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Signs & Symptoms of Juvenile and Type 2 diabetes

How Food Affects Your Blood Sugar (Glocuse).

Monitoring and Controlling Your Diabetes

Recommended:

Books on Diabetes

Books on Juvenile Diabetes

Diabetic Cook books

Glucose monitors and supplies

To control your diabetes you must make sure that your levels (the amount of sugar in your blood) are within normal range.  Your physician will tell you how often you should check your levels.  Remeber to follow his instructions. Take prescribed medication for your diabetes just as the doctor ordered. 

To check your levels you will need a gluscose monitor.  There are a wide variety of glucose monitors on the market, you should choose the one that is easiest for you. You can purchase sharps containers to properly dispose of the sticks you use to prick your finger.

Make sure you write down and keep a log of the levels you get when you check.  Make sure that your log includes the date and time the levels were taken.  Most monitors come with a sample book that you can start recording your levels on.  This log can be helpful to your physician in determinig if the treatment you are on needs to be adjusted.

Eating a well balanced meal with the right amount of healty food will help with your diabetes by helping your to keep your weight under control.  Remember that carbohydrates raises the sugar level.  Table sugar is a carbohydrate and should be substituted with an artificial sweetner.  Artificial sweetners do not elevate or raise your sugar (glucose) levels however they will give your food a sweet taste.

You should eat foods from all of the four main food groups:

1. Fruits and vegetables
2. Whole grains, cereals and bread
3. dairy products
4. protein: meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dried beans, nuts

Avoid eating too much food that contain a lot of fat and cholesterol. Food that is high in fat includes red meat, dairy products (whole milk, cream, cheese, and ice cream), egg yolks, butter, salad dressings, vegetable oils, and many desserts.

Exercise is another way you can help control your diabetes.  It usually lowers the blood sugar.  Along with a healthy diet it can halp you shed those extra pounds which will also help in lowering your blood sugar.  Remeber to check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.