Sign of Diabetes

Eileen asked:


Im pregnant & the last test they want to do on me is the blood work to test for diabetes. I dont want to have that test taken, so I dont know what to do because she said every pregnant women has to take it. Can anyone help?

Bertil Hjert asked:


When diagnosed with diabetes, the first thing you need to do is to make some changes in your diet. Remember that diet plays an important role in everybody’s life. This is the reason that most people suffering from diabetes prefer visiting a dietician when they first get diagnosed with this serious disease.

It is true that several medications and insulin are widely available but diet plays an important role when it comes to paying attention to health.

People with diabetes need to plan their diet carefully. Here are some tips on a diet plan that you need to focus on when diagnosed with diabetes.

a) Tip one

First and foremost, you need to focus on a diet that is completely devoid of refined sugar. Refined sugar is an integral part of food items such as cookies, doughnuts, sweets and chocolates.

Refined sugar works towards triggering off the insulin release and ultimately results in high blood sugar level. These products should be strictly avoided by people with diabetes.

b) Tip two

Focus on having many small meals during the day. This helps in leveling out the blood sugar levels. According to medical experts, this is the healthiest way to maintain stable levels of blood sugar in the body throughout the course of the day. Remember that none of your meals should be large enough of contain refined sugar in it.

c) Tip three

Make sure that protein exists in large share in your diet plan. You can add protein to your diet in the form of peanut butter, beans or meat. Protein does not increase blood sugar level in large amounts.

Remember that including protein as an integral part of many of the small meals will do the trick. In case, you choose to include meat in your diet make sure that you include low fat cuts of meat. This will do a lot of benefit to you.

d) Tip four

A low fat diet will be more beneficial for you. This is because diets containing higher amount of triglyceride will further increasing it’s amount in your body. Diabetes are known to possess higher amount of triglyceride counts. Hence, focusing on a low fat diet would be beneficial for you.

Fats are usually found in foods such as processed foods, butter and baked items. Make sure you eat a diet low in fats. This will also keep your weight in control. Experts feel that weight loss is ideal for improving the health of a diabetic.

e) Tip five

Complex carbohydrates can be easily acceptable in an ideal diabetic diet. These involve certain things such as rice, flour, barley and other grains. These types of carbohydrates are acceptable because these get processed at a slow pace as compared to refined sugars. These also place reduced stress on the pancreas while releasing insulin.

f) Tip six

Fresh fruits and vegetables are known to be ideal for a good diabetes diet. These are lower in calories and fat free. Made from complex carbohydrates, these contain fructose that’s easier on the body. These also don’t tend to trigger insulin in a large amount as is done by sucrose or table sugar.

When starting off with a change in diet, you must record everything you eat in black and white and then check blood sugars prior and after meals. This will let you understand how a diet can affect blood sugar levels.



South Beach Diet

Steff asked:


My husband and I would really like to start a family soon. I have a couple of health issues. For one, I have diabetes type II and I have polisystic overies which causes me to have a super irregular period. Would anyone have any suggestions on how we could get pregnant? Thanks!

The Biggest Loser

Michael Webb asked:


When a person is first diagnosed with diabetes, diet becomes an important part of their lives. This is why many diabetics visit with a dietician when they get diagnosed with diabetes. Even though medications and insulin are available, diet is still an important thing to pay attention to as a diabetic.

For those with diabetes, diet needs to be carefully worked out and sometimes changed completely from the diet the individual had before they were diagnosed with the disease. The biggest thing to avoid is refined sugar, such as is seen in things like sweets, donuts, chocolate and cookies. Refined sugar triggers the release of insulin and results in the highest blood sugars when eaten and is not recommended for diabetics.

The diabetes diet should contain several small meals during the course of the day. This levels out the blood sugar levels and is the healthiest way for diabetics to keep stable blood sugar levels throughout the day. None of the meals should be very large or should have lots of refined sugar in them.

Protein should be a large part of the diabetes diet. Protein can be in the form of meat, beans or peanut butter. Protein doesn’t trigger blood sugar increases very much and should be part of several of the small meals a diabetic eats every day. If the diabetic chooses meats, low fat cuts of meat should be chosen.

Diabetes diets should also take into account issues around fats and triglycerides. Diabetics have higher than average triglyceride counts so a low fat diet would benefit the diabetic. Fats can be found in things like butter, in processed foods and in some baked goods. Eating a low fat diet may also affect the diabetic’s weight. Weight loss can really improve the health of any diabetic.

Complex carbohydrates are perfectly acceptable in the diabetes diet. Complex carbohydrates involve things like rice, flour, barley and other grains. These types of carbohydrates are processed more slowly than are refined sugars. They place less stress on the pancreas when it comes to releasing insulin.

Fruits and fresh vegetables should be on every good diabetes diet. These tend to be lower in calories, fat free and made from complex carbohydrates. Fruits contain the sugar, fructose, which is easier on the body and doesn’t trigger the release of insulin as much as does glucose and sucrose, or table sugar.

When a diabetic first begins a diabetes diet, they should write down everything they eat and should check their blood sugars before and after meals. This gives the new diabetic the chance to see how different aspects of their diet can affect the blood sugar levels. Writing everything down doesn’t have to be a regular thing but is good in the beginning or whenever the treatment changes.

Diet-controlled, oral medication and insulin-dependent diabetics should all follow the diabetes diet. While the diet isn’t intended to have anyone lose weight, any weight loss on the diabetic diet will improve the ultimate outcome of the diabetic. In some cases, losses of large amounts of weight results in needing lesser amounts of medication or possibly in needing no medication at all.



Vitamin K

Brian Bandler asked:


For people diagnosed with diabetes, this is an indication that your body is unable to make or process insulin, leading to high sugar levels in your body. Hence, a great amount of attention should be paid to your diet to ensure that you control the amount of sugar in your blood levels, keeping it low and stable whilst getting the required carbohydrates intake. There is no one diet for people with diabetes, but diabetic diets will ensure that you take your lifestyle and health needs into consideration and help to forestall any further complications.

A general and quick guide for diabetic diets should include a limit on sugar and carbohydrate consumption, eating regular meals with emphasis on fruits and vegetables, and consuming less fat and alcohol. Diabetic diets should include more starches such as bread or cereals, and fruits and vegetables are strongly recommended as they reduce the absorption of glucose in your body as they contain soluble fibers. You should pay a visit to a dietitian to develop a meal plan that is suitable to your body’s needs and caters to your personal taste.

Weight control is important for people with diabetes as a healthy weight indicates an improvement in control of your blood sugar levels. Whilst maintaining a healthy weight is important for everyone, a diabetic diet is not a diet plan for losing weight, but one that focuses on a healthy lifestyle. If you suffer from diabetes, smoking and alcohol consumption should be halted as it causes complications to your condition. These include blood flow problems, increased cholesterol levels, heart attack risks and low blood sugar levels.

A diabetic diet that works for you should not mean complete abstinence from sugar, carbohydrates and fat. Amazing diabetic diets are those that allow moderate consumption of carbohydrates once or twice a week. This allows you to indulge in your favourite ice cream or chips, by employing carbohydrate counting. This will help you to maintain your carbohydrate levels by planning your meals and snacks so that you do not exceed your limit. Keep track of your carbohydrate consumption every day by writing down the number of grams of carbohydrates consumed.

Low carbohydrate diets are popular diabetic diets, as they advocate a low carbohydrate consumption, limit sugar levels and processed foods. It is important for people on a diabetic diet to look out for foods that contain hidden sugar in the forms of preservatives or sauces, as they can lead to overly high blood sugar levels without your conscious knowledge. Proteins are also essential to a diabetic diet, and are available through consumption of meat, eggs and oilseeds which have high protein content.

Diets such as the Atkins Diet which are high in fat are a strict no for people with diabetes. Instead, focus on a diabetic diet which is suitable for you. Whilst it can be difficult to make the transition into a strict diet, it is possible to maintain your health and blood sugar levels without compromising too much on the foods that you enjoy.

Preacher asked:


In the case of Type 2 diabetes, what chemical imbalances in the body causes fatigue? What are the causes for the calf and shoulder muscles to ache? Are there natural supplements to correct these imbalances?

Vitamin K

Bertil Hjert asked:


Diabetic diet plan is very important for a person with diabetes. This is a type of diet that makes sure that the person is under control as for this sugar levels in the body is concerned. Diabetes diet is very helpful in maintaining glucose levels in the body.

Diabetes is a common disease. Most people across the globe are suffering from this disease. If not given proper attention and care, especially on the diet one takes, this disease can prove to be really dangerous.

Since diabetes is a chronic disease, it does not have any permanent cure. However, with proper care and treatment, one can expect to live a long and happy life with this disease.

It is very necessary for a person to follow diabetes diet in order to maintain a healthy body. Most experts believe that there are certain specific nutrition guidelines one needs to follow with diabetes.

A) Here are some guidelines on the primary elements you require to include in a diabetes diet:

a) Proteins

Proteins are important to supply amino acids. Amino acids are really important for the process of tissue repair and also to maintain the levels of glucose during the process of absorption. These contain less amount of calories as compared to the fats.

b) Carbohydrates

These are very important to prevent ketosis.

c) Fats

One must focus on foods rich in saturated fats. Cholesterol should be completely avoided.

d) Fiber

It is important to reduce the glucose absorption rate. Fiber works towards facilitating urinary glucose excretion, stomach emptyfying process, reduction of blood sugar rise and delay in the intestinal passage time.

B) Remember that your diabetes diet should be completely devoid of the following food elements:

a) Potatoes, Sweet potatoes

b) Sugar, Glucose, Jams

c) Jaggery, Honey, Sweets

d) Fried foods

e) Mango, Banana, Chickoo, Custard apple

f) A lot of oil or fat

Try to include a lot of fresh leafy green vegetables and salads in your food.

C) Following a diabetic diet has a lot of benefits. Here are some of the benefits you can enjoy via following a diabetic diet religiously:

a) Benefit 1

It keeps a stable blood glucose level.

b) Benefit 2

It reduces the amount of insulin required in the body. Carbohydrates and lean meals will help you in this process.

c) Benefit 3

Better feeling of well being is another primary benefit of following a diabetic diet. Most people who do not strict to this diet tend to over eat and eat the wrong kind of food. This raises their blood sugar level and result in fatigue and general feeling of being unwell. A diabetic diet helps you feel unhealthy.

d) Benefit 4

Following a strict diabetic diet will not allow you to overeat and eating food that can make you gain weight. This results in keeping your body weight under control. This also reduces the risk of developing other health problems such as stroke and heart disease.

Following a diabetic diet has a lot of benefits than just controlling your blood sugar levels. Experts suggest that you should focus on a lot of exercises and have an active life in order to get benefited in the right way.



South Beach Diet

Subhash Kandpal asked:


Diabetes is one of the most common health problems nowadays. With the lack of time and consideration towards eating habits, the victims of diabetes are increasing day by day. Upon diagnosis of diabetes, doctors probably used to mention that proper and extra attention should be taken care towards nutrition and diet.

To control diabetes, best remedy is to control eating habits. Whether you have diabetes or not, diet should always be healthy and diabetes resistive. If you are diagnosed with diabetes, managing the diet becomes essential like anything. Nutrition experts say that if you are battling diabetes, then eating right can save your life. It is much wiser to adopt a habit to upgrade ourselves about diabetic diet, health and nutrition tips, how to control diabetes and how to check diabetes.

How should I plan my Diabetic Diet?

As everyone is not the health expert and cannot judge what to eat and how much to eat, so here they can found certain tips about how can they plan their diabetic diet.

Eat more starches – include bread (wheat), cereal and starchy vegetables in your daily diet. Aim for six servings a day or more. For example, have cold cereal with nonfat milk or a bagel with a teaspoon of jelly for breakfast. Another starch-adding strategy is to add cooked black beans, corn or garbanzo beans to salads or casseroles.

Eat five fruits and vegetables every dayHave a piece of fruit or two as a snack, or add vegetables to chili, stir-fried dishes or stews. You can also pack raw vegetables for lunch or snacks.

Move to sugar free diet – Avoid intake of excessive sugar in the diet.

Eat sugars and sweets in moderation include your favorite sweets in your diet once or twice a week at most. Split a dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth while reducing the sugar, fat and calories.

Beware of food with high calorie – Avoid intake of junk food containing high calories and resulting in over weight.

What I can do to target my blood glucose level on target?

One could supplement the effort of diet control for controlling diabetes through proper eating habits with the following extra beneficial health tips:

Manage your diet

Exercise regularly

Quit smoking and alcohol

Check blood glucose level regularly

Follow your Doctor’s advice

How can Calorie Counter help in controlling Diet?

When it comes to control diabetes, along with managing eating habits, similarly important is to test the calorie intake to control the weight and causes of diabetes complications.

To check the daily intake of calorie, now there is no need to rush to the Doctor or health expert again and again and even it causes inconvenience. As science has developed so far, one can find many instruments or devices to check calorie intake at home. These devices can be easily located by the name of Calorie Counter.

A calorie counter is a device by which one can count daily calorie intake to manage the weight. It helps in calculating daily caloric requirement that needed to be met with the help of calorie chart and diet plan advised by the dietician.



South Beach Diet

Dr John Anne asked:


If some is suffering from diabetes, it means that his body cannot produce insulin in normal fashion. As a result, it increases the glucose level in the blood. Switching to healthy diabetic diet plan can be of help at this time. Planning for an appropriate diet is a crucial part of your treatment journey, because it can manage the level of glucose in your blood.

Sensible selections of food along with healthy and disciplined lifestyle are the two key success points of diabetic treatment. A healthy diabetic diet plan must include six essential factors such as restricting consumption for sweet products, frequent eating, attentive towards carbohydrate consumption, consume plenty amount of whole grain foods, fruits and vegetables, eating low-fat products, restriction in alcohol consumption.

Diabetic Diet

If you are having diabetes, it doesn’t mean that you should start eating special foods or depend on only strict diabetic diet plan. In most of the case, it is simply switching to a variety of foods in moderate amounts but following a fixed timing.

You should not follow a complicated diabetic diet plan, rather your diet should comprise with a wise selection of nutrients and low in calorie and fatty contents. There are two essential factors that you must not forget while preparing your diet plan. One is eating foods at regular time every day and the second point is the selection of healthy food in right amounts.

Carbohydrate counting is a crucial part for healthy diet plan, especially if you are on insulin medication. In fact, fat and protein counting is not as important as carbohydrate counting is. But that doesn’t mean you should not be careful enough about the fat or protein intake. High calorie and high fat always increase the risk of various health complications including cardiac problems, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Diabetic Diet and Sweets Consumption

The fact says if you are suffering from diabetes, all your near and dear ones continuously warn you not to have sweets in your diet. Contrary to popular belief, scientific studies confirmed that sweets may not produce any harm if it can be used in a balanced amount in the meal plan. Although, different sweets affect blood sugar level in a varied fashion, but the total carbohydrate count matters the most. If you consider a small amount of sweets in your overall diabetic diet plan, it will not harm your health.

Vegetarian Diet

Some people believe that switching to a vegetarian diet may cure their diabetes problem, but it is not totally correct. Well, it can be managed well with vegetarian diet compared to a non-vegetarian one. In that sense, vegetarian diet can be a wise inclusion to diabetic diet plan.

There is no hard-and-fast rule for preparing a vegetarian diet plan. Vegan diet is the austere form of vegetarian diet. Vegans typically do not feed themselves on any sort of animal products such as dairy and egg. However, other vegetarians can eat these products.

An austere vegan diet comprises of almost no-cholesterol content in it. It also contains low saturated fat. It is mostly prepared with a generous selection of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. These food products are essentially high in fiber. Typically, a vegetarian diet offers lesser calories than non-vegetarian one. So it is beneficial for diabetic patients.

Vegetarian diet is an effective choice in diabetic diet plan because of its weight loss ability which significantly benefits people with type-II diabetes. Some scientific studies confirmed that vegetarian diet can make the body more receptive to insulin.

Vegetarian diet can not cure diabetes, but of course it can alleviate various diabetes-related symptoms including cardiovascular disease and kidney problems. But, obviously this is profoundly dependent on the selection of food.

If you have diabetes and you are planning to change your diet to a vegetarian one, you should consult your dietician. The dietician can guide you for the best selection of diabetic diet plan suitable to your health system



Lower High Cholesterol

Amy asked:


I have three children and my husband and I are contemplating a fourth. I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes with my second and third child. We are contemplating having a fourth, but I am wondering what my chances of the diabetes not going away. Any ideas?