Saturday, April 30, 2011

Proper Diet Can Control Your Blood Sugar Level

By Betty Jones


Many people have diabetes, and the number is growing all the time. While diet and nutrition is important for everyone, it's especially critical if you have any type of blood sugar problems, including diabetes of course. You can get expert advice from your doctor, who is familiar with your medical history. One problem is that it can be hard to stick to your recommended diet day after day, even if you know it's good for you. The right diet, however, can make a big difference in your health, and it can even help to control diabetes. Nutrition can make a big difference with an illness such as diabetes, so let's look at some of the factors you should be aware of if you have this problem.

Awareness of what you eat is critical when you're a diabetic. Be diligent about what you eat at every meal and for every snack. But this is really not difficult to do, and often times for most people it is just forming new habits. One of the easiest guidelines is to make sure you have lots of colors on your plate. Make diverse choices of fruits, vegetables, and meats. You can even get individual attention with a diet that is right for you from a licensed dietitian.

Your doctor or dietician should be able to provide you with a well thought out diabetic diet plan. You then have to pay attention to it. You should pay close attention not only to the foods that you should eat, but the amounts as well. The kind and amount of fat in your diet must be watched if you have Type 2 diabetes. Your fat can be detrimental to the production of insulin in your body, a common problem for Type 2 diabetics. Weight control is also important for reducing the chances of developing heart disease.

In regard to diabetes, you should take special consideration of artificial sweeteners. Using these sugar substitutes, additional carbohydrates will be limited in your diet every day. Using artificial sweeteners is in no way a guarantee that additional carbohydrates will be included in your meals. So as always, just be sure to default to the important habit and practice of reading food labels for everything you consume. Another consideration is to check the table for glycemic indexes in regard to artificial sweeteners. You want to pay particular attention to the gram amount of carbohydrates per serving.

If you have diabetes and want to reduce the impact it has on your life, it's critical to find the right diabetic diet. Once you find the right diet, then it's up to you to stick to it as much as possible. Fortunately, you don't have to cut out all the foods you love most. You just have to use your common sense and not overdo it with potentially harmful foods; when in doubt, ask your doctor for advice. Your main concern with diabetes is keeping your blood sugar levels healthy, so always keep this in mind.




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