Controlling Diabetes with Diet Once your doctor has diagnosed you with diabetes the real work begins.
He will most likely give you a prescription for medication, the name of a nutritionist and stack of booklet about keeping your diabetes controlled with diet.
Using medication is only a small part of keeping your diabetes controlled; diet plays perhaps the biggest role of all.
In fact there are many diabetics that have controlled their diabetes with diet alone, and were able to avoid or get off all medications overtime.
Controlling diabetes with diet depends on a number of things.
Your diet should support a healthy stable blood sugar and help you to maintain a healthy weight.
Weight loss is very important to controlling diabetes, as weight loss reduces the degree of insulin resistance in the body, helping your pancreas to more effectively manage your blood sugar.
Eating a balanced diet with ample fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins will help you to lose that extra weight and keep your diabetes controlled.
Diet alone is not enough, so you should also consider exercising along with your diet to aid in weight loss and blood sugar.
It also important to avoid a number of things when trying to keep your diabetes controlled.
Diet changes should include avoiding sugary treats and fizzy drinks, as these will worsen your insulin resistance and cause your blood sugar to sky rocket.
Highly refined foods, even without sugar such as white bread, chips and many prepackaged meals should also be avoided.
Alcohol should also be avoided since your body treats it much like pure sugar and if you smoke you should stop.
There are also a number of supplements that have been shown to help with keeping blood sugars level and reducing the need for medications.
Omega 3s have shown great promise in helping to keep diabetes controlled.
A diet rich in fish and nuts can supply you with an ample amount of these healthy fatty acids without the need for supplementation.
Chromium, magnesium, and alpha-lipoic acid have also shown promise in helping people control their diabetes.
Diabetes can often be controlled with a combination of diet, exercise and the proper nutrients helping a person to reduce or even eliminate the need for medication.
Care should be taken though to work with your doctor when attempting these changes so he can monitor you and your medication carefully for any adjustments that may be needed.