Simple Ways to keep Blood Sugar Levels Low

Diabetes is a common illness. Unfortunately, there is no cure for it. All one can do is to manage diabetes. Managing the condition requires adept monitoring on glucose levels. You also require making efforts towards maintaining level of glucose in the body. This is possible only if you have appropriate diabetes supplies. Hence, it is crucial for an individual with diabetes to test glucose level using a monitor at regular intervals. The monitor makes it easy for you as you can do it within the comfort of your own home. Using glucometer is really simple. Once you get used to measuring levels of glucose, you would love it. Using a glucose monitor will let you know if you really need a modification in diet, exercise regime or medication.

A glucometer is a special tool used for reading precise sugar levels. All you need to do is prick your finger a little and the device will help you get precise reading. The levels need to be checked daily. In some severe case, the patient may require measuring levels several times in a day. If you are worried about glucometer price in India, just visit the World Wide Web and know prices at which the monitors are available. Comparing various monitors will help you get the best price. Also make sure you don’t go for one with a lot of ‘fancy’ features which you may not use. These features take a lot of money unnecessarily.

Apart from investing in a high quality glucometer, it is important to make some significant dietary changes to control the blood sugar levels. This will prevent from allowing blood sugar to rise to a very high level. High levels of sugar are not good for health. It results in a lot of health complications. To avoid this condition, you need to include foods valued for their capacity to decrease blood sugar levels.

Here’s how you can do this:

Less Carbohydrates

Make sure you cut down on carbohydrates in your daily diet regime. This is very important for controlling increase in sugar.

Limit High Glycemic Foods

It is crucial for you to avoid foods high on the glycemic scale. Some of the foods such as white bread, pasta, and potatoes should be strictly avoided.

Include Grains

Grains should make an integral part of your diet. It should include cereals such as bran, barley, wheat, and oats.

Lentil

This is a good source of protein and should form an important part of your daily diet.

Dairy Products

You should be careful with dairy products. Instead of whole milk, have low fat milk. Also have low fat cottage cheese, yogurt etc.

Special Spice

Cinnamon is known to be a useful spice to control sugar levels in the blood. So try to sprinkle this spice on breakfast cereal and fruit salads.

Researching and comparing different glucometer price in India will help you get the best quality monitor at best rates.

Continue

Guidelines to use a blood sugar monitoring device

If you have been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, it is important to start off with a special diet and exercise regime to make sure your blood sugar levels are healthy. Buying a blood sugar monitoring device accuchek will help you with your diabetes management regime.

The Glucose Monitoring Regime

Ideally, a type 1 diabetes patient must test their blood sugar at least six times a day. Ask your doctor about the precise number of times the procedure needs to be undertaken.

Methods of Blood Glucose Testing

1. Using Blood Sugar Monitoring Device Accuchek

First you need to prick the skin with a lancing device (don’t worry it won’t hurt much). This will give you a drop of blood. Place it on a test strip. Insert the test strip into a blood glucose meter to calculate the concentration of blood glucose levels.

2. Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs)

This is a method that needs to be used in cases, where meter readings display unexplained highs and lows. This is a special device designed to track blood sugar levels of body over time to disclose trends that may not be shown during procedure of standard blood glucose monitoring usage.

A tiny sensor is inserted under the skin (abdomen). It is then connected through a wire to a glucose monitor. The monitor is strapped to the pant waist. The results are evaluated by your health care practitioner after a few days. This will help the doctor to analyze whether or not the treatment requires being changed completely or modified.

Insulin Pumps

This is an option for diabetes treatment. It works via delivering insulin throughout the day according to the requirement of body. The process is kicked off through placing a catheter under the abdominal skin. Then a small, device is attached to the waistband of pants. This device pumps insulin into the body.

Why blood sugar monitoring device accuchek?

The importance of diabetes monitoring device in diabetes management cannot be ignored. In order to keep blood sugar levels healthy, it is crucial that you go for the best quality meter available on the market.

These days, most of the reputed companies are offering their products online. This has helped diabetics invest in a specific product right from comfort of home. They can actually shop around before making an investment.

When buying a glucose meter, you need to consider certain important factors including actual price of the device, user friendliness, maintenance process, efficiency, and accuracy. Also check the reputation of brand before invest money.

Buying blood sugar monitoring device accuchek is important for all diabetics. They must make this investment to stay healthy and maintain decent blood sugar levels.

Continue

Benefits of a Glucometer

A glucometes, also known asd self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG), is the most beneficial device for diabetics. A number of types and brands of glucometers are easily available these days. Most of these are based on the following two principles:

1. Chemical

A chemical is present on the test strip. When it comes in contact with glucose, a colour is produced. The meter measures intensity of colour intensity and the level of glucose present is expressed in mg/dl.

2. Electric Current

The second type of glucometer measures the electric current present in the blood. This depends on the amount of glucose present. As soon as blood is put on the test strip, an enzyme transfers electrons from glucose to a chemical in the test strip. Thereafter, the meter measures the flow of the electrons as current. The amount of current will depend on the amount of glucose present. Thereafter, the meter produces the reading in mg/dl.

Glucometer Accuracy

Many are worried about the accuracy of the meter readings. However, there’s nothing to worry because the values are generally quite reliable. There may be a slight inconsequential difference between the sample of laboratory and glucometer reading due to the resons stated below:

10-15 per cent Difference

This difference in readings is observed because laboratory utilizes plasma blood while glucometers use
whole blood.

Higher Reading

Meters use capillary blood while laboratory make use of venous blood. Capillary blood may provide a slightly higher reading as compared to venous blood.

Test Strips

Each glucometer is available with its own test strips. You need to buy the correct strip for the glucometer. A strip has a code that must be set correctly before using.

Lancets

These are used to prick the finger and obtain a drop of blood to be placed on a test strip. Each pricking device comes with its own size of lancet. The lancets are sterile. Hence, they should not be shared.

Benefits

There are many benefits of using a glucometers for diabetics:

It allows diabetics to take care of themselves sans any need to visit doctors and labs regularly.

It works towards promoting well-being of the patient.

It helps to detect and confirm hypoglycemia.

These meters ensure better understanding of medications.

The meters helps in altering medications.

It also helps in detecting infections. Since high blood sugars may be a sign of infection or illness, timely
assistance can save many health problems.

Continue

Diabetes Diet – Foods to Avoid

Diabetes diet is the basis of diabetes management. A lot has been said and written about what one should eat to maintain healthy blood glucose levels. But how much do you know about food offenders? There are certain food offenders that may pose serious health risks especially for diabetics. These contain high amounts of fat, sodium, carbohydrate, and calories. These dangerous elements can increase your risk of uncontrolled blood glucose, heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and weight gain.

So think twice before eating these foods:

Eating with diabetes doesn't necessarily mean deprivation or starvation. However, it is definitely important to make wise choices and avoid or limit the foods available on the list mentioned below. This is because they are usually high in saturated fat, calories, sodium, carbs, or even trans fats.

The problem is that very high amounts of sodium and saturated fat lead to serious heart disease. On the other hand, indulging in excess sugars, high carb counts, can make you gain weight and the blood sugar level also shoots.

Apart from following a healthy diet regime, it is also crucial to keep tabs on glucose levels using Accu-chek glucometer.

Say No to these Foods

Coffee Drinks

For a perfect diabetes diet, you need to eliminate your favourite cup of coffee or coffee shakes. Did you know your favourite Starbuck's Chocolate Mocha with whipped cream will make you rich by 470 calories and 63 grams of carb? So it is best to stay away from it as far as possible.


Fruit Beverages


These are not only high in calories but also rich in sugar. So it is better to stay away from your favourite juice drinks. Make wise choices by reading labels. Be aware that nutrition information is per serving; many beverages that come in cans or bottles contain more than one serving.


French Fries


This is known to be a staple diet for fast food lovers. Hence, it's no surprise that this fast-food is always on your list. Now, needless to say, these are quite a risky choice for diabetics. French fries are loaded with sodium, saturated fat, as well as calories. It is true that food joints and fast-food restaurants offer trans-fat-free fries, but they still don’t make that good an option for you.


Cookies

These are yummy and a beautiful combination with coffee and tea. Munching on it may be one of the greatest pleasures of your life. But alas! You need to sacrifice on these yummy treats. These are not healthy with all the sprinkles or chocolate chips. These could be hiding  lot of trans fats. The cookies are also laden with butter, margarine, high-fructose corn syrup, and hydrogenated oils. Hence, cookies make the biggest saturated fat and trans fat contributors. Having these daily will make you pile on a lot of calories and carbs.


Fried Chicken


This is another restaurant staple and all-time favourite food. It tastes heavenly and is simply irresistible. But diabetics need to cut down on this comfort food as far as possible. Frying chicken tends to add a lot of calories, and carbs. It also contains sodium, and fat. You need to avoid it to keep your weight and cholesterol in check. So the extra crispy KFC chicken is actually harmful for you.


Frozen Meals


Frozen meals are very convenient. However, their high sodium and fat contents tend to make them unhealthy choices for all (diabetic or non diabetic). So it is better that all of your family stays away from it. These quickies should be only an emergency option.


Regular Soft Drinks

These are laden with sugar and soda. They taste good but can actually derail your healthiest meal plans and spike blood sugar levels to a risky zone. Understand that each 4 grams of sugar equals 1 teaspoon! Hence, if your drink comprise of 30 grams of sugar, that equals to consuming 7.5 teaspoons of sugar!!!! Now that’s really, really risky for a diabetic! Hence it is important to stay away from it to manage healthy blood glucose levels. Beverages with high sugar content will also add to the calories and carbs. However, they may also cause a lot of weight gain. Of course, there are many diet versions of soft drinks offered in the market place, these days. But all of these are made with artificial sweeteners. You need to go for healthier alternatives such as lime or lemon juices. A little research on the internet will let you know about more refreshing and satisfying drink choices. The best part is that these alternatives won't add much burden to your waistline.


Milk Shakes

We’re talking about the rich, thick milk shakes straight from your favourite restaurants or fast-food joints. You need to stay away from these beverages. They are loaded with sugar and calories. Many of these may also be hiding trans fats that are really very bad for your heart.

Other Foods to Avoid:

White rice

White Potatoes

Regular pasta

White Bread

Sugary Breakfast Cereal

Instant oatmeal

Cornflakes

Corn

Sugar – Stay away from white sugar, cake, honey, jam, jaggery, jelly, pastries, icecream, pie, canned juice, chocolates, syrup, artificial sweeteners, doughnuts, cream and cookies foods.

Fried Foods – Strictly avoid fried foods. You can bake, saute or boil in a pan. Steaming vegetables is also a good option.

Sodium - MSG, Soy sauce, and brine contains a lot of sodium. Make sure you limit your sodium content.

Salad Dressings – Limit use of dressings such as salad dressing, mustard, mayonnaise, and avocado.
These are also high in sodium.

Refined Flours - Avoid white bread, pasta, all purpose flour (maida), puffs, pretzels, pizza, and processed foods.

Fruits - Mango, custard apple, grapes, strawberry, and prunes should be avoided to lower the blood sugar level.

Starchy Vegetables - Avoid starchy vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, peas, beans, and beet.

High Cholesterol Foods – Avoid high-fat meat, egg yolks, poultry, and high-fat dairy products.

Oils - Avoid hydrogenated oils or partially hydrogenated oils. Canola or olive oil are the best option for diabetics.

Continue

What is diabetes – Understanding all about Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes should be handled with great care. This is possible only when you know what is diabetes understand the condition well. Type 1 diabetes was also once referred to as juvenile diabetes.
This is because it is usually occurs before the age of thirty without warning.

A healthy pancreas in human body consists of cells that produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that transports a type of sugar known as glucose from the bloodstream into all of your cells. It is definitely an important job. Sugar is also fuel of body.

Once you develop type 1 diabetes, your immune system gets confused. It actually destroys the insulin-producing cells. Since the insulin supply dwindles, the cells are deprived of glucose and builds up in your bloodstream. The body tries to get rid of this excess glucose through filtration system (kidneys). Among various other symptoms, this can also cause you to feel frail, and hungry. You may also need to urinate frequently, and feel thirsty. Not drinking a lot of water may even make you dehydrated.

Hyperglycemia

This is also referred to as High blood glucose levels and can cause serious health problems. Blood vessels and nerves can get damaged. It will also result in serious complications such as kidney failure, blindness and various other complications.

Type 2 Diabetes

This is also known as adult-onset diabetes and a progressive condition. This also indicates that the symptoms usually increase with time. Unlike Type 1 diabetes wherein insulin producing cells are completely destroyed, Type 2 diabetes is capable of producing insulin. The only problem is that it may not be enough to meet the body’s requirements.  Sometimes, the body does not process the inslulin produced by the body. This results in high blood sugar levels. When left untreated, high blood sugar can lead to damage eyes, nerves, kidneys, and blood vessels.

Gestational Diabetes

This type of diabetes occurs during pregnancy. It also clears up after childbirth. It can usually be controlled via making a few small healthy lifestyle changes such as monitoring the diet, and exercising. In rare cases, insulin may also be prescribed.

Living With Diabetes

Once you discover that you have diabetes, the situation can be frightening. However, it is definitely not a reason to panic. You just need to help your body via eating more nutritious foods in reasonable size portions. Also try exercising more and also paying closer attention to stress levels and sleep habits.

Follow this link to read more :  http://www.accu-chek.in/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Content_101_101_-1_Diabetes_WhatIsDiabetes

Continue

Diabetes Diet for Longer, Healthier Life for Type 2 Patients

A type 2 diabetes diagnosis is not an easy thing to manage. The situation can be really overwhelming. However, you are not alone. Many thousands of people are suffering from diabetes these days. The guide for newly diagnosed individuals with diabetes can really be of great help for managing the condition.

So you have diabetes. What should be your step now?

Life before diabetes was definitely different. It didn’t involve careful diet plans, meticulous exercise regime, and prescribed medications. Most importantly, you never worried about glucose test strips and Accu Chek glucometer and its readings. You never knew the importance of maintaining blood glucose levels.

Now your health care provider is taking care of you. He is encouraging you to make some lifestyle changes. You need to choose healthier foods and become more physically active and testing blood glucose (blood sugar) at regular intervals. The new diabetes regimen may seem daunting. However, step-by-step approach will make you lead a healthy and active lifestyle. It will even help you manage your diabetes.

The Medications to Lower Glucose

Your doctor may prescribe medicine to control your blood sugar. Understand that type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease. This means your capacity to produce and use insulin decreases over time. This is owing to the changes in your body. The medications you take may go up and new additions may be done by your doctor over time. Regular monitoring is important to help your doctor suggest effective changes.

Your Diabetes Diet

The treatment plans for diabetes may vary. The food and activity plans are the major contributors. You need to get started by keeping track of your food plan. Write down what, when, and how much you eat. Thereafter, you must test your blood glucose to understand the impact of foods on your blood glucose.

You should identify your food preferences and healthful foods. Thereafter, you must accommodate your unique day to day schedule and activities. It is important to distribute carbohydrate-containing foods in order to achieve your target glucose levels after meal. Some of the most common carbohydrate oriented foods include fruit, starches, fruit juice, sweets, milk, and yogurt.

Diabetics should choose healthful fats in order to achieve target blood cholesterol and triglyceride (lipid) levels. The best option is to determine appropriate portion sizes for weight loss and maintenance.

Continue

What is Diabetes Mellitus? Understanding Diabetes Better

Understanding diabetes is a difficult task for patients and those who are not suffering from it. The disease is difficult to understand due to the initial signs and symptoms it shows. Most of these are similar to that of any other disease; you may have suffered from before.

So, what is diabetes mellitus precisely? It is crucial to understand the disease in detail in order to make sure you live healthy and happy with it. Diabetes mellitus is usually categorized into three different types. One needs to identify these to get the right treatment.

The main definition of Diabetes Mellitus the question “What is Diabetes Mellitus” depends on the condition of the patients. It is usually referred to as condition where the body of an individual suffers from presence of excessive blood glucose. To be precise, anyone too much sugar in his blood suffers from diabetes.

The problem with the disease is that if left untreated, it may cause many complications. It can even disable an individual’s capability to indulge in daily activities. Many a times, individual also faces life threats due to the disease and its impact on body.

Main signs and symptoms of Diabetes Mellitus include the following listed below:

Unexpected weight loss

Fatigue

Excessive urge to urinate

Excessive thirst

Disorientation

Light headedness

Extreme hunger

It is significant to check with a medical practitioner if you experience any of the above mentioned signs and symptoms. Once Diabetes Mellitus is detected, the patient requires monitoring his or her blood glucose levels via using an external device. These devices are referred to glucometers, test strips, and insulin pumps.

Continue