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Living Healthy with Diabetes
Diabetes affects around 16 million Americans and about 800,000
new cases are diagnosed each year. Diabetes attacks men, women,
children and the elderly. It spares no race.
Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, blindness in
Adults and amputations. It is a major risk factor for heart
disease, stroke, and birth defects and it shortens life
expectancy by up to 15 years. So you can see what I am up
against. It is up to me to make sure that none of these things
ever happen to my daughter. My daughter Ashley has Diabetes Type
1. She will be 10 years old March 15th. Ashley has been a
diabetic for 5 years.
Five years ago I was totally overwhelmed by all that
information. I felt helpless and depressed. I was sure this was a
death sentence for my daughter. This was because of my total
ignorance of Diabetes. A person can live a full life with
Diabetes. It just takes some extra care. A good diet plays an
important part in a Diabetics life. They need to put together a
meal plan with their doctor & dietitian. My daughter has
several meals a day. She has breakfast, a snack, lunch, a snack,
dinner & another snack. She has these meals at the same time
every day. This is important. It helps keep her body on a
schedule and her blood sugar regulated. Skipping meals and snacks
may lead to large swings in blood sugar readings. To keep blood
sugar levels near normal a Diabetic must balance the food they
eat with the insulin the body gets from injections and with
physical activities. Blood sugar monitoring gives you the
information you need to help with this balancing. Near normal
blood sugar readings will help you feel better. Normal is between
70 and 120. They will also reduce your chances of
complications.
Lets talk about how a Diabetic needs to eat. Everyone needs to
eat nutritious foods. Our good health depends on eating a variety
of foods that contain the right amount of Carbohydrate, Protein,
Fat, Vitamins, Minerals, Fiber and Water. Carbohydrate, Protein
and Fat are found in the food that you eat. They supply your body
with energy. Your body needs insulin to use this energy. Insulin
is made in the pancreas. If you have Diabetes, either your
pancreas is no longer producing insulin or your body can't use
the insulin it is making. So your blood sugar levels are not
normal.
Starch and Sugar in foods are Carbohydrates. You can find
starch in breads, pasta, cereal, potatoes, beans, peas and
lentils. Natural sugars are in fruits, milk and vegetables. There
are added sugars in desserts, candy, jam and syrup. All of these
Carbohydrates can affect your blood sugar. When you eat
Carbohydrates they turn into glucose and travel in your
bloodstream. Insulin helps the glucose enter the beta cells in
your pancreas where it can be turned into energy and stored.
Eating the same amount of Carbohydrate daily at meals and snacks
can help you control your blood sugar levels. Protein is in
meats, poultry, fish, milk and other dairy products, eggs, beans,
peas and lentils. Starches and vegetables have small amounts of
protein. The body uses protein for growth, maintenance and
energy. Your body needs insulin to use the protein you eat.
Fat is in margarine, butter, oils, salad dressings, nuts,
seeds, milk, cheese, meat, fish, poultry, snack food, ice-cream
and desserts. There are three different types of fat.
Monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and saturated. Everyone should
eat less saturated fats found in meats, dairy products, coconut,
palm or palm kernel oil, and hardened shortening.
Saturated fats can raise your blood levels of cholesterol. The
fats that are best are the monounsaturated fats found in canola
oil, olive oil, nuts, and avocado. The polyunsaturated fats found
in corn oil, soybean oil, or sunflower oil are good too. After
you eat fat it travels through your bloodstream. You need insulin
to store fat in the cells of your body. Fats are used for
energy.
So you can see what a big role insulin plays in your body.
Good diet is very important for a Diabetic. Excersize is also
very important. A Diabetic can live a healthy full life if they
do three things. Eat healthy, Excersize, and inject the right
amount of insulin. It takes dedication and hard work. But in the
end it is totally worth it because it is your life.
Devoting her last 8 years to Diabetes Education, Kimberly
maintains her website ElviraDarkNight.com and
publishes the Living
Life as a Diabetic Newsletter as well as dispatches donated
Diabetic supplies to needie individuals without Health Insurance.
Kim would like to personally invite you to become informed on
issues of Health, Nutrition & Diabetes.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News
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