toenails, you need to let a professional, or someone who knows how to trim the nails of a type ii diabetic.

Men with diabetes mellitus type 1 and type 2 sometimes have problems achieving an erection. Men may have the desire to have sexual contact, but cannot physically have contact due to erectile sexual problems. Women often have other sexual problems that include vaginal dryness and an inability to feel aroused. There are ways to prevent or reduce the intensity of sexual problems in diabetics.

1.Men and women who keep their diabetes under control have fewer sexual problems. It is important to keep up with your blood sugar level according to a set routine. You should stay on your prescribed number of calories per day.

2.You should get regular exercise at least 3 times a week. If you are able to walk, a 15 to 20 minute walk, combined with a healthy diet will help keep your blood glucose levels in check.

3.Men and women with sexual problems should consult with their physician. As a man, you may feel embarrassed to speak to your health care provider about your erectile dysfunction, or other sexual problems; however, your doctor can help you. If your doctor can’t help you, he/she can refer you to a doctor who can help you. As a woman, you may also feel embarrassed to mention your sexual issues to your doctor. There is no need to feel embarrassed about your sexual issues, because having sex is good for your physical and mental health. If your doctor can help you get back to a satisfying life.

4.It is very important to report sexual dysfunction to your doctor. Some functions of your body are under your conscious control, but other functions of your body, such as your breathing, heartbeat, and sexual response are controlled by your autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is not under your control, so you may not be able to respond sexually until you are treated medically.

5.Diabetic testing is important to properly diagnose and treat your diabetes. When the symptoms of diabetes are under control through diet, exercise, and medication (if indicated), you are likely to have better sexual responses.

6.Many people who have diabetes type 1 and type 2 often have hypertension. If your doctor prescribed blood pressure medicine, it is important that you take your medicine routinely as ordered by your physician. High blood pressure can also influence sexual response. Sometimes, just taking care of yourself the way you are supposed to, as a diabetic, is all that is necessary to have better sexual experiences.

7.Smoking negatively impacts a person with diabetes mellitus. If you cannot quit on your own, you should ask your doctor what type of stop smoking treatment is safe for you to use. Many people have good results with the “stop smoking” patches and gums. Other people have success through hypnosis and other means.

8.If you drink alcohol, you may need to limit the amount that you drink. Alcohol metabolizes in the liver slowly and can lower your blood sugar, which in turn could cause you to lose consciousness from hypoglycemia, and could cause other medical issues.

If you do not yet have diabetes, you should live a healthy lifestyle, which includes a healthy diet, exercise, no use of tobacco products, and limiting alcohol consumption. It is much easier to prevent diabetes mellitus type 1 and type 2 than it is to treat it. If you do have diabetes, following your doctor’s orders concerning treatment of your diabetes, and living a healthy lifestyle may help you prevent or alleviate sexual problems.

1. Fasting Blood Sugar One of the lab tests that is important to you, as a diabetic, is the fasting blood sugar (FBS), also known as fasting glucose level. It is important that you have nothing by mouth for several hours before the FBS. You are usually instructed to be NPO after midnight, which means to take nothing by mouth from that time until the test is drawn. The normal level of a FBS is 60 to 99 mg/dl. If your fasting glucose level is 100 to 125 you have an impaired fasting glucose. A diagnosis of diabetes mellitus is made when the individual has a fasting glucose of 126 or higher. If your FBS falls into the range of 100 to 125, your doctor may order a glucose tolerance test (GTT).

2. Glucose Tolerance Test A glucose tolerance test determines diabetes blood glucose levels, and can be preformed orally and intravenously. However, the intravenous glucose tolerance test is not widely used, and will not be discussed here for that reason. The oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is done while you are fasting. You will be instructed to not eat or drink from midnight to the time of the test. You will be given a certain amount of glucose solution. The lab techs will draw your blood prior to the test to have a base line, and then your will have blood drawn every 30 to 60 minutes for a period of 3 hours. The normal oral glucose tolerance test values are 95 mg/dl for fasting (before the test), below 180 at the 1 hour blood draw, below 155 at the 2 hour blood draw, and below 140 at the final blood draw. Any values higher than the minimums will indicate a diagnosis of diabetes.

3. Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN Diabetics) are often at risk for kidney failure. Failure of the kidneys is characterized by the kidneys not filtering properly. A blood urea nitrogen test measures kidney function. The BUN rises in correlation to the severity of kidney damage. Normal BUN lab values are 7 to 14 mg/dl. The BUN measures the waste products in your blood that are not being filtered by your kidneys. Thus, BUN tests with values 50 mg/dl or higher are indicative of renal failure.

4. A1C Test The A1C test is diabetic testing to evaluate how your diabetes treatment is going. You can check your blood glucose levels each day, multiple times a day, but your doctor may want to see how you are doing over time. The A1C test is a test that measures your glycated hemoglobin, which measures the amount of blood glucose stick to the proteins in the hemoglobin as the red blood cells have been exposed to in their 120 day lifespan. The more glucose molecules stick to the proteins, the higher the glucose level in the blood plasma. To know what your A1C test level is, you will need to contact your doctor. If the result of your A1C test is below 7 percent you are managing your diabetes well. Thus an A1C level 8 percent or above indicates your diabetes is not well controlled.

Knowing your lab values will help you better understand the state of health you are in. The more you educate yourself on routine labs and diagnostic testing the better you will understand how healthy you are. Don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor about any questions you have about any of the blood tests that you have to undergo.

Raisin Bran MuffinsYou can make diabetic friendly raisin bran muffins that you can enjoy any time of day with meals or a snack. You can find a recipe that you life for raisin bran muffins and use Brown Sugar Twin or its equivalent, which is sugar free, in the place of the brown sugar in the recipe. Substitute whole wheat flour for white flour in the recipe. In the place of oil, use 1 cup of applesauce, or substitute the amount of oil used in the recipe with an essential oil, such as olive oil, or sunflower oil.

Baked ApplesIf you like baked apples, and you find a recipe you would like to make substitutions, you can make some really good baked apples by substituting Brown Sugar Twin for the regular brown sugar. You can also use a sugar free soft drink to use as liquid in the bottom of the baking pan. Bake according to the instructions in the recipe you found.

Banana BreadFind a recipe for Banana bread that you like and then make it healthy for you, as a diabetic. Use whole wheat or whole grain flour in the place of white flour. Substitute the sugar with a sugar substitute such as Splenda. Substitute the brown sugar for Brown Sugar Twin or its equivalent. Substitute the butter or shortening with a heart healthy oil, and follow the rest of the recipe and bake according to the instructions.

Healthy PizzaIf you like to make pizza from scratch, substitute the flour with whole grain flour. Use olive oil in the place of another type of oil (if used in the recipe). Substitute the cheese with a 1 percent milk fat cheese. Cover with your favorite veggies and bake according to the recipe’s directions.

The tips above are just the beginning of a better way of eating. Making healthy recipes with whole grain flour is healthier than using white flour because whole grains have fiber, which stay in the stomach longer. When you eat foods with whole grains, your blood sugar levels will remain stable, rather than spike and then plummet, as what happens with foods made with white flour.

By substituting healthy fats for butter, margarine, shortening, and other solid or semisolid fats in recipes will give you the essential fats you need to stay healthy. Healthy fats are good for your heart, lungs, eyes, nerves, and brain. As a person with diabetes type 1, type 2, juvenile, and gestational diabetes, it is important to have at least two teaspoons a day of healthy fats.

1. Price Range:Glucometers vary in price range. You can purchase glucose monitors from about $20 to $90 and over. The glucometers may be very expensive, but the container of testing strips can be what is expensive.

2. Insurance Coverage:If you are a diabetic who must do a blood sugar test with a glucometer on a regular basis, you should consider purchasing a glucometer and diabetes testing strips that are covered by health insurance. Most brands, but not all, of blood glucose monitoring machines are covered by insurance. Some glucose monitoring machines and testing strips require higher co-pays than others.

3. Accuracy: Some glucometers may be more accurate than others. Some brands of glucose meters have to be programmed to read the testing strips. If you are looking for a good glucose monitor, you will need to take certain things into consideration. For instance, if you think you might have problems programming a blood glucose monitoring machine, then you might need a simple machine that does not need to be preprogrammed. Units that require programming to read the testing strips will not be accurate if the glucometer isn’t programmed.

4. Costs over Time:Some insurance companies pay for part of the cost of the testing supplies, such as the control solution, lancets, testing strips, and batteries. Some insurance companies will pay more for some glucose testing supplies than others. Most people choose glucometers and diabetic testing supplies according to the amount of insurance coverage allowed for them. If you need a diabetes glucose testing machine that isn’t covered by your insurance, you might have your doctor contact your insurance company to ask for coverage for your machine and testing supplies.

5. Readability:Consider your eyesight. Does the glucose meter have a screen with numbers big enough to see? If your eyesight is relatively bad, you might not be able to see the blood glucose reading, so you might want to consider the size of the machine before purchasing it.

6. Usability:Small glucometers may be attractive, but if you have dexterity problems of some sort, such as with arthritis of the hands, you may not be able to perform your blood sugar test by yourself.

7. Features:Part of the pricing of glucometers is related to the memory feature. Some glucometers save only the last blood sugar test, while other machines save up to 500 diabetes monitoring results. If you have to test several times a day, you would likely need a glucometer with a large memory. With a large memory feature, you can review your blood glucose levels over several days.

8. Blood Sample:You should consider purchasing a glucometer by how much blood that it needs to give a glucose test reading. If you think you won’t be able to tolerate sticking your fingers several times a day, you might want to choose a glucometer that can test blood samples taken from the arms, which are less sensitive to the sticks.

If you are tired of sticking your fingers to get blood samples for your glucometer readings, you might want to change to a glucose meter that doesn’t require you to stick your fingers. Many of the newer glucose meters are so high tech they require less blood to give a reading. It is important to check your blood glucose as ordered by your physician to monitor your diabetic blood sugar. Thus, if glucose testing is made easier, people with diabetes will not dread the next test.

If you have diabetes mellitus, it is important that you take special care of your teeth, gums, and oral mucosa. Microorganisms grow all over the teeth, gums, tongue and other areas of the oral cavity. As with periodontal disease, the germs tend to stick to your teeth and die there. The skeletons of the germs is what you see as plaque, which sets up a pathway for living germs to get in between the teeth and the gums and work their way down to the bones of the jaw. As a result, you may suffer bone loss in and around the sockets of the jaw bone. The microorganisms feed on the gums at the base of your teeth. As the tissue erodes, your teeth look like they have become longer, but in truth the base of your teeth that should be under the gum line are exposed, which leads to bone loss. When you suffer bone loss, your teeth will loosen up, and they can form painful abscesses. It is possible to lose your teeth if enough bone tissue is lost in the jaw.

Below are some tips to help preserve your dental health:

Smoking:Periodontal disease is very prevalent in diabetics who smoke. The incidence of periodontitis is highest among diabetic smokers in their mid-forties and older. If you stop smoking, you may reduce your risk of developing periodontitis.

Healthy Diet:Maintaining a healthy diabetic diet is one way to help keep your blood sugar within normal limits. However, you may not be able to keep your blood sugar level within normal limits by diet alone. A diet in conjunction with other diabetes treatment regimens will help to control your blood glucose level.

Medication:Oral diabetes medications, and/or insulin injections may be prescribed by your doctor for your diabetes treatment. Many insulin dependent diabetics are using the insulin pump, which delivers scheduled doses of insulin painlessly through a delivery system, which delivers short acting insulin more efficiently than individual injections. The better the delivery of diabetic medications the more stable your blood sugars will be, which in turn will help to keep your mouth healthy.

Flossing:Flossing is part of good oral care, and it is necessary for everyone to floss. However, it is especially important for diabetics to floss at least once every day, but preferably after every meal. Flossing helps to remove the food particles that get stuck between the teeth and harbor microorganisms.

Brushing:Brushing your teeth after each meal, and every snack is essential for good oral health. Diabetics are prone to infection, due to the elevated blood glucose levels. Be sure to brush gently in a circular motion with a soft toothbrush. If you use force to brush your teeth, or you use stiff bristles, there is a chance of scratching your oral mucosa, which could cause an infection.

It is important to pay close attention to your oral health to prevent periodontal disease. If you notice any redness, irritation, or soreness of the mouth, contact your dentist as soon as possible. If your dentist makes you aware of a problem with your oral health, be sure to take measures to resolve the issue right away. Maintaining your oral health, may help to keep your entire body in good health.

In terms of specific ways that type of food should be a part of a given diet it is normally recommended it follow a given percentage. Foods that provide protein should constitute about twenty five per cent of a diet. Those that include things such as fatty acid like fish or nuts about another twenty five per cent. The balance, or at least half, from complex carbohydrates should then come from foods rich in fiber. And by follow such guidelines it will do so much to help to make sure that the blood sugar levels are as stabilized as possible. Which makes keeping that level of percentage in one’s daily diet a very essential part of what one should plan. It will all be an element that should become very essential to any realistic diet plan. And for so many even if this is a new process or one that will be one that brings a chance to improve blood sugar levels, increase energy and maybe even lose weight.

So that is why a balanced diet will always be very critical to this process. And there are plenty of guides and cookbooks available that can help to give this process some meaning and application in a way that will make it other than complicated to follow. Then one can look forward to taking the information and giving it some application that will allow it to be used in a practical manner. This is not a case of it being applied by some theory or means that will only be workable in some book. For that reason it is a means to make it very useful in what one does with the information. Which helps to allow it to be a benefit when it is use as intended.

Although some might find the idea of things like checking books for calories and fat contents to be tedious one they don’t want to try, it doesn’t have to be that way. It can be very rewarding if one can turn it into a habit. Because that will always make it in the long run an easy thing to do. When it is practices until you don’t have to think about it any longer then it will be become so second nature one won’t even have reason to think about it. It can just be applied and leave one the benefits in a manner that will make it a positive thing in life. Which will be easy to appreciate in the long run.

With a child, such types of conditions almost always require the use of insulin injections. There is normally no other way to assist someone who has developed this condition at an early time in life when it may be related to generic issues of that child’s family history. And this will end up being a lifelong process. So anyone who is diagnosed as a child with this condition can expect to make this change one for the rest of life. If this problem develops as an adult then there maybe a chance that some kind of methods such as diet and exercise can help to assist the pancreas to low the blood sugar levels so the pancreas can do the job with the insulin that it produces. However, if the problem remains unchecked or treated for too long then it will require the use of insulin injections as well.

When a person develops the symptoms most commonly associated with this condition that is the time a doctor will need to be consulted. The important thing is to be sure that one takes time to not ignore the problem. Diabetes is the kind of disease that can have serious consequences to the person when left untreated. So the person will not be advised to do other than take this condition very serious. And then to be willing to take whatever steps the doctor recommends so that the condition can be treated. There are many resources out there to help with advice and offer tips on how to deal with the condition. Because it is such major problem for some there is a great amount of tips and help that one can find through a health care provider or from any diabetic web site on the internet.

Like any change in life the problem of diabetes can bring about radical changes in how one lives and what can be eaten. It might require the use of a new diet or even an addition of an exercise routine to the lifestyle. But while such changes can be seen a very major at times it doesn’t mean one has to endure them alone. There are all kinds of support means available to guide the person with tips and other ways to deal with this change.