Nutrition

Tips for Managing Your Diabetes

(If pregnant, different BS standards apply)

1. Check blood glucose/sugar (BS) before meals/bedtime at least two days weekly unless on insulin (then daily).  Write down BS so you can find a pattern (why) of highs/lows.  BS Goals:  80-120 mg/dL before meals, 100-140 mg/dL at bedtime.  The recommended goal for BS one hour after a meal is <180 mg/dL.  If BS continues to be elevated, more oral agents may be added, and then possible insulin.  Forty percent of patients with Type 2 diabetes may eventually require insulin.
2. Take your oral medication for diabetes about 1/2 hour (unless otherwise indicated) before eating, (if taking Glucophage/Precose, take with food).  Rapid-acting insulin (regular) or 70/30 insulin is normally administered about 30 minutes prior to eating.  Humalog or 75/25 insulin is administered at the meal or no earlier than 15 minutes prior to the meal.
3. If you are going to be late for a meal, eat something to prevent a low BS, e.g. peanut butter/crackers or cheese/crackers.  If you already have a low BS (<70 and/or clammy skin/dizziness), try 1/2 c. orange juice or regular soda, or 3 glucose tablets, or 5 lifesavers.....wait 15 minutes, recheck BS - should be up - if not, repeat above.
4. Avoid weight gain--can make BS harder to control.
5. Limit carbohydrate foods in diet to about 1/2 to 1 cup starch, 1/2 cup fruit, and 1 cup milk per meal.  Remember potatoes, rice, pasta, corn, peas/dried beans, and bread are also starch foods.  Limit/avoid sweets.  Fruit juice may need to be limited/avoided - note your BS.
6. Limit fatty foods--even though they don't affect your BS as much as carbohydrate foods, excess fat/protein foods will blockyour insulin and interfere with its function of reducing your BS after eating.  Excess fat can damage blood vessels, and cause weight gain.
7. Eat plenty of vegetables--tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc.  These foods have fiber and may help control your BS.  These low calorie/low carbohydrate vegetables can help fill you up but not out, help with constipation, and reduce your risk for cancer and blood vessel disease.  The above choices are also high in vitamin C.
8. Eating a mixed meal can help BS - e.g. a protein, starch, and vegetable (baked chicken, potato and salad; sandwich and raw vegetables; cottage cheese, crackers, and salad).
9. Exercise--even 10-15 minutes a day of brisk walking, especially after meals can help reduce/control BS.
10. Keep your doctor appointments--check feet at every doctor appointment, check urine/kidney function yearly, and check eyes yearly.  If on an insulin sensitizer (Avandia, Actos, or Glucophage), check liver function by lab tests several times yearly, as recommended by your physician.