I didn’t know squat about the benefits and overall happiness a healthy lifestyle would lead to. I was perfectly content eating frozen pizza, smoking cigarettes, and binge drinking on a regular basis. After I was diagnosed with diabetes, I had a lengthy discussion with my doctor that resulted in an epiphany, “Everything I love is killing me!”

First, we’ll define what I mean by healthy lifestyle. When I asked the question, “What is a healthy lifestyle?” the common answer seemed to be, “Don’t smoke, don’t drink, eat only vegetables and protein, and make sure to exercise every day.”

My first thought was, “You can give that crap right back to the birds.” I was 21, loved to party, and absolutely chock full of testosterone.

The ideas, practices, and benefits a healthy lifestyle provided sounded great for managing my diabetes, but I sure didn’t like the idea of my social life falling off the face of the planet. Believing in the power of moderation, I made some compromises with my disease:

1. Smoking

I quit smoking cigarettes and only smoked cigars on special occasions such as bachelor parties, Super Bowls, or the birth of my first child. That last part was a joke. After many years of searching, special occasions are the only reason I can find to put nicotine or smoke of any kind in your body.

2. Drinking

For me, this was a big one. I’m not really the type of guy that likes to meet girls at church, and school was not really an option for me, but drinking was all my friends and I did. As a result, drinking alcohol (sadly enough) was a major component of my social life. From that day forward, I laid down some basic rules.

No liquor. Liquor causes severe instability in blood sugar levels, and will cause serious problems. I stick only to beer and wine with a maximum of three drinks. If you monitor your sugar regularly and eat beforehand, you should be able to enjoy a nice night out.

3. Eating

Of the areas available for improvement in my lifestyle, eating was the easiest for me to adapt and overcome. When I learned that protein had a minor effect on my sugar that was good news, any hamburger and steak-loving American would be happy to hear that, but the bad news was that French fries, baked potatoes, and (my favorite) sweet potatoes were off limits. That meant I had to learn to love vegetables.

From that point forward, I began cooking veggies with light butter and cayenne pepper. I know that sounds odd, but I like spicy food. As far as your diet is concerned, for the sake of your happiness, find your favorite spices and seasonings and begin experimenting with healthy foods.

4. Exercise

When it comes to exercising many people (including myself) do not follow through for long enough to see substantial results. Personally, I believe in living an active lifestyle instead of becoming a fitness and free-weight junkie. What worked for me? Basic exercises (lunges, squats, and crunches) in front of the television every morning followed by a 15 minute walk.

Complying with the guidelines I listed above, I’m still able to have a fun, active lifestyle while controlling my diabetes. Finally, I need to say that I’m not a doctor, just a guy with Type 1 Diabetes. The practices I listed worked for me to maintain the young-adult lifestyle that I wanted. You may be different, and understanding your own personality traits is critical to successful moderation and control of your diabetes.

Brandon C. Hall is an online business owner and Type 1 Diabetic who runs many websites. For the latest articles and news related to diabetes and the diabetic lifestyle visit: http://www.diabetic-resources.com

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The solution to my dilemma? Often I will replace red meat with fish and poultry, and will replace whole eggs with egg whites only. The fish and poultry thing was easy, especially since I happen to love salmon haddock and turkey. But the egg white replacement was a little more difficult.

First I tried separating the yolk from the egg white. The initial attempt was with a spoon, then a fork. This is much more difficult than you would think. What a mess! So I tried to get fancy with the egg-breaking and crack it just enough for the egg white to drip out, but not the yolk. That was ok for a few days until my kitchen began to smell from the yolks left in the trash can. Gross, I know – but I’m leading up to something so give me a minute…

Giving up on the idea of separating them myself, I went out and bought some egg “replacement” from the local store. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried this stuff (comes in a milk-carton-type-thing…) but it is totally nasty. End of story.

Eventually I got fed up and went to The Oracle (i.e. Google) to ask the question. And Google-The-Wise found this page about egg whites sold by a place called Eggwhites International and suddenly my problem was solved. And Ken and Erin lived healthfully ever-after.

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“Pistachio, when eaten with high carbohydrate food items like white bread, may actually slow the absorption of carbohydrates in the body, resulting in a lower than expected blood sugar level,” said a statement on a study conducted by the University of Toronto.

“Therefore, these nuts can help control diabetes in a country like India where 40 million people suffer from the disease. This figure is likely to go up to 80 million by 2025,” the statement added.

Cyril Kendall, lead researcher of the study, said: “Controlling blood glucose level is important for preventing and controlling diabetes. Our preliminary findings demonstrate that suppressing the glycemic (blood sugar) response of high carbohydrate foods may be part of the mechanism by which pistachio contributes to the prevention and control of diabetes.”

The study further found that pistachio helps control the appetite by controlling hunger stimulating hormones – thus improving long-term blood sugar control.

According to an India-US study, there are about 2.98 million people suffering from diabetes in Delhi alone.

Health expert R.R. Kasliwal said: “In the past five decades, the rate of coronary disease among urban population has more than doubled from four to 11 percent. The situation is of concern in India where more and more young people are getting affected by heart diseases.”

“The mono-unsaturated fat in pistachio has been scientifically proven to help lower the bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase the good cholesterol (HDL) which protects the heart,” he added.

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I’m a regular diet coke drinker and I thought that because there is no sugar in diet coke it was safe for me to drink regularly…I was wrong.

The American Diabetes Association announced the findings of a Duke University study which showed that caffeine raised the blood glucose levels of type 2 diabetics throughout the day and especially after meals. But I thought caffeine was ok for diabetics?

Previous studies on the link between caffeine and diabetes had shown that caffeine consumption lowered the risk of type 2 diabetes. Those who drank the most caffeine were the least likely to develop type 2 diabetes. It was these finding that may have lead to the misconception that caffeine had no ill effect on diabetics.

What the Duke University study is now showing is that in people who have type 2 diabetes, caffeine raised their blood sugar levels throughout the day. So even if they drank caffeine in the morning it had an effect on their blood sugar level throughout the entire day making it difficult to keep it under control.

So what is suggested? Well, if you are a type 2 diabetic such as myself, and you are finding it difficult to keep your blood glucose levels in the normal range you may want to examine the amount of caffeine you are consuming.

Like I said, I am a diet coke drinker. This is the source of any caffeine that I consume. I have been having a hard time controlling my blood glucose levels lately and I have been examining all the parts of my life: fitness, diabetes friendly diet, stress reducing tai chi…stuff like that. What I didn’t take into consideration was the amount of caffeine I was consuming daily.

Now that studies have shown caffeine raises blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetics I will have to monitor the amount of caffeine I consume. Of course, the ideal amount would be zero and that is what I’ll shoot for. But hey, no one is perfect.

So what if you drink tons of caffeine throughout the day but you have no problem keeping your blood glucose level under control? Well, my opinion would be not to change a thing. You have found the right combo of diet, exercise, medicine and whatever else you do to control your diabetes and shouldn’t tinker with it. You know the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it”.

1. Jolt Cola

2. Red Bull

3. Bawls

4. Water Joe

5. Afri-Cola

This caffeine diabetes link is one more example of how research and information can make living with diabetes more manageable. I think it was GI Joe that said “Now you know and knowing is half the battle…Go JOE!”.

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Inner City Diabetes Program

The Vine Hill Community Clinic serves an inner-city population in Nashville, Tennessee. Approximately 90% of the clinic’s patients are on a state form of Medicaid. Like many primary care clinics in the U.S., Vine Hill provides outpatient care to many patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is the leading cause of adult blindness, kidney disease, and amputation. Although almost 18 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, less than optimal care is often provided, particularly in at-risk communities. Improving care for these patients is vital because many complications may be helped or avoided with good care and behavioral changes.

Recognizing the urgent need for improved diabetes care, the Vine Hill clinic contracted with LifeWings in 2004 to provide what is considered to be a very promising form of training for the healthcare industry: Crew Resource Management (CRM) based training. CRM is a team based approach to service delivery not usually found in the medical arena. CRM was developed in the 1990s to reduce the human error component of aviation accidents. CRM produces an inclusive, organized, collaborative environment in which potentially high-risk decisions can be made with the most possible information and high degrees of accountability and flexibility. CRM enables teams to make better decisions and have the best chance of avoiding negative outcomes. The methodology has worked remarkably in aviation, arguably the safest high consequence industry, resulting in no U.S. passenger deaths in three years.

The Vine Hill Community Clinic initiative included a formal study conducted on visits from 619 type 2 diabetes patients over a thirteen-month period. The conclusions of the study state that the CRM training was instrumental in improving the diabetes care process and the patient outcomes. The number of patients who met the recommended levels for blood pressure, amputation risk, body weight, and other factors improved after receiving care from the CRM trained staff. Further benefits to the clinic include improved organization of diabetes care team, decreased patient visit time, and shorter orientation periods for new staff: all very important cost-saving measures for the severely under-funded public health sector. Although follow-up training is important to the continued success, the improvements from this training are viewed as significant to this clinic.

The success of this effort, and others like it, are not going unnoticed by the medical community. With persistent press about the alarming number of preventable, error-induced deaths in the U.S., medical providers are desperately looking for innovative ways to improve patient care. Many medical care providers never receive formal training on teamwork, situational awareness, or conflict management. Critical communication skills that could save lives are often not taught, monitored, or measured. Protocols and checklists are often not a part of typical medical care delivery, in the clinic or in the operating room. Contrast this with the systematic, documented, and mandatory recurring training received by those in the aviation community and it is not hard to see why the numbers are materially better. CRM ensures all members of a crew flying an aircraft know their responsibilities, protocols, and obligation to speak up if they feel something is not safe. The medical community is learning that applying these principles to healthcare delivery can provide measurable improvements for their patients.

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The Holidays can be an especially challenging time in the life of a diabetic. With all the family dinners and work parties it can be hard to stay on track with your healthy eating… believe me I know from experience.

Being a type II diabetic, I am faced with everyday choices in eating that can either add to my healthy lifestyle or take away from it. But I find that come the Holiday season I am left trying to find healthy alternatives to all the sugary, fattening foods that seem to be a tradition.

Luckily there are places like Diabetia that provide access to not only great information about living with diabetes but also tons of diabetic friendly recipes.

The thing about these recipes is that not only are they much better for diabetics, they taste good to everyone. If you are the one preparing your holiday meal this year there are tons of options out there for you to ensure that your meal will keep you on track with your diabetic goals. After all, Diabetes does not take a vacation… even on holidays.

But what if you are not the one preparing the meal this year? Well Diabetia can help with that too. We know ourselves pretty well right? As in, I know that when I go to my family’s holiday gathering it’s not so much the sit down meal that tempts me to make bad eating decisions… it’s the desserts.

Diabetia offers tons of great diabetic friendly dessert recipes. This year I will be arriving to my mother’s house with a couple of dessert options that are delicious and better yet will not send my blood sugar levels skyrocketing.

The thing that I like most about Diabetia is that it was started by the mother of a diabetic. She really knows difficulty of living day to day life with diabetes and this site was started to share her success with certain aspects of diet so that others don’t have to go through the same hit and miss adjustments that she did with her daughter.

Definitely check out Diabetia for great information about diabetes and excellent diabetic friendly recipes. This site will be a big help, not only through the holiday seasons but for everyday eating.

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As we have come to accept, there is no taking a vacation from Diabetes. It’s not like you are on a special diet to lose some pounds and can choose to make Thanksgiving your cheating day…it doesn’t work like that.

As a diabetic on Thanksgiving you are left with a couple of choices:

1. You can either stay home and not celebrate with your family and loves ones
2. Or you can make sure that you have a game plan for healthy diabetic eating before you sit down for your meal.

If you choose the first option, be prepared to never hear the end of the “time you decided not to go to Thanksgiving dinner”. If you choose the second option… keep reading.

The ideal scenario would be if you, the diabetic, were having people over to your home for the Thanksgiving day meal. You would be able to ensure a large selection of diabetes friendly choices to feast on along with having the traditional Thanksgiving day favorites.

But let’s face it, we don’t live in a perfect world. If you are like me, you are probably NOT going to be doing any of the cooking for your Thanksgiving meal. You’re probably going to:

• Sleep late
• Watch The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV
• Take a quick shower (possibly)
• Work your way over to the home of the responsible adult in your family that is able to hold a Thanksgiving Dinner

If that sounds more like it, then you are going to have to get a diabetes game plan in place prior to sitting down to your Thanksgiving day meal.

Speak Up

Keep in mind that you were invited to wherever you are going on Thanksgiving because you are more than likely family or a loved one. Don’t be afraid to remind the host or hostess prior to Thanksgiving day that you are diabetic and have certain nutritional needs.

I’m sure you’ll find that if you ask nicely, your Thanksgiving day hostess will offer you some options that don’t involve anything covered in marshmallows.

Working With What You Got

Say for some reason you weren’t able to request that there be some diabetic friendly Thanksgiving day foods specially prepared for you, it’s not the end of the world. You’re a diabetic, you run into this type of thing all the time. You already have a plan, or at least you will when the big day arrives.

Here are just a few suggestions that will get you through Thanksgiving without having broke any (or many) of the diabetic cardinal rules:

• Fit a walk into your Thanksgiving morning routine – we’ve already established that you don’t have a lot going on
• Eat a lot of vegetables, this would include a heaping portion of salad with your meal – avoid anything that has been caramelized or marshmallowed
• Turkey – eat up…just avoid the fatty skin
• Mashed potatoes – one cup size serving is roughly 18g of carbs
• Stuffing – I would avoid it but if you MUST be aware that a 1/3 cup serving has about 40g of carbs (it seems like a waste of available carbs to me)
• Avoid Cranberry Sauce – just don’t eat it, it’s loaded with carbs

Bring Your Own Desert

Not only will bringing your own desert make you seem like a contributing, responsible adult it will also be a way to ensure that you get to eat a diabetic friendly desert. Here are some options:

• No sugar added apple pie
• No sugar added ice cream
• Peanut Butter Pie
• Individual Pumpkin Pies – no crust, very low carb
• Strawberry Shortcake – low carb style

You can kind of see where this is going right? You can either buy some pre-made no sugar added deserts or you can find a great diabetic recipe and actually put a little effort into it. Me? I’ll probably be bringing something store bought…that’s just the way I am.

Once you have a plan in place about how to celebrate a diabetic friendly Thanksgiving you are going to feel way more at ease this Thanksgiving. The main thing here is to not be too hard on yourself. If you happen to indulge a little too much (hey it happens), the important thing to remember is to get right back on track.

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But bringing back the carbs can cause problems too. Did you know that many of the carbs we eat every day may cause a condition called insulin resistance? With the extra carbs adding the extra pounds and inches to your body, the insulin hormone runs into a big problem: It can’t help you process fuel, fats, or sugars. When you reach this condition, your body stores even more fat than it should be, mostly around your stomach and hips.

So how do we keep the delicious carbohydrate-filled foods without adding inches and developing insulin resistance? If you’re dedicated to losing weight and achieving health for the rest of your life, this solution is for you! You must understand that thre are two types of carbohydrates; good and bad. Good carbohydrates include non-processed foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Bad carbohydrates include those such as white bread, chips, snacks and other baked or fried foods that have been mechanically processed.

What are the good carboydrates?

These are the carbs we should focus on eating. They come in more natural forms such as whole grain wheat bread, fruit like strawberries and peaches, and vegetables such as carrots, green beans or squash.

What are the bad carbs?

If you want to keep the healthiest blood chemistry, try hard to avoid eating these foods. Some of the foods with “bad” carbohydrates include those such as white bread, chips, snacks and other baked or fried foods that have been mechanically processed. These carbs bad for you because during processing, much or all of the dietary fiber is removed from them, and your body cannot process these new complex carbs with efficiency.

Copyright (C) Shoppe.MD, PhenForum and Ian Mason, 2004-2005

Learn more about health, diet and exercise at our weight loss forum.

PhenForum.com is a popular discussion forum for weight loss support, diet plan advice, and tips to help you burn fat.

All the best,

Ian Mason

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Let me just start out by saying that I am not against the use of pharmaceutical products to control diabetes. I myself am taking Metformin, also known as Glucophage, and Glipizide, also known as Glucotrol, to help regulate my blood glucose levels. Although I’ve stopped taking the Metformin because it gave me serious stomach cramps, gas and diahrea.

Right now taking these drugs is a must for me. If you knew me personally you would know that I’m not keen on taking medication. I’m always looking for a more natural approach to treating my diabetes.

What I have been finding is that there are foods and supplements that will naturally lower blood sugar levels. By incorporating these foods and supplements into your already diabetes friendly diet you are upping your chances of a longer healthier life.

Food And Supplements That Lower Blood Sugar Levels

Cinnamon: Researchers are finding that cinnamon reduces blood sugar levels naturally when taken daily. If you absolutely love cinnamon you can sprinkle the recommended six grams of cinnamon on your food throughout the day to achieve the desired effect. If you are not that big a fan of cinnamon there is another alternative…cinnamon capsules. This gives you the recommended cinnamon dose all in one tidy capsule.

Chromium: To help your body’s cells respond properly to insulin you can use Chromium. There are studies that are finding that people with diabetes have lower Chromium levels that people without the disease. So how do you add Chromium to your diet? Well it is a trace mineral so the best bet it to take a Chromium Picolinate dietary supplement.

Zinc: The mineral Zinc plays a huge role in your body’s production and storage of insulin. It is now being brought to light that people with diabetes have a Zinc deficiency. You can go about increasing the Zinc in your diet by either taking a supplement or by eating foods that are high in Zinc. This would include lamb, oysters, pecans, almonds, chicken and sardines.

Salacia oblonga: Also something interesting I read about and also heard from someone on a podcast they were taking in Sri Lanka. Salacia oblonga is an herb that’s been used for centuries which is native to regions of India and Sri Lanka, binds to intestinal enzymes that break down carbohydrates in the body. Ohio State University, researchers saw insulin levels drop 23 percent and blood sugar levels drop 29 percent in patients who took a 1,000-mg dose of the herb. Amazing!

These are just a few of the natural foods and supplements that will lower your blood sugar level naturally. One thing that is very important is that you keep your health care provider up to date on any supplements that you will be utilizing as a natural way to lower your blood sugar. They will be able to help you safely figure out what does and does not work for you.

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Type 1 is associated with a lack of insulin, and without enough insulin you cannot maintain a normal blood glucose level. This in turn causes hyperglycemia, or an overabundance of sugar in the blood. This is a dangerous condition.

Type 2 is much more common, and develops later in life, usually when someone is overweight, and with poor diet and physical condition. Heredity plays a big role as well.

In Type 2, the problem is resistance to insulin rather than the lack of insulin. The result is the same however, an elevated blood sugar level

The diets and suggestions below are generally for Type 2 sufferers. There are four basic rules to follow:

Achieving an ideal body weight

Following a diabetic diet

Regular daily exercise

Diabetic medication if needed

Your doctor will know your ideal weight. Ideal weight differs from one’s skeletal and genetic (and racial) factors. Let a doctor give you your ideal weight and then you must work to achieve it.

The diabetic diet (as guidelines) is outlined below.

Daily exercise, especially walking is very good for Type 2 diabetics.

Your doctor will have given you some medication. Take it per the prescription instructions.

The Diet

People with Type 2 diabetes generally are put on a 1500-1800 calorie diet per day to promote weight loss and then the maintenance of ideal body weight.

This always varies according to the person’s age, sex, activity level, current weight and body type. More obese individuals will need more calories initially until their weight is less.

This is because it takes more calories to maintain a larger body and a 1600 calorie diet for them may promote weight loss that is too fast and will promote complications. Also, people whose activity level is low will have less daily caloric needs.

The diet will generally have about 50% carbohydrates of the daily calories (with an acceptable range from 40 to 60%).

As a general rule the lower the carbohydrate intake the lower the sugar levels in the blood. The benefits of the low calorie diet can be cancelled out by the problems associated with a higher fat diet substituted for the lower amount of carbohydrates. You can counter this by substituting monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats for saturated fats.

Count your carbohydrates!

You can figure that each gram of carbohydrate is about 4 calories. A diabetic on a 1600 calorie diet should get 50% of these calories from carbohydrate.

This would be a total of 800 calories or 200 gms of carbohydrate (at 4 calories per gram) spread out over the day. You will need food tables (from diet books and also read those labels in all foods you buy).

There are some foods that you are able to enjoy without counting their food values. A good example is:

Bouillon or broth
Carbonated or mineral water
Club soda
Coffee or tea
Diet soft drinks
Drink mixes, sugar-free
Tonic water, sugar free
Sugar-free hard candy
Sugar-free Jell-O
Sugar-free gum
Jam or jelly, light or low-sugar, 2 tsp.
Sugar free syrup, 2 tsp.

You can eat foods with some sugar in it, but it will use up both your calories and carbohydrate requirements with poor nutritional value. Go for fruit. People with diabetes can eat any kind of fruit, regardless of the sugar content.

Everyone is encouraged to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day. Spreading the fruit you eat through the day will avoid a sudden rise in blood glucose levels.

Although some fruits have a lower glycogenic index, which shows how foods affect blood glucose levels, the important thing is to increase the amount of fruit you eat, including a wide variety of different fruits. Eating lots of fruit will also promote good heath and weight loss.

You can also eat as many vegetables as you wish.

None are forbidden except if you classify a potato as a vegetable. It is not. The goal here is to eat only the best quality foods, have 50% of your calories from carbohydrates, and then lose weight till you achieve the ideal.

Along with these diet guidelines and your medication, you can look forward to a healthy and normal life.

For More FREE info

On Diabties diets and other tips to improve your diet and overall health, visit our website for articles features and downloads

http://www.net-planet.org

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