Are you confused on what a diabetic like you is allowed to eat To control your diabetes, you should know what a diabetes can eat, how much of the allowed food you should eat and when to eat them. It is a matter of making wise food choices and making a meal plan to control your diabetes.

Why is it important to control your diabetes You should be able to control your blood glucose at an acceptable target range suggested by diabetes experts. When you perform self test using a glucometer, the normal range is between 90-130 mg/dl. If you will undergo a Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS) test, the normal range is between 70-110 mg/dl.

You should know what a diabetic can eat to keep your blood glucose within the range. It is not good if your blood glucose is too low- you feel shaky, weak, confused, irritable, hungry, or tired. You will sweat a lot or suffer from headache. To raise your blood sugar level, take any of the following: 1/2 cup of any fruit juice, 1/2 cup of a regular (not diet) soft drink, 1 cup of milk, 5 or 6 pieces of hard candy or 1 tablespoon of sugar or honey. Or you take glucose tablets.

Maintaining blood glucose within the normal range will help maintain good health and prevent health problems that may result if your blood glucose level is too high. Controlling your diabetes means also lowering your risk for heart disease, stroke, and other problems that diabetes can bring. The choice of food, in addition to doing some exercises and losing weight, will surely control your diabetes.

If you are under medication, the food that you eat will affect the effectiveness of your diabetes medicine. Your diabetes teacher will teach you what a diabetes can eat and how to make a meal plan that fits the way you usually eat, your daily routine, and your diabetes medicines. To make your own plan, write down how many servings to have at per meals and snacks.

Have you experimented with many meal plans for diabetics but not any worked to keep your blood glucose level at normal range I have done research on many meal plans and now I present to you the most effective meal plans for diabetics.

Diabetes is a condition that is believed to affect 177 million people worldwide. It develops when your blood sugar levels become extremely high due to your pancreas not producing enough insulin or your body not responding to insulin properly. If diabetes is not managed properly it can be very unpleasant and damage a number of vital organs. However, if the right approach is used the symptoms are minimal and you can prevent it from affecting your day to day life. In this article I am going to outline three top tips for keeping your diabetes under control.

1) MODIFY YOUR DIET:- Your diet can have a massive effect on your blood glucose levels. Eating certain foods such as those that are high in sugar and low in fibre can cause large surges in your blood glucose levels. Contrastingly eating foods that are high in fibre and slower digesting can help stabilise your blood glucose levels. Fruits and vegetables are two food groups that are very good for diabetics as they are both rich in fibre and relatively low in calories. Modifying your diet and eating foods that help keep your glucose levels relatively stable can go a long way towards keeping your diabetes under control.

2) EXERCISE REGULARLY:- Exercise is another great way to manage your diabetes. It helps in a number of ways. First, studies suggest that exercise can make your cells more responsive to insulin and also stimulate the use of glucose. Secondly, regular physical activity can reduce your body fat levels over time. Fat cells are less responsive to insulin than other cells so by reducing your body fat levels you can make your body more receptive to insulin.

3) CHECK YOUR BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS REGULARLY:- Without regular blood glucose checks there is no way you can see whether your diet and exercise routine are having the desired effect and whether your diabetes is under control. Blood glucose checks can be performed throughout the day by using a portable glucometer. If the glucometer readings are consistently above normal you should seek advice from your doctor and may need to modify your diet and exercise routine.

Although diabetes is a serious medical condition small changes can really help keep it under control. Eating better foods, becoming more active and keeping an eye on your blood glucose levels can make a big difference and help you avoid the negative symptoms of diabetes.

Every intention has been made to make this article accurate and informative but it is intended for general information only. Diabetes is a medical condition and this article is not intended as a substitute for the advice of your doctor or a qualified medical practitioner. If you have any concerns regarding any form of diabetes you should seek the advice of your doctor immediately.

When there are many variables and different factors influencing your blood sugar levels, you are going to have your share of both high and low readings. The level of your blood sugar is influenced by many of the following:

• your choice of food
• how much food you eat
• how accurately you time your insulin or oral hypoglycemic medication
• your menstrual cycle (women only)
• your emotions
• illnesses
• how much you weigh
• drinking too much alcohol
• your body’s resistance to insulin

Unfortunately no two days are alike but it is important to keep your blood sugar levels in what is considered to be a normal range. There are two tests that will show you what your blood sugar levels are, they are:

• the tests you do yourself with your glucometer
• the HbA1c test which gives you your true average over the previous three month period

The American Diabetes Association suggests if you keep your post-meal blood sugar targets under 180 mg/dl, your fasting level under 130 mg/dl … your HbA1c would be 7%. Many diabetic specialist will suggest a HbA1c result of 6.5%. Truly normal HbA1c levels are 5% … this level is well below the levels associated with diabetic complications. An HbA1c of 6.5% is barely under the level that research suggest damages organs and with a HbA1c of 7% neuropathy, retinopathy and other diabetic complications will develop.

Unfortunately complications start to appear in the person with type 2 diabetes less than ten years following diagnosis. This is due to the fact insulin resistance and increasing blood sugar levels have been present for up to ten to twelve years before diagnosis.

Blood Sugar Self Monitoring Guidelines:

Newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and on diet control only … self monitoring with one or two tests a week, may be required at diagnosis or afterwards depending on the effectiveness of their overall diabetes control.

Type 2 diabetes and prescribed oral hypoglycemic agents … self monitoring is usually tailored to the individual’s needs and will depend on diet control. If sulphonylurea medications have been prescribed, self monitoring will be necessary more than two or three times a week.

A type 2 diabetic who is prescribed insulin … self monitoring is recommended with daily testing, usually two to three times when first commenced on insulin. Once stable, frequency is often reduced to one to two days a week or daily at various times. Stable levels are those that vary little from day to day.

Your health care practitioner will advise you how often you should monitor your blood sugar levels, and no doubt he will be interested in seeing your results. He will also want to organize your appointment to check your HbA1c level which is carried out every three months.

Type 2 diabetes isn’t the best condition to have, but then it isn’t the worst and what’s more you get to control it. Now you have your diagnosis you realize diabetes isn’t just about lowering your weight… it is also about lowering your blood sugar levels.

Your laboratory blood tests revealed high blood sugar levels and maybe you are wondering why a simple positive result isn’t enough. Now why do you need to self-monitor your blood sugars also?

Take Charge:

You are really the CEO of this deal! You need to take charge of your type 2 diabetes and monitor just how well your medications (if prescribed), eating plan and lifestyle changes… a fancy name for exercise program, are working to help you lower your blood sugar level. Amongst people with type 2 diabetes, its been found self monitoring leads to them having much better control of their blood sugars.

The Groovy or Gory Glucometer:

Which is it to you? Do you see the glucometer as a help, as a way to view your body’s response to the efforts you have been making to overcome your type 2 diabetes? Or do you just see it as a “pain”?

It is actually a clever little device that has only been available in the last thirty years. Until then urine testing was used… this was probably one of the reasons many diabetics had hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia so often.

The glucometer reads the amount of sugar in your bloodstream at a given time and expresses it in milligrams of glucose per deciliter (mg/dL) or millimoles per liter (mmol/L). The US uses mg/dL as the standard measurement for blood glucose, whilst Canada, the UK, Australia and many other countries use mmol/L.

The glucometer provides an instant picture, not an average over a period of time. It gives you your blood sugar reading specific to different times of the day under different circumstances. For example, before your meal which is a fasting reading, or after any meal is postprandial.

The readings are really useful and are used as a diagnostic tool to see whether you are moving from pre-diabetes to type 2 diabetes, or as a reflection of an improvement in your blood sugar levels. Each reading will show you how effective your exercise was or how well you have adjusted your eating plan to help lower your blood sugar level.The readings you get with your glucometer can help you manage your diabetes day by day or even hour by hour… it makes it less difficult for you to control your type 2 diabetes.

Show-off Your Results:

Keep a record of your test results and review it at each visit with your health care provider. When you have lost weight and your blood sugar levels are down to around 84 to 89 mg/dL (4.6 to 4.9 mmol/L), if you are taking anti-diabetic medications, your health care provider may trial you off your drugs.