You are a diabetic and hence, have to perforce lead a bland life, eating even blander food and starve yourself forever, right? Wrong! While diabetes does require you to have a certain control over your food, it in no way indicates you should deprive yourself of eating a healthy diet. Here are some diabetes recipes for you that tickle your palate without causing harm to your general health!

Make your main dishes lighter by eating lean meats and using fat-free substances.

• Hot & Sour Pepper Steaks

Trim 2 boneless beef loin steaks and cut them into 1” pieces. Coat them with a mixture of minced garlic, crushed oregano, ground pepper, shredded lemon peel and a little oil. Grill slowly till done on both sides.

• Teriyaki Beef

Stem 1 cup spinach leaves and layer the leaves on top of each other. Then finely cut them across. Mix these with ¼ cup water chestnuts, onions and low-sodium teriyaki sauce. Trim 1 lb beef flank steak of fat and make shallow cuts on each piece. Coat the meat with salt and pepper seasoning and add the spinach mixture as well. Thread them into metal skewers and grill till done.

• Glazed Pork Chops

Cut boneless pork loin chops into 1” pieces. Mix together Dijon mustard, sugar-free marmalade, Cayenne pepper and a little lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle this on the meat. Glaze with marmalade mixture and grill till done.

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So you see, you can enjoy tasty meals in spite of your diabetes, if you know exactly how to go about it! Try out these diabetes recipes and visit our website for your bonus - 500 diabetes recipes!

Diabetes, though so prevalent today, is one of the least understood diseases, which can even fox experts at times. Laymen like you and me find it absolutely impossible to figure out this disorder. So here is some basic diabetes information for your benefit.

Causes

This is actually a consequence of a dysfunction in metabolism. The insulin, which regulates the blood sugar levels in the body, fluctuates wildly, causing us much pain and suffering! Because our bodies does not get access to this insulin, our energy goes down and the glucose remains in the blood, creating more and more trouble.

Does bad lifestyle and diet cause diabetes?

• Add to this, bad lifestyles and unhealthy eating can give rise to even more complications. Of course, you do not necessarily have to develop this disease if you lead a sedentary lifestyle, but this may end up causing trouble at a later stage in your life.
• Exercise is a must for everyone, especially so for diabetics. Moderate exercise helps you build up energy and stamina and keeps you blood sugar levels in perfect control. Try to include variety in your exercise routine if you find one thing too boring. You could maybe cycle two days of the week, go for a swim two days and so on.
• As far as diet is concerned, eating a healthy diet is always good for you, irrespective of whether you do or do not suffer from diabetes. Make it a point to include all food varieties in your everyday meal. Make the food fat-free and cut down on the sweet factor! Most people tend to think that you have to go completely off sweets if you are diabetic, but that is not so. You can continue to have a wee bit, provided it does not make your condition worse.
  Lean meats are always much better than red meats, so avoid the latter. You will do well to follow the food pyramid if you are already diabetic. Refer to FDA Diabetes for more information.

Do visit www.diabetessymptomsguide.com as well and gain more information on diabetes!

If you are a diabetic, you will know how dicey a disease this is. Your blood sugar levels tend to fluctuate constantly, sometimes wildly enough to leave you thoroughly exhausted! You relax just after a meal, thinking that the sugar levels are going to steady now, but lo and behold! You would suddenly feel shaky and weak and your sugar takes a nosedive just about a half hour after the meal! So how do you tackle this problem and what is the ideal diabetes medication to control these extreme ‘sugar swings’?

You first have to learn if you have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. After a detailed examination, your physician will prescribe a medication schedule for you. If you are suffering from the former, you need to take insulin injections, the dosage of which will be prescribed and manipulated by your doctor.

If you are a Type 2 diabetic, however, oral medication might do well enough for you, though not always. There are some people with Type 2 diabetes who are still administered insulin injections. But this type of diabetes can usually come under control once the patient reduces his or her weight and gets into a proper exercise schedule.

“I am already on medication. So why do I need diet and exercise?”

The above is a very common question posed by many diabetics. Most people do not realize how vital diet and exercise are to maintaining general health, especially so with diabetes.

Diet

Eating a balanced diet and cutting down on sweet, processed and oily foods cuts down accumulating unnecessary calories! Fibrous foods increase metabolism and give you a filled up feeling without you having to consume too much food.

Exercise

Moderate exercise everyday increases your immunity levels, injects energy into you and also regulates your blood sugar levels. Though you may initially feel tired out, you will feel just great after about 2-3 weeks of exercise. Ask your doctor about the right kind of exercise for you.

Now you see why your diabetes medication has to be complemented with diet and exercise, right? Take care of the above factors and you move several steps towards leading a happy, healthy life ahead!

All of us know that Diabetes Mellitus is mainly characterized by shooting blood sugar levels, which can cause much trouble unless and until controlled well in time. So how exactly does this disorder affect blood sugar levels?

There is some amount of glucose present in our blood. This is also referred to as ‘serum glucose’ and is measured in mmol/L (millimoles per liter). The level is considered normal at a level fewer than 4-8 units, but may go up immediately after a heavy meal. It could be lesser than 10 mmol/L about one and a half hours after meals and about 8 mmol/L just before bedtime.

How is high blood sugar level harmful to our body?

A steep rise in this delicate blood sugar balance can give rise to many complications, sometimes endangering life itself! Here are some of the consequences of high blood sugar:

• Nerve disorders
• Eye disease
• Kidney dysfunction
• Heart failure
• Stroke
• Slow healing of wounds

In the worst case, gangrene can affect the injured part, which might finally have to be amputated.

So now you see just how harmful it can get to neglect this condition, right?!

Type 1 diabetes moves at snail’s pace, so there may be no degeneration setting in for many years. But the symptoms of Type 2 diabetes show up fast and it soon starts showing its complete spectrum of symptoms. The key to keeping healthy with diabetes, therefore, is to keep your blood sugar levels absolutely steady and unwavering!

Keep monitoring your blood glucose levels regularly if you are a diabetic. Talk to your doctor about the frequency of conducting blood tests. He may also advice you to use a convenient home test kit.  No matter what you do, make sure to follow your physician’s advice and keep your blood sugar levels well under control during diabetes.

The current steep increase in the incidence of diabetes worldwide is alarming. But what is worse is that many children are now developing diabetes as well. While it is bad enough that adults have to face this disease, it is absolutely distressing to see our children suffering from the same. So how does this disorder manifest in the young ones?

This disorder is called ‘juvenile diabetes’ or ‘insulin dependant’ diabetes. Here, the body develops an autoimmune disorder and cannot generate the insulin necessary to maintain energy levels in the body. This Type 1 diabetes also mostly manifests in children under the age of 16. The dangerous disorder can blow out of all proportion if not cared for and treated well in time. If neglected, this can harm the vital organs of the child’s body.

Luckily, this disorder is still not too common in children, but the number is steadily rising each and every year. It is estimated that juvenile diabetes has increase triple fold in the last thirty years – is that not really alarming?!

What causes this disorder?

The root cause is not known yet, but some research studies reveal that this might arise as a combination of genetic, environmental and sometimes, even ethnic factors. Very often, it has also been seen that juvenile diabetics do not have a family history of the disease. So that cannot be estimated as the root cause either.

Treatment

Insulin treatment is followed to treat this disorder. Fast-acting insulin is administered in the day, followed by slow-acting insulin overnight. Insulin pumps are also used today, which supply the hormone externally, all day long.

How can parents help?

If your child is found to be diabetic, educate yourself about this disease, monitor the child regularly and learn to adjust his everyday dosage of insulin. Make him carry glucose always, keep him constantly active and also inform his school about his disorder, so they can support you as well.

Diabetes in children can be controlled with a strict vigil over their all-round health and activity. Be watchful and take good care of your child if he suffers from this disorder.

Gestational diabetes occurs to a woman when she is pregnant. Even perfectly healthy women without a prior history of diabetes can fall prey to this disorder during their pregnancy. Of course, this disorder disappears once the baby is born, but may raise its head each consecutive time she gets pregnant. Besides, such women also stand the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes at a later stage in their lives. How can this disorder be controlled? Believe it or not, a sensible diet can easily regulate your symptoms if you are suffering from gestational diabetes.

Here is the ideal diet for expecting women suffering from diabetes:

• Carbohydrates are vital to provide energy for the pregnant woman. Complex carbohydrates can be gotten from fruits, veggies, nuts, whole grains and dry beans. These substances easily convert into glucose and so, are the best thing for you! You can also find carbs in milk, pasta, bread, cereal, rice and yogurt. Additionally, it will do well to include proteins and some degree of fats in your daily diet. Of course, you need to visit your doctor before starting off on any diet whatsoever.
• Fibrous foods aid digestion, lower blood cholesterol levels and slow down the absorption of sugar in the body. This means, fiber cleans up your intestinal tract and also keeps up your energy levels for longer periods of time. Fruits, vegetables, beans and peas, cereals, whole grains, sprouts and brown rice are loaded with fiber.
• Fatty foods are best avoided; though okay in moderation. You can also use fat substitutes such as toned milk, low-fat yogurt, lean meat, egg whites and so on. It is also better to bake, roast, grill or boil your dishes rather than fry them.
• Salty or sodium-rich foods have to be minimized as well. These foods raise blood pressure levels, so are never good for anyone, especially you! Try to avoid canned, packaged and processed foods, as they are all sodium-rich.

Take care of your diet during gestational diabetes and you will soon be spinning with top energy levels!