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Diabetes
for
Dopes !!

Diet

Don't eat the following:  minimise carbs especially
white flour based breads and pastries (pies)
and chips (any sort) and biscuits - these tend to have no fibre !!!  that's why !!!
 You will need to get your carbs from fruit and veggies as best you can.  You can slowly learn to dothis.

People with Diabetes do not really need to have a
special diet. In fact, the recommended food for diabetics is same for those without

diabetes ,  that is a balanced and healthy diet.
It should include  necessary proteins, fats and
carbohydrates that the body needs.

Basically, it ought to be low in fat, sugar & salt and avoid excessively calorie intake.

Cited From “Top 10 Misconceptions About Diabetes”

by www.stopprediabetes.com

Reduce stress this can raise your blood sugars long term and raise your blood pressure
(which can make any damage on your heart and blood
vessels worse)

Go easy on the alcohol - alcohol is toxic in its own right; you need to stay as healthy as you can be without added pressure on your body from too much.

Go easy on fast foods (they contain bad fats, high in
sugars, usually contain no fibre and raise blood sugars
real fast and for a long time.

Try not to go a day where you miss some exercise
(walking on the spot, squats on a chair, exercise bike,
walk down the road, up a hill, swim,
do some light weights).

You need exercise, and you need to move around
daily - your muscles get conditioned and this
helps your diabetes.

Try and lift weights sometimes - building muscle
can then help burn the sugars in your blood stream.
 

See a diabetes educator- get a referral from your
doctor.   He'll know if your a dope and set you
straight with some beginner's information.  If your a genius, you will still learn something. 
A GP doesn't have all day to chit chat. 
A diabetes educator will fill you in

Read about topics of interest on the internet.

Buy a diabetes book - there are many on the internet

You need to get your eyes checked yearly
(minimum, as you can lose some of your eyesight).

Feet - ooh feet.  If you have diabetes for a long time
 (or even if you have strong diabetes for a short time),
 your feet can get sick.
especially if you get a cut or sore, it can be hard to
heal itself.  Plus, you cannot feel the cut or sore, so
you may ignore it and .......
..it can get worse and really bad without you knowing. 
 You need to check your feet regularly for this. 
You also need to get a professional to check
properly at least yearly 

You need a minimum of 6 monthly checkups of
your blood (sugar, cholesterol and maybe other
stuff like electrolytes). 
It hardly hurts when they take the blood (if you don't look)

        Monitoring Glucose

Get a machine (it doesn't hurt).  About 40 bucks.
You need to know roughly what it is in the morning these days. 
Keep a record for your GP.

Other rule is - it shouldn't be high 2 hrs after a meal
(best is less than 6.6 mmol or 119 mg/dl, and
less than 8-10 mmol or 141 - 180 mg/dl 2 hrs after food) and not be too high only 1 hour after a meal
(less than 8.8 mmol or 158 mg/dl is ideal;
 or less than 10 mmol or 180 mg/dl at a minimum).    

If you want to get it lower - eat less carbs per meal. 
 Alot of fats plus carbs can push it up too. 
Protein plus a little carbs (best from veggies),
plus some (a little) fat and no pure sugar
 (in drinks, sweets, desserts, and other things) is best. 

If its easily digested - up goes the blood sugars:
whiteflour, pure sugars, and no real fibre.

 Don't forget, exercises gets it down straight away
(exercise up to 2 hrs before and after meals has
 a beneficial effect).

Your body needs 'hard to digest food', if you want
 to keep your blood sugars low - fruit (not fruit juice);
brown (whole wheat) bread;
whole wheat cereals (not sugary ones); no potatoes too (they are too easy to digest - up go blood sugars). 
Proteins with minimum fats are great, especially
white meat - fish, chicken and turkey.