Diabetes is a chronic condition that has no cure but can be effectively treated and managed by careful nutrition, key lifestyle changes and prescribed medications. There is not a single approach for all diabetics; but nutritional therapy, exercise, weight maintenance and medication will improve health. A physician will determine if medications which help lower blood glucose levels and/or insulin injections are required.
Early and regular diet and lifestyle changes will also prevent damage and complications from diabetes, such as diabetic leg ulcers, heart disease and eye damage. These include: achieve a healthy weight and maintain it, exercise regularly, don’t smoke and avoid second hand smoke, eat regular, balanced meals and have cholesterol and blood pressure levels checked and maintained at normal levels.
Gestational diabetes can also treated and controlled through proper nutrition, weight control and a healthy lifestyle. If these measures are not sufficient a physician may also prescribe insulin injections, since oral anti-diabetic drugs cannot be taken during pregnancy.
Dietary Recommendations For Diabetics:
- Increase fiber and complex carbohydrates in your diet such as oatmeal, bran, barley, legumes, beans and lentils.
- Avoid simpler carbohydrates such as white breads, white rice and potatoes.
- Add more fresh fruit and vegetable to your diet, up to 5 or 6 cups a day.
- Include onion, garlic and ginger in your diet.
- Avoid all simple sugars in sweets, deserts, snacks, sauces and baked goods.
- Avoid saturated fats and trans fatty acids, such as those in fried foods, fatty red meats and margarine.
- Increase omega-3 fatty acids by adding foods such as olive oil, salmon, herring, halibut, mackerel and flax seed to your diet.
- Avoid highly processed and canned foods.
Herbs and Supplements to Reduce Blood Glucose Levels
People who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes often turn to natural and food remedies to reduce their need for medications and insulin. In India, Pakistan, the West Indies and China, the fruit of the bitter melon (or karela, as it is called in South Asia) is commonly used to help diabetics to curb their glucose tolerance.
Other herbs and foods that have anti-diabetic properties are onions, garlic and fenugreek. Cumin seeds are also used to aid in the health of diabetics and a half teaspoon of crushed cumin seeds added to food or taken with water is recommended daily in holistic Arab medicine.
Another herbal treatment includes bay leaves; eating food prepared with bay leaves can help boost the body’s ability to use and control glucose in the blood. Herbalists also recommend drinking two to three cups of bay leaf tea a day. Bay leaf tea can be made by steeping several bay leaves in hot water.
Nutritional supplements that aid in utilizing glucose and reduce the damage and complications in the body caused by higher levels of blood glucose include the B vitamins, chromium, vitamins C and E, magnesium, zinc, potassium, and omega-3 fatty acids.
For further information see:
 |
