Controlling Blood Sugar In Type 2 Diabetes Without The Use Of Drugs

I was told in rapid succession that I was suffering from intermittent claudication (that’s blocked arteries in the legs), high blood pressure, Diabetes Type 2 and that I was overweight.

Not a lot of pleasure there! The intermittent claudication made it increasingly difficult to do much, so that in effect I had become a prisoner to my house and garden. Exercise was out of the question, my legs simply couldn’t cope, but it was hoped that angioplasty to each leg would cure the problem. It didn’t.

My high blood pressure, I was assured, could be treated by a cocktail of drugs and by weight loss. The cocktail of four different drugs worked, but I could not seem to lose weight.

So I was given a choice: the blood sugar levels could be controlled either by drugs or by diet. Since I was already taking four different drugs for blood pressure, I thought it best to try diet control. I was also hopeful that this might help me to lose weight. But where to start? My diabetic nurse provided me with a blood sugar monitor and said I should aim to stay under 9 as my reading. My Doctor said to stay under 7. Now she has reduced this to under 5. My current long-term reading is 5.3. A big drop from the high readings I used to produce.

So what did I do? At first I was taking blood samples three times a day and was truly astonished at how my blood sugar jumped about. Plain porridge and water, which I absolutely loved, would produce a reading of 16 and yet, being a slow release multigrain, I had always assumed it would be good for my health. A single apple, showed a reading of 12! Tea with milk but no sugar, 10. Obviously there was more to this than met the eye.

The first learning point was that the body needs water and lots of it. Out went sugared fizzy drinks and in came plain boiled water. The Swedes call it Silver Tea, I’m told, and it is very refreshing. Now a cup starts every day and two or three more follow. Low calorie tonic water is also useful (the quinine helps prevent cramps), mineral water (I especially like carbonated forms), low calorie Ginger Beer and cold filtered tap water.

The next, crucial, learning point: control your carbohydrate intake, in my case to under 40gms a day. Eliminate bread, cakes, sweets, pasta, rice, cereals, biscuits, sugars, fruit juice, potatoes, honey, jam, marmalade, baked beans. Reading the food labels is a real eye opener!

Instead, increase your intake of vegetables and low carbohydrate foods & fruits. All of the following are particularly good: Broccoli, cabbage, spinach, runner beans, brussels sprouts cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines, swede, squashes, celeriac, green salads. Fruit can be very high in sugars, so use in moderation. Choose rhubarb, grapefruit, raspberries, loganberries, strawberries, blueberries, all of which are O.K. Do not add sugar, of course, so sweeten with cinnamon instead. Avocadoes are low in carbohydrates, but high in fat, so eat no more than half a fruit a day. Add nuts and seeds to your diet, again in small amounts.

As far as alcohol is concerned, all beers are out. One or two glasses of red wine a day are acceptable.

Avoid processed foods as much as possible and certainly do NOT eat hydrogenated fats of any kind. They are to my mind a food industry con. and of no use to any one other than manufacturers of processed food.

Buy only genuine, non-reconstituted lean meat, poultry, game and fish. Reduce your saturated fat intake by cooking on a griddle and cutting off any excess fat. Cook with olive and nut oils, as these unsaturated fats are good for you. Never use lard. Add game to your repertoire of ingredients, along with plenty of oily and white fish such as salmon, haddock, tuna, swordfish, mackerel & kipper.

I have never once felt hungry with this change in my eating habits to simple whole foods. I still find I miss eating plain yoghurt, vanilla ice cream and various cheeses. But then I occasionally do give myself a small treat – provided I stay within my allowance.

The results are good for my health:

• My good cholesterol is high
• My bad cholesterol is low
• My type II diabetes blood sugar is well controlled by diet alone
• I have lost 10 lbs in weight.

My next task is to lose another 30 lbs. I know now that this is achievable. The more weight I lose, the more able I am to increase my activity levels – and the more incentive I have to control my calorie intake. At last I feel that I am taking back control of my body and discovering that you really are what you eat!

Testosterone Replacement Therapy – Symptoms of low testosterone! Increase your testosterone and libido levels with best testosterone booster and herbal libido enhancers supplements.

Eating Disorder Treatment – Do you struggle with bulimia? Learn about the symptoms and treatment options for you or your loved one where you will find high quality care and specialized treatment.

A Short Tutorial About Various Diabetic Supplies

Diabetes is a chronic disease with no cure but the good news is that proper care and treatment a person can live a log and healthy life. Nearly 2,000 people are diagnosed with diabetes everyday.

It is estimated that there are 17 million people with diabetes in the U.S and another 16 million have pre-diabetes or higher blood-sugar levels that are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.

Buying diabetes supplies online can save time and money. In this article you will find the most used supplies and tools to achieve a good diabetes control and aid in everyday self-care.

For those who have been diagnosed with a diabetic condition, diabetes supplies are a fact of life. In order to maintain good health, diabetics must rely on various tools to help them monitor their conditions. Still, diabetes patients need to exercise caution when buying diabetes supplies.

The company that you buy your diabetes supplies from should have a phone number in case you need to contact the business because of a problem with the order. In fact, it’s best if the company has a toll-free hotline number that you can reach 24 hours a day. It is much better to register a complaint by phone than by e-mail.

Also, the company should have a pharmacist available to answer your questions. Having a pharmacist on staff indicates that the company is legitimate and is determined to provide excellent service to its customers. When ordering diabetes supplies, you’ll want to pay close attention to shipping charges so that you don’t experience sticker shock when you receive your final bill.

Typically, a diabetic pays a substantial sum each month for diabetes supplies, including pills, insulin, syringes, alcohol pads, lancets, ointments, salves, and special foods. Because competition for business is so great, the prices of items such as testing strips and glucose monitors are often competitive.

This competition can help to keep the diabetes patient’s expenses in check. However, there is no question that a diabetic must devote a portion of his or her income or insurance costs to diabetes supplies. In order to control glucose, blood sugar levels must be monitored closely—at least once a day.

Insulin Cases : Environmental factors such as excessive heat and freezing will have major affect on type of insulin. So, there is a need to keep insulin safe by using special cases while traveling and going out.

Blood Glucose Monitors : It is used to examine blood glucose level. Blood glucose levels below 120 mg/dL before meals, and below 180 mg/dL after meals, is the goal to stay healthy and prevent or delay the development of diabetes complications.

Blood Pressure Monitors : It helps to check blood pressure level of a person. High blood pressure affects 20-60% of people with diabetes and results in causing eye disease, kidney disease and heart disease.

Diabetes Software : This software can be used in your computer to help you to share the information with your Health Care Team to make the best choices in your treatment. Diabetes software includes OneTouch diabetes management software, OneTouch diabetes management software kit.

Glucose Tablets : Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar levels can occur very quickly and is a sharp complication of diabetes, especially if you use insulin. People with diabetes must always carry glucose tablets.

Glucose Gels : Glucose gel is absorbed more rapidly than tablets. In case of severe hypoglycemia 15 g of glucose in the form of glucose gel must be administered immediately orally.

Experts recommend that you deal only with those Internet companies that offer a return address rather than a post office box. If you want to make sure that you are buying diabetes supplies from reputable businesses that have their own offices, rather than an individual who is simply buying diabetes supplies from an Internet auction site and re-selling them to new customers.