Recommended Diabetes Diet

A variety of foods made from wheat. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (Aug. 11, 2010) Lt. j.g. Christina Bologna shows a diabetic patient at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (NMCP) the proper way to read food labels to help monitor her blood-sugar levels. The girl is visiting NMCP for the annual Diabetes Marathon, a day to update diabetic children's school health plan and to refresh the participants' knowledge of the ongoing care needed to manage the disease. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Riza Caparros/Released) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A diabetes diet, medically referred to as medical nutrition therapy for diabetes, translates into eating a variety of nutritious foods in moderate quantities and sticking to regular meal times. Rather than a restrictive diet, a medical nutrition therapy is a healthy eating plan that is naturally rich in nutrients and low in calories and fats, with emphasis on vegetables, fruits and whole grains.

Details of the diet
With the help of a dietitian, you can put together a diet based on your tastes, health goals and lifestyle, with valuable information on how you can change your eating habits. A diabetes diet should contain the following recommended foods.
- Healthy carbohydrates: Simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates (starches) are broken down into glucose during digestion. It is very important that you focus your diabetes diet on healthy carbohydrates such as vegetables, whole grains, fruits, legumes (lentils, beans and peas) and low fat dairy products.
- Healthy fats: Focus your diabetes diet on foods containing polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats such as almonds, avocados, olive, canola, peanut oils and walnuts. Even though these fats can help lower cholesterol levels, it is important to eat them sparingly.
- Fiber-rich foods: Fiber is very essential as it helps in controlling blood sugar and decreasing heart disease risks. Vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole wheat flour are all fiber-rich foods.
- Healthy fish: Fish is one of the best alternatives to high fat meats, and is highly recommended by nutritionists. Cod, tuna, and halibut all have less saturated fats and cholesterol compared to poultry meat.
Additionally, salmon, tuna, mackerel, bluefish and sardines are rich in Omega-3 fatty-acids which are very effective in promoting heart health by lowering triglycerides. It is however important to avoid fried fish and fish high in mercury such as swordfish, tilefish and king mackerel.

Creating the diabetes diet plan
There are several ways to creating a diabetes diet that keeps your sugar levels within the normal range. With the help of a dietitian, you may find a combination of different methods working for you.
- Counting carbohydrates: Since carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, they have a huge impact on blood glucose levels. It is therefore important that you ensure the amount of carbohydrates are the same in your diets, especially if you are on medication.
- Exchange system: It is highly recommended that you adopt an exchange system that groups foods into categories including carbohydrates, meat substitutes, fats and meats.
- Glycemic Index: The glycemic index is used by many diabetic people to select foods, particularly carbohydrates. Those foods with high glycemic index are associated with increase in blood sugar levels than those with low glycemic index. Bread, cereals and whole grain rice among other complex carbohydrates that are high in fiber, have low glycemic indices than simple carbs such as white rice and bread.

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Type 2 Diabetes - Living With Depression and Diabetes Puts You At an Increased Risk of Early Death

English: Overview of the most significant possible symptoms of diabetes. See Wikipedia:Diabetes#Signs_and_symptoms for references. Model: Mikael Häggström. To discuss image, please see Template talk:Häggström diagrams (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A new review of evidence published in the journal General Hospital Psychiatry has found people living with diabetes who also have untreated depression, are at an increased risk of dying before their time.
This review focused on more than 42,000 people who were living with either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes together with depression.
The team reviewing the information discovered depression was associated with a 1.5 fold increase in the risk of dying early. In 4 of the studies reviewed, a 20 percent higher risk of cardiovascular death was found to be associated with those living with co-morbid depression as well as Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes is the world's fastest growing chronic disease according to Diabetes Australia, and on December 20, 2006 the UN General Assembly passed a UN Resolution No. 61/255 stating diabetes is recognized as a major health crisis facing all nations of the world. The most recent figures show the number of people living with this disease:

• is expected to rise from 382 million in 2013 to 592 million by the year 2035, and
• 80% live in low and middle-income countries.

Approximately 30 percent of all people diagnosed with diabetes experience symptoms of depression.
Mijung Park PhD., lead author of the review, made the following comments on this...
"Depression consistently increased the risk of mortality across virtually all studies. We can now postulate that the harmful effect of depression is universal to individuals with diabetes."
An associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Todd Brown M.D. Ph.D., reports it is extremely common to see a patient with:

• Type 2 diabetes,
• high blood pressure,
• obesity, and
• depression

go into a downward spiral when faced with these co-morbidities...
"Obesity can lead to worsening metabolic status that can lead to hopelessness and decreased physical activity, which in turns worsens obesity, and the cycle continues," Dr. Brown said.
Depression is a highly treatable condition and if you are struggling with signs of depression, please do not suffer alone. Feeling sad, blue and depressed at times is common for everybody. But if you feel down for two or more weeks, talk with your doctor as you may have depression. The good news is there are treatments that can help.
Speak to your doctor about how you feel and what you are going through as they will be able to ensure you get the right help - counseling or medicine can help you feel better. You will be able to start enjoying life again and you will be able to find it easier to take care of your blood sugar levels.

For nearly 25 years Beverleigh Piepers has searched for and found a number of secrets to help you build a healthy body. Go to http://DrugFreeType2Diabetes.com to learn about some of those secrets.

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Diabetics Diet and Treatment

One of the best way to check complicity in the case of diabetes is eating the right kind of food, doing the right kind of exercise, and taking the right drugs at the right time. If you follow this suggestion you will have no problem whatsoever.

Treatment

There is no cure for diabetes. Treatment involves medicines, diet, and exercise to control blood sugar and prevent symptoms and complications.

LEARN THESE SKILLS

Basic diabetes management skills will help prevent the need for emergency care. These skills include:

• How to recognize and treat low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and high blood sugar (hyperglycemia)
• What to eat and when
• How to take insulin or oral medication
• How to test and record blood glucose
• How to test urine for ketones (type 1 diabetes only)
• How to adjust insulin or food intake when changing exercise and eating habits
• How to handle sick days
• Where to buy diabetes supplies and how to store them

After you learn the basics of diabetes care, learn how the disease can cause long-term health problems and the best ways to prevent these problems. People with diabetes need to review and update their knowledge, because new research and improved ways to treat diabetes are constantly being developed.

SELF-TESTING

If you have diabetes, your doctor may tell you to regularly check your blood sugar levels at home. There are a number of devices available, and they use only a drop of blood. Self-monitoring tells you how well diet, medication, and exercise are working together to control your diabetes and can help your doctor prevent complications.

The American Diabetes Association recommends that premeal blood sugar levels fall in the range of 80 to 120 mg/dL and bedtime blood levels fall in the range of 100 to 140 mg/dL. Your doctor may adjust this depending on your circumstances.

WHAT TO EAT

You should work closely with your health care provider to learn how much fat, protein, and carbohydrates you need in your diet. A registered dietician can be very helpful in planning dietary needs.

People with type 1 diabetes should eat at about the same times each day and try to be consistent with the types of food they choose. This helps to prevent blood sugars from becoming extremely high or low.

Persons with type 2 diabetes should follow a well-balanced and low-fat diet.

HOW TO TAKE MEDICATION

Medications to treat diabetes include insulin and glucose-lowering pills called oral hypoglycemic drugs.

Persons with type 1 diabetes cannot make their own insulin, so daily insulin injections are needed. Insulin does not come in pill form. Injections that are generally needed one to four times per day. Some people use an insulin pump, which is worn at all times and delivers a steady flow of insulin throughout the day. Other people may use a new type of inhaled insulin.

Insulin preparations differ in how quickly they start to work and how long they remain active. Sometimes different types of insulin are mixed together in a single injection. The types of insulin to use, the doses needed, and the number of daily injections are chosen by a health care professional trained to provide diabetes care.

People who need insulin are taught to give themselves injections by their health care providers or diabetes educators.

Unlike type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes may respond to treatment with exercise, diet, and medicines taken by mouth. There are several types of medicines used to lower blood glucose in type 2 diabetes. They fall into one of three groups:

1. Medications called oral sulfonylureas that increase insulin production by the pancreas.
2. Medications called thiazolidinediones that help increase the cell's sensitivity (responsiveness) to insulin.
3. Medications that delay absorption of glucose from the gut. These include acarbose and miglitol.

There are some injectable medicines used to lower blood sugar. They include exenatide and pramlintide.

Most persons with type 2 diabetes will need more than one medication for good blood sugar control within 3 years of starting their first medication. Different groups of medications may be combined or used with insulin.

Some people with type 2 diabetes find they no longer need medication if they lose weight and increase activity, because when their ideal weight is reached, their own insulin and a careful diet can control their blood glucose levels.

It is unknown if hypoglycemic medicines taken by mouth are safe for use in pregnancy. Women who have type 2 diabetes and take these medications may be switched to insulin during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.

Gestational diabetes is treated with insulin and changes in diet.

EXERCISE

Regular exercise is especially important for people with diabetes. It helps with blood sugar control, weight loss, and high blood pressure. People with diabetes who exercise are less likely to experience a heart attack or stroke than diabetics who do not exercise regularly. You should be evaluated by your physician before starting an exercise program.

Here are some exercise considerations:

• Choose an enjoyable physical activity that is appropriate for your current fitness level.
• Exercise every day, and at the same time of day, if possible.
• Monitor blood glucose levels before and after exercise.
• Carry food that contains a fast-acting carbohydrate in case you become hypoglycemic during or after exercise.
• Carry a diabetes identification card and a mobile phone or change for a payphone in case of emergency.
• Drink extra fluids that do not contain sugar before, during, and after exercise.

Changes in exercise intensity or duration may need changes in diet or medication dose to keep blood sugar levels from going too high or low.

FOOT CARE

People with diabetes are prone to foot problems because of the likelihood of damage to blood vessels and nerves and a decreased ability to fight infection. Problems with blood flow and damage to nerves may cause an injury to the foot to go unnoticed until infection develops. Death of skin and other tissue can occur.

If left untreated, the affected foot may need to be amputated. Diabetes is the most common condition leading to amputations.

To prevent injury to the feet, people with diabetes should adopt a daily routine of checking and caring for the feet as follows:

• Check your feet every day, and report sores or changes and signs of infection.
• Wash your feet every day with lukewarm water and mild soap, and dry them thoroughly.
• Soften dry skin with lotion or petroleum jelly.
• Protect feet with comfortable, well-fitting shoes.
• Exercise daily to promote good circulation.
• See a podiatrist for foot problems or to have corns or calluses removed.
• Remove shoes and socks during a visit to your health care provider and remind him or her to examine your feet.
• Stop smoking, which hinders blood flow to the feet.

Reviewer Info: Robert Hurd, MD, Professor of Endocrinology, Department of Biology, Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.; ADAM Health Illustrated Encyclopedia, 02/08/2007