Food Diabetics Should Avoid

As a diabetic, I know you are constantly asking yourself what you can eat and what you cannot eat.  You also wanna know what works best for you to bring your sugar down .. and not have high readings.  You are not alone sisters..! i am in the same shoes always.  One can of course opt to take the  best weight loss pills to help with controlling the weight but it really boils down to eating correctly too.

Like everyone knows, having diabetes need not means that your life if over.. everything in moderation is good.  But these are the food i try to avoid.. because they are said to be bad.  Pizza is one of them, luckily .. i donch like them as much as some ppl.  So there i have no problems.  Fast food is the second one – tempting as it might be .. even for myself, i love the french fries..  but these days.. i avoid eating them .. even when Missy Moo has her once a week treat – but having said all that.. it doesn’t mean that you cannot have fries or too.. or better yet.. if you absolutely much have some..  bake them yourself in the oven.

Cakes and cookies are a no – no they said.. lucky me.. i donch crave for stuff like that.. but i do eat like half a cookie sometimes.. or a small piece of cheesecake .. once every 2 weeks – because i absolutely love cheese cake and the richer the better.

Frozen food  like your chicken pot pie.. are also not really that good.. if you absolutely must have them.. because it is convenient.. and you are busy.. you can try those that are made in store .. like the ones we have at Sobeys.

Sugary drinks like pop, flavored drinks and even smoothies is a another high sugar content thingie.  I never knew how much they actually are in sugar content.. till i started looking at all the labels.. and you would be shocked too..!!  at 45gms of sugar per cup of pepsi.. now that would kill me in no time..  i cut that out too.  I drink only water.. or pure cranberry juice .. with tons of water.  So there you have it .. a tip from your fellow diabetic .. 

Be Active To Lead A Better Life

It’s darn easy to say you want to be active.. btu many of us.. or lets just say.. all of us.. don’t really step up to our plate.  Why you ask..?  it’s easy to understand at this time and age..  and all the modern equipment..  why move right..?? tell me you are not guilty of getting a remote for your tv.. dvd and even your fan or air-conditioner.  When there is more time.. or when i have the mood.. or not so tired.. or donch have to do housework .. are some of the excuses we give ourselves.  But did you know that if we are not active enough..  it takes a toll in our health.  Being inactive is as harmful to the heart as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.  Even if you have acne product it wouldn’t help if you do not exercise.. and sweat out the toxins in your body.

T-Zone Vibration

They claimed that 10 mins on this is equivalent to an hour exercise..??  is it true.. can it be as effective..?? we currently have one here in our small town.  At first.. i thought it was a a car factory.. with that name.. hahahahha!!!  on the website it doesn’t say too too much.. says it’s under construction .. in a lot of pages.  So i’ll have to wait.. and report back.  At $5 per day membership.. it’s definitely worth trying eh..?

Cinnamon & Blood Sugar

I’ve heard cinnamon helps lower blood glucose but when i asked my doctor ..  he said it wasn’t true.  So what gives..??

A few studies have indicated that cinnamon minimally improves blood glucose, triglyceride, and cholesterol levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Regular ground cinnamon and cinnamon sticks were used in the studies. The amount suggested was 1/2 teaspoon per day. This amount of cinnamon can be combined in foods such as applesauce or yogurt. However, the research on cinnamon is not conclusive, and the use of cinnamon has not become part of common clinical practice. More research is needed before conclusions can be made about cinnamon’s role in treating diabetes.

Getting A1C Below 7 Percent

Right now, my A1C is close to target, but i should seek the advice of my doctor to see if I should aim for a reduction in your A1C. The Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) recommends an A1C of below 7 percent and as near to normal (below 6 percent) as possible without running too low. The CDA’s target fasting blood glucose range is 70 — 130 mg/dl.

Think of diabetes self-management as a stool with three legs: physical activity, healthful eating, and medications. If you shorten or remove any one of the three legs, the stool won’t be level or might even fall over. Your glucose monitor (and periodic A1C test results) sits on top of the stool, reflecting the balance of the three legs.

The doctor’s role in keeping the diabetes-management stool level is to regularly evaluate your overall situation and make medication adjustments to help you achieve your targets. The glyburide you take helps the pancreas make more insulin. Metformin helps the liver release more normal amounts of glucose to regulate fasting blood glucose levels. To a degree, the metformin also helps increase sensitivity to insulin.

The stool’s other two legs — what you eat and how you include movement in your day — are areas you can choose to improve. A certified diabetes educator (CDE) or diabetes education classes can help you make changes that fit your lifestyle.

Diabetic Meal Plan

Everyone needs to eat a certain numbers of calories to survive. Eat more than you need and you gain weight; eat less (or burn more) than you need and you lose weight. It sounds simple, but how many calories do you really need?

Calorie needs depend on gender, age, height, activity level, current weight, and the number of calories your body burns at rest.

For instance, a 35-year-old 150-pound woman who is 5 feet tall and does not exercise needs about 1,500 to 1,600 calories per day to maintain her weight. If she eats more than that each day, she will gain weight. If she eats less or exercises more, she will lose weight.

How many calories do you currently eat per day? For a few days, keep track of everything you eat and drink, look at the food label, and record the calorie amounts. Are you eating more calories than you need?

Diabetic Pain

An estimated 60-70 percent of people with diabetes have some form of neuropathy, making it one of the most common complications of diabetes. The symptoms of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) are most often felt in the toes, feet, and hands of people who have this nerve disorder, which can affect almost every system in the body.

Common descriptions of the feelings or sensations for DPN are:

• Burning
• Numbness
• Tingling
• Stinging
• Electrical vibrations
• Shooting pain
• Searing pain

Every person with DPN experiences it in different ways. For example, a person with diabetic neuropathy can lose feeling without pain or have pain without numbness. And there are people with peripheral neuropathy who have no pain at all. The most common symptom, however, is experiencing both burning and numbness, which can be key to diagnosing this nerve disorder.

“It’s usually a loss of feeling, and then a burning sensation where that feeling’s been lost,” says Robert Gerwin, M.D., pain management specialist and practitioner and associate professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. “It’s not the dull, sore muscle and joint aches and pains that you may feel from aging,” he says. And when these symptoms aren’t given the attention they deserve, they’re likely to progress.

As you click through this slideshow, you’ll see why pain occurs, along with descriptions of commonly prescribed medications; topical analgesics such as capsaicin and lidocaine; and complementary pain treatments such as acupuncture and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS).

Talk with your doctor about the following options and decide together what methods of pain relief will ensure you have a more comfortable tomorrow.

Sun Protection Higher SPF

The higher the SPF , the less one have to reapply the sunscreen..??

No true.. !!!  because sun protection can diminish after swimming, towel drying or sweating.  It is recommended that one re-apply your sun protection every 2 hours or wear water and sweat resistant photostable protection.  Just like diet pills buying the most expensive one does not guarantee the most effective one – do your research properly and no hearsay.

Pap Smear After Hysterectomy

I went to visit my family doctor about my blood sugar the other day.. and we had started talking about my other health issues.. and what i had been doing to make sure i live a good long life. I had also mentioned about my pap smear.. with the new gynae.. and my family doctor then told me i didn’t need a pap smear no more.  I was kinda shocked.. because no one told me that..  and neither did my new gynae.  Then I was told that I didn’t need one.. if i had my cervic removed.. but i donch really know if my cervic was removed.. because i know the old gynae removed my uterus.. and left my ovaries.. so did he take the cervic as well..??  Well, i guess i’ll have to write to my old gynae or call my new one eh.  More on it.. when i find out.

Mosquitoe Bites Allergy

Yes.. it looks like i’m allergic to the mosquitoes here.  I didn’t even think a lot about it.. and when i got home, it started swelling a bit and by the evening .. it was huge..!! it lasted for 2 days.. and then i decided.. i had enough.. because i couldn’t hold my bowl to eat.  Luckily for me, the g/f who was moving away had some long distance moving companies to help her pack, else I would be no use to her at all.  A check with our family doctor, he said not to use the cream that I had used – an antibiotic cream but to take Claritine instead or Benadryl.  Oh well, it worked.. and that’s all i cared then.

Walking To Health

So I finally picked up my walking shoes from Cleve Sports.. but didn’t get the one they had specially ordered for me.. because it didn’t seems to fit as well.  I figured.. if i had to walk .. and invest in good health.. i should pay a bit more.. to motivate myself.  Tried it today.. and it still hurt my feet.. but i guess it just need breaking in.  I’m pretty much set.. just hoping the weather would stay good for a bit more.. and also to get my ipod working.

1.5 Months Diabetes Follow Up

It`s been a little more than 1.5 months since i started on full medication for not only my diabetes but also my cholesterol as well as high blood pressure.  I was a little overdue .. for my follow up .. due to a lot of things going on .. from wedding to families visiting … and work.

Anyhow, saw the family doctor.. and since we didn’t have anyone working at the store that day .. we had to rush in and out -  i didn’t even have the time to look at the new  Danze faucet they had just put into the doc’s office.  Everything seems to be going as he expected for my blood sugar.. and if it continues to do well, i wouldn’t need to be on insulin.  But the first time, he took my blood pressure, it was still high – so he had to wait another 10 mins.. and took it again, and it went back to normal.  That only shows that i get deeply affected by little stuff – so i have to be very careful .. and not stress myself.. and GO FOR MY WALKS..!!! POWER WALKS..!!!

Eye Specialist

So I went to see the eye specialist today..  because I wanted to .. and got my family doctor to do the referral .. because I’m diabetic.   The appt was made a few months ago, and the eye specialist just came back from a vacation.

The result of the full examination wasn’t that good, i am now being referred to a specialist – a retina specialist in Halifax – to get a second opinion.  Better get the best weight loss pill to lose some weight.. and try to get back to a healthier me.  No more stressing over nothing – and one can only hope.

Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist

So Missy Moo went for her ENT specialist appt today.  Surprised totally that the Doc’s office was open.. since it was a civic holiday today.  We were in and out within half an hour .. not much wait and the secretary was very nice… unlike some that we’ve met.

The doctor must be German.. and at first didn’t seems to very happy that Missy Moo didn’t wanna cooperate.  But that’s to be expected right..?? because this was a new doctor.. and she was afraid.. and didn’t know .. what to think of him.   But after the examination and all.. he seems to be nicer.. and Missy Moo seems to have calmed down then.

The final result of the examination .. was pretty good.. no infection of any kind.. so no taking out the tonsils.. he thinks it’s viral.. and he would see Missy Moo again in 6 months.  So that was the end of that fear i had been having for a week now.. or since we got the appt for Missy Moo.  As parents… it’s really hard not to worry about our kid.. but fear must not stop us from finding out the truth quickly.. and nip the problem at its bud eh.