What is Diabetes Menu Planning?

Diabetes menu planning
diabetes menu planning

What is diabetes menu planning? For diabetics maintaining a safe low blood sugar is an absolute necessity! This can be done in a multitude of healthy ‘non-medication’ ways. Eating right is just one of them. This can also be done very well if the doctor looks over your meal plans.

Diabetes is a very serious condition that is taking the world by storm and kills most in third world countries. Today’s foods are absolutely stuffed with simple sugar. This and the fact that the defective diabetes gene is being passing on to more people is fueling it.

Diabetes is a very serious condition in where the body’s organ that is most commonly called the pancreas fails to produce the needed amounts of a vital hormone called insulin. Insulin is a vital chemical/hormone that the body must have to survive. It is needed to help fuel the body’s cells. Insulin binds with the blood sugar, also known as blood glucose, in the blood into a fuel the cells can use.

Without enough of it the blood sugar levels will begin to rise. The high blood sugar levels are known as diabetes, or hyperglycemia. Without enough insulin levels the body doesn’t get enough fuel. It also suffers permanent damage. The excess sugar levels in the blood can cause damage to the nerve, heart, kidney, and eye cells. This causes severe problems down the road of the diabetic’s life. So what is diabetes menu planning?

Diabetes menu planning is a wonderful tool for diabetics. This allows you to plan what your meals are going to be for a certain amount of time. Then take this to your doctor. He can then show you what to not eat or how to better prepare your food. This allows you to better control your blood sugar levels. So now you know what a diabetes menu plan involves.

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What is some good food for diabetics?

good food for diabetics
good food for diabetics

What is some good food for diabetics? For diabetic maintaining a healthy low blood sugar is must. The best way to do this is to eat the proper foods. Diabetes is a condition that is currently taking over the nation and the world. Today’s sugar stuffed foods and the ability for diabetics to live longer lives are only fueling the already massive fire.

Diabetes is a serious condition where the body is failing to get the required amounts of hormone called insulin. This absolutely necessary hormone is produced by the organ called the pancreas. For some unknown reasons the pancreas will slow or even stop in production of this hormone. This hormone is used by the body to transform the glucose (sugar) in the blood stream into fuel that the body’s cells are able to use.

Without the proper amounts of this necessary hormone the sugar levels in the blood begin to rise to extremely high levels. Once they reach a certain high level, around 140 mg/dl, the body begins to suffer damage. The damage that happens most commonly associated with high blood sugar levels is nerve damage, heart damage, increases in the chance of heart disease, kidney damage, and eye damage. But almost all of this can be avoided if the diabetic can lower their blood sugar level and keep it at that lower level. This is done by eating good food for diabetics and exercising with it.

So what is good food for diabetics? When going on a diabetic diet you should talk to your doctor about a diabetic diet. A diabetic diet prescribed by your doctor will more than likely be the best one for you because he knows what your body’s needs are. A diabetic diet anywhere should consist of a few major things. First is that all foods need to be low in sugar, especially simple sugars. This includes fruit, candy, desserts and the like. What the diabetic should look for is foods that are high in dietary fiber and protein. So talk to your doctor about good food for diabetics.

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Diabetes blood sugar chart

diabetes blood sugar chart
diabetes blood sugar chart

Are you a diabetic and often times feel overwhelmed or confused on what your levels should be? Are you a newfound diabetic and get confused trying to keep up with all the various diabetes blood sugar readings and would like a way to keep up with them easier? Diabetes blood sugar charts are a great way to do just that.

Diabetes blood sugar charts can be found at a variety of places such as your local health department, through the American diabetes association, your doctor’s office or physician’s office, your local hospital, at your local library or online. There are many different companies online where you can print off a diabetes blood sugar chart so that you can maintain your diabetes and keep your blood sugar all on track.

Diabetes blood sugar chart is a chart that has various readings so that you can see exactly where your blood sugar levels fall, it your blood sugar levels fall in the range below 70 you are considered to be hypoglycemic or having low blood sugar, if it falls above 125-135 then you are considered to be hyperglycemic or having high blood sugar but if it falls in between 71-124 then you are considered to have good blood sugar.

Diabetes blood sugar charts come in handy especially with new diabetics because it allows them to have a small little handy guide that they can carry with them if they are at work, on vacation, traveling, out of town or anywhere else they can pull out their diabetes blood sugar chart and see exactly where their blood sugar level measures up.

So if you are a diabetic and sometimes feel uneasy about your numbers and readings why not print you off a diabetes blood sugar chart so that you can carry around and when in doubt you can check it out.

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Cereals for diabetics

Cereals For Diabetics

Diabetics love to eat breakfast just like anyone else does –  but are there really good choices available out there for diabetics? Diabetics can eat all kinds of food, which also includes commercial breakfast cereals. As we all know, eating the same foods over and over tends to get a bit boring – agree?  So as long as we try and go for choices with at least 3 grams of dietary fiber and no more than 5 grams of total sugar, there’s huge variety out there for us for breakfast.

cereals for diabeticsIt’s best to stay right away from those with

  •   dried fruit
  •   marsh mellows
  •   chocolate flavorings
  •   frostings

as they just add additional unwanted sugars.

Cereals for diabetics – How to choose a Healthy one.

 When choosing your cereals you MUST LOOK AT THE INGREDIENTS LIST CAREFULLY.  By far, the best cereals are the ones made with whole grains. They have a higher fiber content and are much lower in fats. Whole grain cereals are also a good source of vitamins, minerals, carbs and protein.

Try these Cereals for Diabetics for a great start to your day.

Uncle Sam Flakes   3/4 of a cup includes:

  • 10 grams fiber
  • only 1 gram sugar!
  • 38 grams total carbs
  • and only 5 grams fat

Fiber One – Original  1 cup includes:

  • 28 grams fiber
  • 0 grams sugar!
  • 50 grams total carbs
  • and only 2 grams fat

Kellogg’s All-Bran Original  1/2 cup includes:

  • 10 grams fiber
  • 6 grams sugar
  • 23 grams total carbs
  • and 1 gram fat

Weet-bix  1/2 cup includes:

  • 4 grams fiber
  • 4 grams sugar
  • 25 grams total carbs
  • 1 gram fat

Here’s just a few of the cold breakfast cereals you should AVOID.

Kellogg’s Froot Loops – 1 cup has 12 grams sugar, 25 grams carbs, and little else.

Kellogg’s choconilla Cocoa Krispies – pretty much the same as above!

Quaker Cap’N Crunch Berries –  3/4 cup has 11 grams sugar

Cheerios for instance, are a lot better for you and have loads more nutritional value than Frosted Flakes. We all know that cereals may taste better when they have the added sugar but by choosing your cereals wisely, you can maintain your diabetes and your health.

When it comes to cereals we all know that by eating a good breakfast you can jump start your body into losing weight, feeling good about yourself as well as having lots of energy to get you through the day. Choosing the right cereals for diabetics, makes you feel full for longer and gets you off to a great start!

Read about the top tips for creating a healthy meal plan HERE!

best cereals for diabetics

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What are diabetes testing meters used for?

 

diabetes testing meters
diabetes testing meters

What are diabetes testing meters used for? Diabetes testing meters are devices that allow diabetics to check their blood sugar levels at any time they need. This is extremely useful so they can keep a normal safe blood sugar level at almost any time, which is a life saver, literally. Diabetes is where the pancreas starts to slow or sometime stop in the production of a hormone called insulin. Insulin is an absolutely vital hormone. It makes all of the energy that you body has. This means that when your body doesn’t have insulin it doesn’t have energy. This is by the sugar that is in the blood stream becoming bonded with the insulin.

Without this binding the sugar cannot be used by the cells. So if insulin levels are low, blood sugar is high. When it reaches a certain point it becomes a poison and starts to damage the body. The damage most associated with hyperglycemia is heart damage, nerve damage, eye damage, and kidney damage. Of which they all lead to a slow death, so using diabetes testing meters are a have to in order to stay healthy.

Diabetes testing meters are small handheld machines that are used to measure blood sugar. The unit uses test strips to do this. First a small sample of blood is taken and is placed in a test strip. The chemical reactions that happen inside of the test strip are read by the glucose meter. This then gives a excellent (and very accurate) glucose reading on a small screen. This allows people to check their blood sugar at any time and anywhere. So you should talk to your doctor about a new glucose meter or to your local diabetic testing meters dealer for more information.

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