Diagnosis of type 2 diabetes .

When you receive a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes you very quickly start to realize a few things in your life are going to change. It is never easy to alter your lifestyle but you will find it really worthwhile when you see your weight becoming lighter and your blood sugar levels also reducing … the results will be worth it!

Your daily routine will now include:

exercise for thirty minutes
paying more attention to your eating plan. The best idea is to not be obsessive though
eating smaller meals more often, as skipping meals and then eating one really large meal gives you high blood sugar levels, followed by insulin spikes
eating snacks at certain times as this stops you becoming hungry and reaching for high carbohydrate foods
Have you realized it is necessary to remove these foods from your eating plan? These are two food ingredients to always avoid:

1. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. These are the source of trans fats which increase weight gain and actually promote diabetes. They are often found in these foods:

breakfast biscuits
brownie mixes
cake and cake mixes
cookies
dinner rolls and dough-nuts
fish sticks and french fries
frozen dinners and frozen pizzas
ice cream and whipped toppings
margarine and other butter substitutes
meals in cans
pork and beans
2. High-fructose corn syrup is often found in these types of foods:

brownies
cakes
candy and candy bars
cookies and dough-nuts
energy bars
ice cream
jellies and preserves
juices
ketchup
salad dressings
soft drinks
pork and beans
High-fructose corn syrup raises your insulin levels and increases insulin resistance … just what you don’t want!

What should you eat?

Eating healthy foods means cooking more fresh foods from scratch. Your main goal is to eat real foods just like they would have been eaten by primitive men. Why not add spices and herbs to your meals, they add a lot of flavor and certain herbs help to lower your blood sugar levels.

Talk with your health care provider or a registered practicing dietitian before starting your new eating plan. A suggested healthy eating plan could provide an approximate daily ratio of:

45% carbohydrate … all carbohydrate foods end up as sugar in your blood stream and for that reason it is wise to be careful of the type of carbohydrate you eat. This will help both your weight and blood sugar levels Space your carbohydrates out evenly during your day and include at least one low-GI food with every meal
30% protein … you usually do not need more than 4 to 7 ounces (120 to 200 grams) per day of protein foods. Protein generally should not cover more than 25% of your plate
25% fat … fats and oils in your diet are mainly made up of triglycerides irrespective of whether it is of plant or animal origin. It is recommended polyunsaturated fats constitute less than 10% of your total daily calories, monounsaturated oils, (the good oils) less than 10%, and saturated fats less than 8%. All fats and oils are equally fattening and the most fattening of all foods.
Include plenty of servings of non-starchy vegetables and two pieces of fruit each day to help reduce both your weight and your blood sugar levels.

Type 2 diabetes and cranberry juice.

Why is this important to you? Actually there is no shortage of medical evidence that unsweetened cranberry juice is a good way to treat infections of the urinary tract. Complex polysaccharides found in cranberry juice (and in juices of other bog berries, such as blueberry), coat the lining of your bladder and urethra so bacteria can never "root" and the flow urine simply washes them away.

Many people with diabetes, type 1 and type 2, find when they go for their annual or bi-annual medical check-up, they have a urinary tract infection. Yet they had none of the usual signs which include:


pain and burning when passing urine
frequency of urination and only passing small amounts
cloudy urine... sometimes blood is present
feeling generally "bad" all over... tired, shaky and washed out

By the time you have a fever this indicates the infection has reached your kidneys... usually there is no fever when the infection is in your bladder or urethra.

As you can see, the nature of urinary tract infections is that they can continue unnoticed at low levels for weeks, months, or even years. The bacteria in your urinary tract cause a constant, low level of inflammation that isn't enough for you to mention to your health care practitioner, but it is enough to generate inflammatory proteins that circulate throughout your body.

Uncontrolled blood sugars result in spillover of blood glucose into your urine, and that sugar provides constant nourishment for bacteria. The bacteria can grow into mats and tangles that "hug" the lining of your bladder and urethra so they don't flow out with your urine and this is why they don't get detected in urine tests. And they can pump out just enough of the triggers of inflammation... they encourage the "growth" of belly fat and also hardening of the arteries.

What will help stop low-level bladder infections?

Cranberry juice keeps bacteria from forming colonies. A shot glass of cranberry juice at least once a week may stop in it's tracks any low-level bladder infections. Just be sure you drink real cranberry juice or blueberry juice straight, with no added sugar or aspartame.

A regular dose of berry juice not only will get rid of bladder bacteria, it may even help you control both blood sugar levels and your weight. Try a weekly glass of cranberry juice and see if you can't detect improvement in control of your type 2 diabetes.