does anyone have any great tips on ways to keep your blood glucose levels in check?

Question

Of course, eating healthy is the basis for any human being, but I am curious about different foods, vitamins...that might help as well

Answer 1

Try home remedies like those on http://www.grannymed.com/Meds/diabetes.aspx



# Diabetes treatment: Eat 1 teaspoon of cinnamon daily.
# Yemeni med: Soak 1 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds (Hilba) in 1 cup of water at night. Drink the water in the morning on an empty stomach and eat the seeds. Very good for diabetes because it works like insulin.
# Take 1 small bitter gourd, remove the seeds and saturate in a cup of water. Drain and drink every morning.


Good luck

Answer 2

2

Answer 3

I was diagnosed with Type 2 last May. Big shock. A1C of 9.0.
Just saw the doctor: A1C 5.7, blood pressure down to 108 over 70. Colesteral 187 but still need to work on the bad colesteral but it dropped 13 points. Weight down from 260 to 223. My doctor is pretty happy. Here's what I do.

Breakfast: Kashi 7 grain cereal or eggs and 1 piece of toast. 1 aspirin, 1 cinnamon tablet, 1 multivitamin, 1 vitamin C. (repeat at night.)
10 am: Glucerna
Lunch: Cheese,peanuts, smoked fish, chicken,salami, meat,vegetables,and maybe an apple.
3 pm snack: peanuts, almonds,or Glucerna
Dinner: Fish,meat,vegetables,and maybe a crust of bread with a little butter. Occasional glass of red wine which knocks down the blood sugar level.

The no's: Pasta,rice,candy,potatoes,oatmeal,cookies,potato chips,juice,oranges, etc. You get the idea.

Test yourself after eating different foods: This morning I had a bowl of oatmeal and hit 265 which is horrible. If I have Kashi, I don't go over 140. If I have eggs and bacon, it doesn't go over 125. I do not get the same hunger pangs as when I was eating a lot of Carbs. Make sure you read the labels and keep the Carbs to about 30 grams (2 carbs) per meal or less.
You won't get hungry. Do not eat a late dinner. This will cause you to be high at night. Try to get to around 115 before going to bed. Exercise is a big factor. I ride a bike and walk. It knocks down the sugar level and seems to have a longer term affect.

I started out cutting out almost all carbs and have gradually added some back such as a piece of toast, crust of bread, apple or banana. I am trying to add some back and not elevate my levels. I am still experimenting. Glucerna is great and so is Kashi.

My sister said I had to find something else in life (other than food) and I am working on that.

Good luck and take it as a challenge.

Answer 4

I realize that conventional health care is necessary and appropriate. That having been said, there are also many things WE can do to overcome type II diabetes, and improve life as a Type I diabetic. I've been researching alternative medicine, and the amount of help that's available to diabetics is amazing.

Natural remedies are quite effective, and include:

Cinnamon
Bitter Melon
Gymnema Sylvestre
Nopal cactus
American Ginseng
Fenugreek
Chromium picolinate

Cinnamon regulates glucose, and has a polyphenol compound called MHCP that mimics insulin and activates cell receptor sites. A quarter teaspoon twice daily makes a difference. Fenugreek increases blood flow and inhibits the growth of infectious organisms. Everything on the list has a use in fighting diabetes. Learn how to use these herbs and don't fall victim to diabetes needlessly.You can find out about about them on line, or in a book I read cover to cover--

"One Son's Quest for the Cause and Cure of Diabetes", ISBN 7890766313

The author, a doctor, lost his mother to diabetes and spent the next 20 years finding a way to overcome it. My brother was dying of diabetes, and I was just starting to need insulin when we came across this definitive work which came out in February 2005. We both lead mostly normal lives now. It's a life saver, and the best money you'll ever spend on the subject if you decide to go that way.
You might want to check Abe Books, Alibri's, or Amazon.com for a good used copy cheap. I bought mine new, and I think it was about $35. I don't get any money from anybody for telling you this--just want to help, and the techniques in this book is what made the difference for me and mine. Best of luck.

Answer 5

Low fat is a myth!

What you have to get away from is processed foods!

The number one thing most doctors and nutritionists DO NOT tell you about maanging diabetes is this: there are tons of healthy carbs in things like spinach and carrots and beans. Upshot? Give up the processed crap! Give up the whole wheat bread, the brown rice, all that processed carb stuff NOt just "the white stuff."

You will see your numbers REALLY come down AND really elve off.

In other words, what you basically eat is green veggies, a little protein, some olive oil, a little fish etc BUT NO pasta, rice, bread, just give it all up.

You can sit around eating fresh dark kale sauteed in mushrooms and tomatos and fresh herbs and olive oil until the cows come home and you will not get spike.

The other thing they WON'T tell you is that constant loading of processed carbs is actually WORSE than the occasional sugar!

Also give up ALL fruit juice. Useless.

I start my day with a big old plate of dark green fresh veggies sauteed in olive oil (GOOD FAT IS YOUR FRIEND IF YOU ARE DIABETIC BECAUSE IT SLOWS IT DOWN) do not beleive the low fat bullcrud; and sometimes I throw in a big plate of eggs (egg whites olny).

Other tips? Surround yourself with the Super Foods for Diabetics:

- avocados
- olive oil
- berries
- asian pears
- dark green veggies
- edamame
- kale
- spinach
- fresh herbs
- pine nuts
- salmon (the real kind)

As for exercise, try walking ONCE around your block or go WALKING in a local heated pool. You will relax, make friends, start moving, watch the numbers come down.

Answer 6

Diet and exercise. Eat a low fat, low (or no) sugar diet and exercise regularly. Brisk walking for half an hour a day would be a good start and take it from there. Eat lots of vegetables and have complex carbohydrates with every meal. Check any diabetes web site for suitable carbohydrates.

I have managed my diabetes with diet and exercise alone for three years now. I still eat most of the foods I Iike and drink beer and wine (in moderation). I give myself occasional treats like chocolate perhaps once a fortnight.