Diabetes Management

A good diabetes management program can help those with a diabetic diagnosis avoid the complications of diabetes over time.

Fortunately, finding out how foods affect your blood sugar levels is easy to do. Here are the steps:

1. Buy a glucose monitor. They are available at any drug store, usually for less than $20.
2. Keep a food and blood sugar journal. Take your first blood sugar reading when you wake up. This will be your "fasting blood sugar". After every meal, write down what you ate, and what your blood sugar was 1 hour after eating, and 2 hours after eating.

Evaluating the Results

Over time, you’ll be able to see what foods make it easier to control your blood sugar. In most cases, the results will follow these assumptions:

• Consuming foods which are high in carbohydrates (whoe grains, crackers, bread, fruit, pasta, sweets, root vegetables, and grains like rice and corn) will make blood sugar control harder.
• Eating moderate amounts of protein and more high fat foods at each meal will make blood sugar control easier.

You can evaluate your readings based on being at or below these normal blood sugar levels:

• Fasting blood sugar should be under 100 mg/dl (5.5 mmol/L)
• One hour after meals, blood sugar should be under 140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/L)
• Two hours after meals, blood sugar should be under 120 mg/dl (6.6 mmol/L)

Once you determine how to eat to control your blood sugar, and your fasting blood sugar is consistently under 100 mg/dl, this indicates you no longer have diabetes, technically speaking. But be aware that if you return to your old eating patterns, more than likely the diabetes will also return.

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