If you have gone to the doctor and are being treated for diabetes, you may have been told that you need to lose weight. Too much body fat is making your cells resistant to insulin. This is turn is not allowing excess sugar to be taken up by your cells for energy. The less energy you have, the harder it is to get enough exercise to take off the excess body fat that you so critically need to take off. On and on the circle goes and it is going in a really bad direction. But don’t give up hope. There is help for you in the form of supplements and correct food choices.

Add more protein to your diet

As an individual with diabetes, it is vitally important that you ingest enough protein on a daily basis. It can supply you with energy even if you have limited your carbohydrate intake. Eat more animal products and cut out the refined starches and junk foods. Skip the diabetic diet foods too. Eating more protein has been proven to help people lose weight. People with diabetes must be very conscious of how many carbohydrates they are eating at any meal. It is best to get balanced meal plans from your medical nutritionist and ask about how to add more proteins to your daily diet.

Protein Supplements

• Casein Supplements - This is a milk protein that can give you a sustained and slow release of amino acids in the blood stream. This type of protein supplement can increase the energy you can get from your meals.
• Whey Supplements - another type of protein that has also been found to reduce high blood pressure. Whey protein has a supply of amino acid called cysteine. It can help control blood sugar levels.

Controlling sugar levels will not only reduce the amount of insulin you need to take artificially, but it will reduce dangerous belly fat. Reducing dangerous and unattractive belly fat will reduce insulin resistance. Reducing insulin resistance reduces belly fat. On and on the circle goes, only now it is going in the right direction.

These two protein supplements can help individuals suffering from diabetes, however, this article is not meant to replace the advice your doctor is giving you. First consult with your doctor before adding any new supplements to your diet.

How to control your blood sugar levels is one of the most important thing a diabetic can do. To ensure a long and healthy life free of complications a diabetic must learn to control their levels. Learning what foods lower blood sugar can be one of the most important things you learn in the treatment of your diabetes. Below is just a few of the many foods you can choose for a healthier life while dealing with diabetes.

First, the french bean or kidney bean as it is more commonly known is a great food for lowering sugar. They are high in fiber and proteins with a reasonable amount of complex carbohydrates. They are very highly recommended by dietitians for maintaining proper blood sugar levels.

Second, lettuce is lower in cholesterol content and it helps prevent diabetics from cardiovascular diseases. Lettuce is low in carbohydrates and at the same time it contains only 3% carbohydrates. This combination makes lettuce an ideal food in lowering your levels.

Third, the juice of the Brussels sprout along with juice of the french bean mixed together are considered an excellent natural remedy in the treatment of diabetes. They say it works by stimulating the production of insulin thus lowering the blood sugar levels.

Fourth, tomatoes, are another great food that can be eaten by diabetics who want to lose weight to control blood sugar. They are low in carbohydrates, but also help to control the glucose levels in the urine.

Lastly, onions whether cooked or raw are an excellent food in the control of your levels. It has been discovered that onion contain an antidiabetic compound. This compound is very similar to the compounds{propyl,allyl,allicin,and disulphide} that are used today for the synthesis of insulin.

Monitoring the amount of sugar in your blood is part of your daily routine when you have type 2 diabetes. It helps you to know if you need to make any adjustments to your diet. Even if you are eating healthy food and exercising regularly, testing tells you if your glucose level is too high or too low. These levels can be affected by stress and illness also.

It has never been easier to self-monitor your blood sugar levels, there are dozens of meters available that allow you to conveniently check your levels. Glucose meters have become very small, accurate and fast and they keep a record of your results. Many of the better meters also code themselves which means you don’t need to calibrate the system every time you start a new pack of strips.

How often should you test

1. If you are taking insulin:

• you need to test before each meal and at bedtime
• sometimes you should test two hours after a meal and in the middle of the night to see just how high your levels go after a meal and how low they go during the night

2. If you are on tablets or controlled by diet and exercise:

• test twice a day, before breakfast and dinner. This should give you enough information to gauge the effect of your treatment
• if you are really stable 75-130 mg/dl (4 to 7mmol/l) and your HbA1c is less than 7%, you could test once a day, alternating a pre-breakfast test with a pre-dinner test on consecutive days
• if you really want to know how food is affecting your blood sugars, test one or two hours after your meals

3. It could be useful to also test:

• when you eat something not normally part of your diet, you might want to test it’s effect
• before you exercise so you know whether you need to eat something first, or if the exercise is going to be used to lower your blood glucose
• if your levels have been unstable and you need to drive, check to see you will not become hypoglycemic whilst driving
• when you are ill

What level should you be aiming for

• the ideal range is 75-130 mg/dl (4 to7 mmol/l) but it is not unusual to get occasional levels outside this range.

Being overweight can cause a rise in your blood sugar levels and it increases your risk of complications. Losing even a small amount of weight has a number of health benefits.