Diabetes Care - Make Diet a Part of Your Diabetes Care Plan

If you have recently been diagnosed with diabetes you are going to have to make a few changes in your life as you learn to get your diabetes under control. Your doctor will sit down with you and discuss a diabetes care plan that may include medication, but will almost certainly include some pretty serious changes to the way you eat. Most cases of type 2 diabetes can be controlled quite well as long as you stick to a very healthy diet instead of having to resort to medications. Sticking to a carefully controlled diet can mean the difference between getting your diabetes under control by yourself and having to rely on medications that may or may not cause some very unpleasant side effects.

Hypoglycemia is a big problem for those who suffer from Type 2 diabetes, but you can control your glycemic levels with a diet that is low in processed foods, white flour and sugar as they are very high on the glycemic index. Other foods and drinks that should be avoided as they tend to aggravate this problem include anything with caffeine, chocolate or alcohol in them.

There has been a great deal of talk in medical circle as to whether you can control diabetes with a low carbohydrate diet. Recent studies show that in many cases the need for medications were reduced by up to 50% in those patients who stuck to the prescribed low carb diet. For the tests some patients were fed a diet that was low on the glycemic index, while others were fed a diet that was low carb. The results showed that of those on the low carb diet 95% were able to reduce their medications as compared to only 62% of those on the low glycemic diet.

Despite the fact that studies prove that following a low carbohydrate diet as part of a diabetes care plan can have significantly positive effects on the amount of medication needed very few people can stick to the diet. The reason for this is that it is very restrictive and as of yet there have been no long term studies completed to see if the effects stay true to the course. Instead most doctors still prefer to recommend a low fat diet for diabetes, not only for the effects it has on the diabetes itself, but for the effects this type of diet has on the patients over all health.

Doctors all agree that you can help to control your diabetes by including a healthy diet as part of your diabetes care plan. Your diet should include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetable, particularly the green leafy ones and as many raw vegetables as you can eat. You need to eat foods that include lean proteins and Omega 3 fatty acids such as fish and legumes.

All of these foods will help to slow down your digestion, which in turn will help to maintain the stability of your blood sugar level. As long as you use diet to control your blood sugar level you should be able to significantly reduce your dependence on medications and regain your health at the same time.