3-Day Diabetes Meal Plan: 1,200 Calories

Eating with diabetes doesn't need to be restrictive or complicated.
Healthy eating is the cornerstone of managing diabetes, yet it can be a challenge figuring out what to eat to balance your blood sugar. Here we've created a delicious 3-day meal plan that makes it easier to follow a diabetes diet. In this plan you'll find a mix of nutritious foods including fiber-rich complex carbohydrates, like whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein sources, healthy fats and dairy.
This plan limits the amount of foods with refined carbohydrates (think white bread, white rice and sugar), added sugars and saturated fats, which can negatively impact your health if you eat too much. The carbohydrates are balanced throughout the day with each meal containing 2-3 carb servings (30-45 grams of carbohydrates) and each snack containing around 1 carb serving (15 grams of carbohydrates). The calorie and carbohydrate totals are listed next to each meal and snack so you can swap foods with similar nutrition in and out as you like. Eating with diabetes doesn't need to be restrictive or complicated. Incorporating a variety of foods, as we do in this meal plan, is a healthy and sustainable approach to managing diabetes.
Not sure if this is the right plan for you? Calculate your calorie level and find the diet meal plan that will work best for you.
Day 1
Meal Prep Tip: Cook or set aside an extra 1/2 cup of black beans tonight at dinner to have for lunch on Day 2. Be sure to rinse canned beans to get rid of excess salt.
Breakfast (298 calories, 32 grams carbohydrates)
• 1 cup nonfat pl Continue reading

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6 Great Exercises for People With Diabetes

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Making Exercise a Routine
Do you get enough exercise? If you're like many Americans, the answer is no — and that's especially true for those of us with diabetes. Studies show as few as 39 percent of people with type 2 diabetes participate in regular physical activity, compared with 58 percent of other Americans. And that's a shame, because working out can help increase insulin action and keep blood sugars in check, says Sheri Colberg-Ochs, PhD, founder of the Diabetes Motion Academy in Santa Barbara, Califorinia, and professor emerita of exercise science at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.
Exercise also helps you lose weight and improve balance, which is important because many people with type 2 diabetes are at risk for obesity and for falls. “I fully recommend that anyone over 40 with diabetes include balance training as part of their weekly routine, at least two to three days per week,” says Dr. Colberg-Ochs. “It can be as simple as practicing balancing on one leg at a time, or more complex — like tai chi exercises. Lower body and core resistance exercises also double as balance training.”
Here are six great workouts you can easily work into your daily routine. Be sure to check with your doctor before beginning any exercise regimen, and go slowly at first. Over time, you can increase the length and intensity of your routine. Continue reading

Controlling Diabetes Naturally

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ National Health Survey 2014-2015 the prevalence of diabetes has increased in Australia from 4.5% to 5.1% in the last three years. This is a total count of 1 million people. Are you one of them?
Are you concerned about your risk of developing diabetes-related complications such as eye, kidney, nerve and heart diseases? Do you feel tired and lethargic? Are you stressed and confused? Is traveling difficult due to set mealtimes? Would you like to manage your diabetes naturally?
You Are Not Doomed To A Life Of High Blood Sugars And Diabetic Complications
You can take control of your diabetes by taking control of your diet. The primary way to reduce blood sugar levels is through the foods you choose to eat.
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A major study, The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) showed that keeping blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible (called intensive blood glucose control) reduces your risk of eye disease by 76%, kidney disease by 50% and nerve disease by 60%. A follow-up study, Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) showed that tight glucose control reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease by 42% and heart attack and stroke are reduced by 57%.
As a type 1 diabetic myself, I understand your fears and frustrations firsthand. I have spent the last few years researching diabetes for myself and I would like to share with you what I’ve learned. This information is relevant whether your diagnosis is pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes (T2D), type 1 diabetes (T1D) or Continue reading

There's A Third Type Of Diabetes And Millions Don't Know They Have It

This type, 3c, is caused by physical damage to the pancreas. Fascinadora/Shutterstock
Until recently, diabetes came in two distinct varieties. However, a third major type exists, a fact that's only come to light relatively recently – and it's far more prevalent than people realized.
New research indicates that this means that plenty of people with the new Type 3c are being misdiagnosed as having Type 2, leading to incorrect treatment. According to the study in the journal Diabetes Care, just 3 percent of people with Type 3c are correctly identified.
A separate study concluded that anywhere between 5 and 10 percent of all diabetics in Western populations actually have Type 3c. That means that millions of people are living with the condition all over the world, and they don’t actually know it.
One of the researchers involved in the UK-centric work, clinical practitioner Andrew McGovern of the University of Surrey, explains that this new Type 3c can be extremely difficult to treat. Not only does it impair the pancreas’ ability to produce insulin, but it also prevents it from making key enzymes which are required for the digestion of food, along with other important hormones.
“People with type 3c diabetes were twice as likely to have poor blood sugar control than those with type 2 diabetes,” he explained in a blog post for The Conversation. “They were also five to ten times more likely to need insulin, depending on their type of pancreas disease.”
This new study highlights the lack of awareness of the condition, not only in the public realm but in the world of bio Continue reading

10 Signs of Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes affects 24 million people in the U.S., but only 18 million know they have it. About 90 percent of those people have type 2 diabetes.
In diabetes, rising blood sugar acts like a poison.
Diabetes is often called the silent killer because of its easy-to-miss symptoms. "Almost every day people come into my office with diabetes who don't know it," says Maria Collazo-Clavell, MD, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
The best way to pick up on it is to have a blood sugar test. But if you have these symptoms, see your doctor.
15 Celebrities with Type 2 Diabetes Continue reading