Guide On Living With Diabetes

Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes can cause serious health conditions if not managed properly. Education is essential in fighting diabetes. Read the following article and you can better manage your life while living with diabetes.

• Make sure you talk with your physician if you're pregnant and feel you might have gestational diabetes. If you don't control your diabetes, it harms both you and your baby. Your doctor can advise you on how to eat and if you need any medication.

• Do not overeat if you suffer from hypoglycemia. You need enough sugars, but too much can elevate your blood sugar level, causing negative effects.
• When you're measuring blood glucose levels, don't use urine ketone testing alone. Your urine's ketone level doesn't give you specific information about your blood sugar level; it only tells you that your sugar level is significantly higher than normal. The ADA tells us that diabetics should use finger sticks and blood tests for more accurate results.
• The glycemic index is a number that reflects how much effect different foods have on your blood sugar level. Select foods with a low glycemic index.
• Smoking is not a habit a diabetic should start, or continue. Diabetes and the effects of smoking can both inhibit blood flow. Even worse, it can cause quite a spike in blood sugar levels. Your doctor can help you to determine the best way to beat your nicotine addiction.
• Lower your diabetes risk by eating a diet high in fiber. The consumption of whole grain foods reduces the consumption of the more high glycemic foods, such as white bread, and this can lower your diabetes risk. There have been studies done that have shown that when people eat more whole grains, they have less of a risk of developing diabetes.
• If you suffer from adult onset diabetes, an excellent spice it's fine to use to your foods without adding calories, sugar and also sodium to your diet, is simply cinnamon. Cinnamon brings out natural sweetness in specific foods without the added sugar that could boost blood glucose levels. A number of researchers believe that cinnamon may lower blood sugar levels.
• Just slight elevations can increase risk. Most people do not have an optimal A1C level. Your goal should be 150 mg/dl as an average blood glucose, or less than seven percent.
• If you suffer from diabetes and you are a smoker, you should try to quit. Smoking is bad for people in general, but it is even worse for those with diabetes because it can result in blood sugar being elevated to dangerous levels. If you have a hard time quitting, talk to your doctor about what methods you may use.
• Diabetics should stay away from alcohol because it can radically change blood glucose levels; for others, though, moderate alcohol consumption may actually reduce the likelihood of contracting this condition. If you are planning on consuming any type of alcohol, you should make sure to run it past a doctor. The last thing you need are complications with your disease.
• You can decrease the chance of developing diabetes by converting to a diet that is high in fiber. This is a good way to replace high glycemic foods, such as white bread or processed foods by whole grain foods. Research demonstrates that diets rich in whole grain are at lesser risk of suffering diabetes.
• People who snack a lot, including diabetics, have a hard time saying "No" when vending machines beckon. It's important though, to stay away from the unhealthy choices and eat fruits or vegetables, or another complex carbohydrate.
• Keep your meal schedule consistent. Whenever you skip or postpone a meal, your blood sugars are affected a great deal. When this glucose is combined with the elevated glucose levels of the typical type 2 diabetic, it can cause a dramatic sugar spike.

As you can tell, the ideas in this article might be what you need to manage diabetes in an easier way, and still be able to enjoy life. Choose the tips that are right for you, and you may feel better starting today!